Xie, H; Hong, Y and Brilakis, I (2022) Analysis of user needs in time-related risk management for holistic project understanding. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 148(4): 05022002, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Evaluation of time-related risks often leads to changes and adjustments in construction schedules, but this influential process is not extensively mapped in literature because of the unstructured data. This absence causes information deficiency and confusion in communication, which, in turn, affects project planning and control, and hinders knowledge sharing and management. This research aims to investigate the obstacles in project execution with the assumption that a decision tree model can map user needs and trace workflows. To understand user needs, we first recorded the focus group discussions followed by semi-structured interviews, then transcribed them into a combined script of 120,000 words. Meanwhile, the prevailing standards of project execution were diagrammed to define ten interconnected categories and derive the workflow schemes to obtain a novel decision tree model, which was used together with the interview data to validate the probabilities and the weighted significance values. The next step was to quantify and prioritize the exact user needs and data specifications of the industry professionals during project execution. After the verification with the invited expert panel, the results show that the most predominant urgencies of time-related risk management are (1) the decision support tools using automated functions to check schedule logic and evaluating risks, (2) preparation assistance for risk communication, and (3) generation of risk mitigation scenarios. The findings can help to line up software development steps for scheduling programs and improve the quality of the risk response strategies for construction projects. One limitation of the current work is the sample size of interviewees, which could be enhanced by designing a questionnaire based on the findings and survey the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction schedule; decision tree; project execution; risk assessment; user needs |
| Index terms: | risk assessment, risk management, risk response strategy, decision tree, construction industry, sample size, construction project, script, program, questionnaire, user need, workflow, risk mitigation, project planning, interview, focus group, specification, decision support, scheduling, software development, unstructured data, schedule logic, knowledge sharing, survey |
| Subjects: | financial risk, contractual condition, production management, software systems, management, industry analysis, sociology, decision analysis, control systems, research design and methodology, user-centered design, risk assessment, data collection methods, knowledge management, data science, operations research |
| Topics: | Risk Management, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Project Management, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Time Control, Contract Administration, Design Practice, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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