Le, T; Caldas, C H; Gibson, G E and Thole, M (2009) Assessing scope and managing risk in the highway project development process. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 135(9), pp. 900-910. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The project development process is a critical component of highway projects. Decisions made during this phase have a significant impact on the final project outcomes. This paper describes a research project that studied this process and subsequently developed a method to help the highway project team improve the project development process. This method does so by proactively identifying risk sources based on the analysis of the project scope. This method uses a comprehensive list of scope elements with descriptions and a mechanism to evaluate quantitatively the scope elements' level of definition. Assessing the level of definition of each scope element and of the project as a whole allows the project team to determine the potential level of risk to which the project is exposed. The project team can then develop risk mitigation plans to respond to the potential high risk elements. The proposed method was tested on real completed and ongoing projects undertaken by experienced professionals. The method was well received by the subject matter experts, and a number of benefits were observed, including the use as an integrated checklist, a mechanism for monitoring the project development progress, as well as a means for improving communication and promoting alignment within the project team.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction management; planning, highway and road construction; risk management |
| Index terms: | project outcome, project team, project development, risk management, road construction, monitoring, project scope, highway construction, risk mitigation |
| Subjects: | civil engineering, financial risk, project delivery, project completion, risk assessment, scope management, control systems |
| Topics: | Site Management, Cost Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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