Nourbakhsh, M; Mohamad Zin, R; Irizarry, J; Zolfagharian, S and Gheisari, M (2012) Mobile application prototype for onsite information management in construction industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 19(5), pp. 474-494. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study aimed at investigating the information requirements for broad use mobile applications for construction projects. It also presents the results of usability testing of a mobile application prototype for improving information management in construction projects. To achieve the research objectives, the information required to properly design the mobile application was collected by distributing an online questionnaire among construction professionals. Then a serverbased application prototype was developed based on enterprise content management concepts. The mobile application was tested in a laboratory by setting a group of construction management postgraduate students who had experience of working in the construction industry. This study determines and ranks the critical onsite information artifacts, considered highly important from the perspective of clients, consultants, and contractors. The study also illustrates the development of a mobile application prototype and results of a usability test. The test results demonstrate that the application is well designed, user friendly, and meets user requirements. The results of this study are useful for developing a functional mobile application to manage onsite information in construction projects. The paper makes an original contribution by investigating information requirements of a mobile application for onsite information management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; information management; mobile application; mobile communication systems; usability test |
| Index terms: | mobile application, user requirement, construction industry, testing, construction professional, prototype, usability, artifact, laboratory, questionnaire, postgraduate, construction project |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, higher education, sociology, research management, professional development, production management, innovation and technology management, professional practice, modelling and simulation, user-centered design, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Education, Design Practice, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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