When Design Decisions Lock Project Failure is a rigorous examination of one of the most persistent and costly problems in capital-intensive projects: failure that is structurally embedded long before construction begins. Drawing on years of technical experience at the interface between engineering reality and governance decision-making, this book argues that most project overruns are not execution failures — but the predictable consequence of early design decisions made under uncertainty and prematurely treated as resolved. Through a detailed analysis of FEED processes, alternatives evaluation, geotechnical assumptions, contract structures, and governance gate practices, the book exposes how capital is routinely committed to designs that cannot support it. Rather than focusing on what goes wrong during construction, this work shifts attention to the critical first 15–20% of the project lifecycle — where decisions about alignment, technology, scope, and strategy progressively lock in outcomes that no amount of later management can reverse. It provides a structured framework for understanding design-driven capital risk, along with practical governance tools, diagnostic checklists, and decision questions that can be directly applied by capital committees, project sponsors, and independent reviewers. Written for senior practitioners in infrastructure, energy, and resource sectors, this book offers a rare insider perspective on how governance systems actually function — and how they can be redesigned to prevent failure before it becomes inevitable.