Project performance diagnostics : a model for assessing construction project performance in Nigeria

• Main Author: Bello, W.
• Published: University of Salford 2018
• Subjects: 710
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.741139

Construction Projects are notorious for demonstrating poor performance and under achievement as usually indicated by project objectives. Project managers in the construction industry are faced with many research suggestions in literatures to improve performance but there are confusion in the implementation of these recommendations. These could be attributed to dearth of literatures that comprehensively treat critical success factors; CSFs as drivers of key performance indicators; KPIs for assessing construction project performance. KPIs are measure of indication of the workings of CSFs for project performance thus, both are present on projects and useful in exploring the underlying dynamic structure of complexity inherent in construction projects. The study determine CSFs for KPIs of cost, time, quality and health/safety which were used to develop a dynamic Project Performance Diagnostic Model which gives feedback for improved decision making in the context of diagnosing project performance in the Nigeria construction industry. This research tends not to discard the positivism or interpretivism philosophical stance by being pragmatic. Pragmatism argues that the most important determinant of epistemology, ontology and axiology adopted on research is determined by appropriately answering particular research question thus, this research adopted the pragmatism philosophy. The research process involves different phases with quantitative-qualitative research technique corresponding to the two respective ends of the positivist-constructivist paradigm continuum. The data for this research were collected through interviews of focus expert group and survey questionnaire in a form of data generation triangulation. Results of the qualitative aspect were used to develop a questionnaire, which was analysed using statistical techniques including factor analyses. The CSFs of KPIs so analysed were used to develop PPDM system dynamic based model to simulate the interplay and effects of different CSF components for aiding decision making of project managers. The research suggests that Cost as a key performance indicator has the most overriding impact on construction project performance with three components. The three dimensions to Cost performance indicator are Contractor’s Management Capacity, Client’s Commitment to Progress of Project, and Economic Environment of Project Estimate. Time performance indicator would impact performance in four different dimensions identified as Design Team Commitment to Project Management Outcomes, Capacity of Contractor for Project Management, Construction Resource Management, and External Factors. Quality performance indicator discovered three-component dimensions labelled Project Communication Management with Design and Workforce, Contractor Capacity for Resource Management on Quality Objective, and Project Manager’s Competence on Information Coordination and Construction Method. There are two dimensions that impact Health and Safety performance indicator which are Effective Finance of Site Management for Health Safety Implementation and Capacity of Contractor for Project Management and Safety Programme. These different components of KPIs were used for the development of a dynamic Project Performance Diagnostic Model. The study emphasized the importance of contractor to cost performance and the design team commitment to time performance with the underlying relationship of the CSFs in predicting the KPIs.