Thomas, S R; Lee, S H; Spencer, J D; Tucker, R L and Chapman, R E (2004) Impacts of design/information technology on project outcomes. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 130(4), pp. 586-597. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
This paper describes a collaborative effort by industry, government, and academia to evaluate the use of design/information technology (D/IT) and to relate the degree of use to project performance. A detailed statistical analysis of 297 projects in the Construction Industry Institute database is used to produce baseline measures of performance and D/IT use. The relationship between these measures is used to assess the economic value of using the technologies. A set of projects that excelled in the use of D/IT and that scored high on performance measures is then examined. These exemplary projects provide a basis for further in-depth analyses through on-site interviews with key project representatives. The results of this study establish that projects benefit from D/IT use. Both owners and contractors can expect construction cost savings of approximately 4% by increasing the use of D/IT. For owners there is clear evidence of schedule compression as well. Although the statistical analyses do not support schedule compression benefits for contractors, findings from the on-site interviews provide anecdotal support.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | design; information technology; performance |
| Index terms: | evidence, schedule compression, information technology, interview, performance measure, project performance, academia, construction cost, owner, Construction Industry Institute, savings, database, project outcome, statistical analysis |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, project management theory and practice, sociology, educational institutions, data management, project completion, research organizations, evaluation and assessment methods, data collection methods, computing systems, operations research, economic analysis, financial and cost management, data science |
| Topics: | Time Control, Education, Quality Management, Digital Applications, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Cost Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here