Critical Success Factors for Different Project Objectives
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 125, Issue 3
Abstract
The identification of key factors for construction project success enables appropriate allocation of limited resources. Most of the related past work only identified critical success factors for construction projects in general. The present study seeks to distinguish these factors according to the project objectives of budget, schedule, and quality. The analytic hierarchy process is adopted to determine the relative importance of success-related factors. A hierarchical model for construction project success is presented. Sixty-seven success-related factors are considered. These factors are grouped under four main project aspects, namely, project characteristics, contractual arrangements, project participants, and interactive processes in the hierarchical model for project success. A questionnaire was developed to facilitate systematic data collection in this study. Experts with an overall average of 20 years of experience in the construction industry were invited to participate in the survey. Critical success factors addressing budget performance, schedule performance, quality performance, and overall project success are identified. Some pertinent findings of the study are discussed. Comparisons with findings of previous studies using neural network approach are also presented.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Alarcon, L. F., and Ashley, D. B. (1996). “Modeling project performance for decision making.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 122(3), 265–273.
2.
Baker, B. N., Murphy, D. C., and Fisher, D. ( 1983). “Factors affecting project success.” Project management handbook, D. I. Cleland and W. R. King, eds., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 669–685.
3.
Chan, D. W. M., and Kumaraswamy, M. M. ( 1997). “A comparative study of causes of time overruns in Hong Kong construction projects.” Int. J. Proj. Mgmt., 15(1), 55–63.
4.
Chua, D. K. H., Kog, Y. C., Loh, P. K., and Jaselskis, E. J. (1997). “Model for construction budget performance—Neural network approach.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 123(3), 214–222.
5.
Construction Management Committee of the ASCE Construction Division. (1991). “Constructability and constructability programs: White paper.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 117(1), 67–89.
6.
Diekmann, J. E., and Girard, M. J. (1995). “Are contract disputes predictable?”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 121(4), 335–363.
7.
Dozzi, S. P., AbouRizk, S. M., and Schroeder, S. L. (1996). “Utility-theory model for bid markup decisions.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 122(2), 119–124.
8.
Expert choice for Windows, user manual. (1996). Expert Choice Inc., Pittsburgh.
9.
Gordon, C. M. (1994). “Choosing appropriate construction contracting method.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 120(1), 196–210.
10.
Hadipriono, F. C., and Chang, K. S. ( 1988). “Knowledge base development for international construction operations.” Civ. Engrg. Sys., 5, 220–226.
11.
Jaselskis, E. J., and Ashley, D. B. (1991). “Optimal allocation of project management resources for achieving success.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 117(2), 321–340.
12.
Jeffery, P. ( 1985). “Project managers and major projects.” Proj. Mgmt., 3(4), 225–230.
13.
Kog, Y. C., Chua, D. K. H., Loh, P. K., and Jaselkis, E. J. ( 1999). “Key determinants for construction schedule performance.” Int. J. of Proj. Mgmt., in press.
14.
Larson, E. (1995). “Project partnering: Results of study of 280 construction projects.”J. Mgmt. Engrg., ASCE, 11(2), 30–35.
15.
Lim, E. C. ( 1993). “Influence of management and labour on construction productivity in Singapore.” Build. Res. and Information, 12(5), 296–303.
16.
Macomber, J. D. ( 1989). “You can manage construction risks.” Harvard Business Rev., 67(2), 155–165.
17.
Might, R. J., and Fisher, W. A. ( 1985). “The role of structural factors in determining project management success.” IEEE Trans. on Engrg. Mgmt., 32(2), 71–77.
18.
Mohsini, R. A., and Davidson, C. H. ( 1992). “Determinants of performance in the traditional building process.” Constr. Mgmt. and Economics, 10(4), 343–359.
19.
Nahapiet, J., and Nahapiet, H. ( 1985). The management of construction projects—Case studies from the USA and UK. The Chartered Institute of Building, U.K.
20.
Paek, J. H., Lee, Y. W., and Napier, T. R. (1992). “Selection of design/build proposal using fuzzy-logic system.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 118(2), 303–317.
21.
Pinto, J. K., and Slevin, D. P. ( 1987). “Critical factors in successful project implementation.” IEEE Trans. on Engrg. Mgmt., 34(1), 22–27.
22.
Pocock, J. B., Hyun, C. T., Liu, L. Y., and Kim, M. K. (1996). “Relationship between project interaction and performance indicators.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 122(2), 165–176.
23.
Saaty, T. L. ( 1980). The analytic hierarchy process: Planning, priority setting, resources allocation. McGraw-Hill, London, England.
24.
Saaty, T. L., and Vargas, L. G. ( 1991). Prediction, projection and forecasting. Kluwer Academic, Boston.
25.
Sanvido, V., Parfitt, K., Guveris, M., and Coyle, M. (1992). “Critical success factors for construction projects.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 118(1), 94–111.
26.
Ward, S. C., Curtis, B., and Chapman, C. B. ( 1991). “Objectives and performance in construction projects.” Constr. Mgmt. and Economic, 9(4), 343–353.
27.
Yeomans, K. A. ( 1979). Statistics for the social scientist 2: Applied statistics. Penguin Education, Middlesex, England.
28.
Zahedi, F. ( 1986). “The analytic hierarchy process—A survey of the method and its applications.” Interfaces, 96–108.
29.
Zall, D. C., Laufer, A., Shapira, A., and Howell, G. A. (1994). “Process of planning during construction.”J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 120(3), 561–578.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
History
Published online: Jun 1, 1999
Published in print: Jun 1999
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.