Optimal Selection of Integrated Project Procurement Strategies

Identifying an appropriate procurement strategy is vital for the success of construction projects. Several researchers have developed models for identifying elements of a project procurement strategy, but most of these models have failed to consider all elements of an integrated strategy. This research develops a comprehensive decision support system that provides a full solution for an integrated procurement strategy. The strategy includes 1) the procurement route, 2) contractual arrangements, 3) contract type, 4) tender method, and 5) preferred financial document. The developed system identifies the most suitable procurement strategy according to 1) project characteristics and 2) owner preferences. Two decision support tools were developed and compared as part of this research; case based reasoning (CBR) and decision trees (DT). A total of 37 cases of project procurement were collected from interviews with five subject matter experts. The cases were subsequently fed into the CBR and DT systems. Validation was undertaken using seven cases to compare between the outcomes of the system and the chosen procurement strategy. Results showed predictive accuracy of 91% for CBR and 89% for DT. The findings of the research indicate that both the CBR and DT provide reasonable predictive accuracy when supplied with sufficient training cases. The outcome of the research can be used as a guide for owners and project management consultants in the construction industry to enable more effective selection of integrated procurement strategies for new projects.