Investigation of Critical Success Factors in Construction Project Briefing by Way of Content Analysis
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 132, Issue 11
Abstract
Construction project briefing is a complex and dynamic process which involves identifying and conveying clients’ actual needs and requirements accurately to the project team. The briefing process is critical to the successful delivery of a construction project and there are many limitations inhibiting its effectiveness. A study of factors which could contribute to a successful briefing (in this study referred to as critical success factors) will enable special attention to be paid to those areas which could improve its performance. The objectives of this study are to identify, categorize, and prioritize a general set of critical success factors for construction project briefing. This study is intended to complement the existing but limited research into the identification of such factors and to serve as a stepping stone to the identification and establishment of yardsticks which could be used by construction practitioners on all projects in the future. A questionnaire was used to collect opinions from experienced construction practitioners. Thirty seven factors were identified and coded, and the content analysis yielded five major categories. They include project-related factors, human-related factors, process-related factors, input-related factors, and output-related factors. Thirty six percent of respondents identified “open and effective communication” as the most frequently mentioned factor critical to briefing. Other important factors, in descending order of importance, include such as “clear and precise briefing documents,” “clear intention and objectives of client,” and “clear project goal and objectives.” This set of critical success factors can serve as a checklist for practitioners when conducting a briefing in their construction projects. The results of the questionnaire survey are generally in line with the findings of a validation exercise by a focus group meeting.
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Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper was supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Grant No. PolyU UNSPECIFIED5007/02E).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 132 • Issue 11 • November 2006
Pages: 1178 - 1186
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 6, 2005
Accepted: Mar 20, 2006
Published online: Nov 1, 2006
Published in print: Nov 2006
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