A framework to standardize causes of construction delay

Available literature shows no standard method or framework to identify critical causes of delay and assess its impact on the construction project. The use of ambiguous phrases and unstructured identification of causes has resulted in the ineffectiveness of the study findings. Therefore, this study has developed a framework to identify critical causes of delay through a systematic approach. This systematic approach helps to identify critical causes of delay in a standardized format. The framework categorically sequences causes of delay and connects them to the responsible party. From the obtained data, three hundred thirty-five critical causes of delay were extracted, categorized into 14 groups, and summarized into 48 major critical causes presented in tables. This study provides a comprehensive list and reference of the critical causes identified in the past 10 years. The study also quantitatively analysed the collected data presented in tables. The developed framework and approach minimize alternate and ambiguous phrasing, enhance study findings application in practice, and increases the research outcome’s consistency.