Jallow, A K; Demian, P; Baldwin, A and Anumba, C (2008) Life cycle approach to requirements information management in construction projects: State-of-the-art and future trends. In: Dainty, A (ed.) Proceedings of 24th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2008, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract
Changes in client requirements are most frequent in construction and are known to contribute to budget over-runs and late delivery of projects. Such changes need to be managed adequately to enhance visibility, traceability and linked to the original requirements and communication with all stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of a facility. Traditionally, requirements management has principally been focused at the early stages of the construction process where elicited client requirements information is used as the basis for design and does not extend to the later phases. A life cycle approach is important because client requirements often change dramatically over a facility’s life. This evolution needs to be understood, for example, particularly if the facility is to be refurbished or adapted for uses other than those for which it was originally designed. This paper presents an empirical study to highlight the current state of managing clients' requirements and to propose the need for a lifecycle approach to requirements information management in construction projects. An ethnographic study was conducted to examine the requirements management process based on participatory observations of construction project meetings and interviews with project managers. The study also details the state-of-the-art of requirements management by presenting a qualitative review of literature on this topic. This review includes industries other than construction. The paper concludes that currently, with no lifecycle insight, very few informal schemes detail the management of requirements beyond the design process into the later stages of the project. It proposes that the management of requirements should extend beyond elicitation and documentation and requires an approach that will enable changeability and impact analysis, accessibility, traceability and communication to all stakeholders.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction project; information management; life cycle; requirements management; traceability |
| Index terms: | construction project, requirements management, empirical study, evolution, construction process, lifecycle, state of the art, client requirements, impact analysis, interview, accessibility, traceability, project manager, design process, life cycle, documentation |
| Subjects: | building construction, production management, professional development, research methods, inclusive design, environmental science, data analysis and analytics, project delivery, supplier oversight, design methods, value management, data collection methods, research dissemination and communication, profession |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Design Practice, Supply Chain Management, Site 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