Latorre, V and Riley, M (2010) Utilizing analytical hierarchy process to prioritize critical success factors in construction projects. In: Egbu, C (ed.) Proceedings of 26th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2010, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Construction managers work towards meeting the cost, quality and time targets of the construction projects they lead. There is, to a certain extent, consensus amongst construction management academics and practitioners about which are the main critical success factors (CSF) for a construction project; the 'iron triangle' considers three CSF, namely cost, quality and time. Although the literature has widely addressed this topic, the specific weightings of each CSF within the overall performance outcome has not been explored in depth. Evidence shows that the specific weighting of each CSF may vary according to the project and the client’s needs or expectations. Furthermore, the importance one CSF has over the others will determine, it has been suggested, which skills are more desirable in a construction manager, in order to achieve a better project outcome. This article presents results of an online survey sent undertaken by 54 construction professionals. In this survey, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is applied to identifying how CSFs are weighted and prioritized by construction professionals within the industry. Clients' and Contractors' comparison of prioritization show that they weight CSF similarly; differences in weightings are always below the 10% of the overall success of the project. This shows alignment of opinions, which provides a good backdrop for project development, specifically between the contractor and the client. For cost and quality constraints, both contractor and client showed more responsiveness; providing evidence to show that their goals are aligned to a certain extent, and they both make decisions with the interest of the project in mind.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | analytical hierarchy process; critical success factors; project management |
| Index terms: | project management, critical success factor, project development, analytical hierarchy process, practitioner, construction manager, evidence, construction professional, construction project, project outcome, survey, performance outcome |
| Subjects: | decision-making and optimization, production management, project management theory and practice, professional development, project delivery, practitioner, value management, control systems, profession, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, project completion |
| Topics: | Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Roles and Professions |
| 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