Benefits of collaborative ICT adoption for building project management

Benefits of collaborative ICTadoption for buildingproject management

Vanita AhujaNew Delhi, India

Jay YangFaculty of Built Environment and Engineering,

Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, and

Ravi ShankarDepartment of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,

New Delhi, India

Abstract

Purpose – Effective flow of data and communication at every stage of a construction project isessential for achieving required coordination and collaboration between the project participants,leading to successful management of the projects. In present scenario, when project participants aregeographically separated, adoption of information communication technology (ICT) enables sucheffective communication. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to focus on ICT adoption for buildingproject management.

Design/methodology/approach – It is difficult to quantitatively evaluate the benefits of ICTadoption in the multiple enterprise scenario of building project management. It requires qualitativeanalysis based on the perceptions of the construction professionals. The paper utilizes interpretivestructural modeling (ISM) technique to assess importance of perceived benefits and their drivingpower and dependence on other benefits.

Findings – The developed ISM model shows that all the categories of benefits, i.e. benefits related toprojects, team management, technology, and organization are inter-related and cannot be achieved inisolation. But, organization- and technology-related benefits have high-driving power and these are“strategic benefits” for the project team organizations. Thus, organizations are required to give moreattention on strategically increasing these benefits from application of ICT.

Originality/value – This analysis provides a road map to managers or project managementorganizations to decide that if they are planning ICT adoption for achieving certain benefits thenwhich are the other driving benefits that should be achieved prior to that and also which are thedependent benefits that would be achieved by default.

Keywords Buildings, Project management, Benefits, Communication technologies,Construction industry

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionConstruction projects require effective collaboration and coordination among thediverse project participants. It can be achieved by effective communication between allthe project participants. Such co-ordination and effective communication is crucial inorder to achieve quality standards and to reduce the cost of production effectively(Villagarcia and Cardoso, 1999).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1471-4175.htm

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Received 15 June 2007Accepted 11 September

2008

Construction InnovationVol. 9 No. 3, 2009

pp. 323-340q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1471-4175DOI 10.1108/14714170910973529

Construction projects are managed by designated project managers, architects,or contractors on behalf of the client or by the clients themselves depending upon thecontract and the project type. Effective communication is important to monitor andcontrol projects’ activities according to the project plans and for achieving project goals.Thus, the effectiveness of the project manager to communicate, evaluate, and feedbackto the rest of the project team during each stage of the project life-cycle determines howefficiently a project’s goals will be achieved (Alshawi and Ingirige, 2002).

Communication or data handling often takes about 75-90 percent of projectmanagers’ time in the construction industry (Fisher and Li Yin, 1992; Alshawi andIngirige, 2002). Information communication technology (ICT) is required not only tofree up project managers for more decision-making tasks but also to deliver therequired levels of “consistency and reliability” of information in the constructionsupply chains because use of incorrect or incomplete data can compromise thescheduled completion of a project and lead to wastage of resources (Sturges and Bates,2001). Multi-enterprise scenario of construction projects requires collaborative use ofICT by all the project team organizations, i.e. extent of ICT adoption for managing aproject is to be planned before the start of the project, leading to uniform ICT adoptionby all the project team organizations.

ICT is being adopted for construction project management. But to date, amethodology has not been developed for the construction industry to examine thepotential contributions of information management strategies in efforts to reduceoverall project schedule and cost (Back and Moreau, 2000). This inability to quantifyprocess improvements and uncertainty of benefits from process and cultural changes isone of the primary barriers for effective implementation of ICT for construction projectmanagement. As a result, the benefits of ICT adoption are primarily perception basedand not quantifiable and these perceived benefits define the extent of ICT adoption bythe construction industry. Certain benefits drive other benefits and certain benefits aredependent on some benefits. Construction professionals require understanding of thisdriving power and dependence relationship between the benefits to plan strategicadoption of ICT for building project management.

Research methodologyConstruction projects can be categorized under building construction projects andengineering or infrastructure projects. Requirement is to study ICT adoption for boththe categories of projects separately, as the characteristics of supply chain issues,management procedures, and contract conditions are different for both the categoriesof projects. In this research study, research variables are the perceived benefits of ICTadoption for building project management. Authors have identified 31 importantperceived benefits from literature and after discussion with the experts from theindustry and academics. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique has beenused to analyze the relation between these benefits and to understand the dependenceand driving power of each benefit with respect to other benefits. This analysis will helpthe managers to decide that, if they are planning ICT adoption for achieving certainbenefits then what are the other driving benefits that should be achieved prior to that,and also, what are the dependent benefits that would be achieved by default. It requiresexamination of direct and indirect relationships between the benefits of ICT adoptionrather than considering these benefits in isolation.

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ISM analysis led to the development of a model represented in the form of adiagram, showing the relationship between the studied variables. A questionnairesurvey was conducted in the Indian construction industry to assess the importance ofeach identified benefit as perceived by the organizations involved in managingbuilding projects. Results of ISM analysis were validated by comparison with theanalysis of the responses received through the questionnaire survey.

ISM has been used by researchers for understanding direct and indirectrelationships among various variables in different industries. It has been used tostudy higher education program planning (Hawthorne and Sage, 1975), energyconservation in Indian cement industry (Saxena and Sushil, 1992), vendor selectioncriteria (Mandal and Deshmukh, 1994), important elements for the implementation ofknowledge management in Indian industries (Singh et al., 2003), strategic decisionmaking in managerial groups (Bolanos and Nenclares, 2005) and barriers of reverselogistics (Ravi and Shankar, 2005).

However, in the literature, no evidence was found of use of ISM methodology forconstruction-related research. Watson (1978) has specifically discussed about ISM asan appropriate tool for technology deployment assessment and thus ISM wasconsidered appropriate for studying benefits of ICT adoption for building projectmanagement.

Benefits of ICT adoption for building project managementBenefits of ICT adoption for managing building projects and improving overallorganizational efficiency have been discussed in the literature. Some of the identifiedbenefits are: richer information to aid decision making, project information obtainedquicker, improved communication, closer relationships, improved information flow,and greater management control (Hendrickson and Au, 1989; Root and Thorpe, 2001;Love et al., 2004).

Egbu et al. (2001) have discussed that in a survey, the majority of intervieweesregarded information technology (IT) as speeding up communication and enablinggreater dissemination of written data. It was generally agreed that it is important foroverall organizational efficiency and for increased motivation among the teammembers. As per Jaafari and Manivong (1998), effective implementation of IT withinprojects, as well as the entire industry would improve the communication processes byan order of magnitude. They have further discussed in detail the various benefits ofthus improved communication process.

ICT adoption for increased collaboration between project team organizations hasbeen discussed in the literature. As per Villagarcia and Cardoso (1999), inter-companycommunication methods like electronic data interchange (EDI) improve suppliercoordination because they mould the suppliers into a common way of working. Backand Bell (1995) stress that electronic data management technologies create anopportunity to simplify and streamline communication and interdepartmentalcoordination, thus supporting new modes of teamwork and in many instances totalprocess reengineering.

Benefits of using internet as a communication tool and workspace for managingconstruction projects have been widely discussed (Alshawi and Ingirige, 2002; Chanand Leung, 2004). Some of the discussed benefits are increased speed of informationtransfer, cost effectiveness and requirement to transfer high volume of information

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across sites and the head office and between other firms. Specific internet-based toolshave also been discussed and highlighted as effective communication managementtools. As per O’Brien (2000), a project web site should provide a centralized, commonlyaccessible, reliable means of transmitting and storing project information, in theoryimproving project communication and leading to better projects. Benefits of suchweb-based systems have been identified as: reduced manual distribution costs,integration of project information, simple management of access rights, documentstorage and archiving, continuous access to project information, and minimal softwarerequirement. As per Chan et al. (2005), there are also intangible benefits associated withproject extranets, such as greater certainty of outcome in terms of cost and time, lessrisk of disputes due to reduced errors, greater collaboration across project teams, andless-wasted effort in the construction process. Veil et al. (2004) have discussed thebenefits of e-conferencing.

The inherent fast-track problem in construction projects is due to poorcommunication leading to re-work and scrap costs. Improved constructionsite-fabricator-designer communication through the intranet can produce substantialbenefits (Opfer, 1997). Using the internet, building project management teams canshare and transfer information electronically at a very low cost as compared with othercommunication means. Fisher and Li Yin (1992) inform that National EconomicDevelopment Office of the UK has argued that adoption of IT and EDI will cut UKbuilding costs by 15-25 percent.

Intranets level the playing field enabling small- and medium-sized contractors tohave the same high-tech profile as larger contractors. This can improve clientsatisfaction (Opfer, 1997).

The above, discussed literature study and discussions with the experts from theindustry and academics led to summarization of the identified benefits (Table I).Identified perceived benefits are categorized under four groups. Benefits related to:measures of project success, effective team management, effective use of technologyand increased organizational efficiency.

Interpretive structural modeling analysisISM is one of the tools of interactive management. ISM transforms unclear, poorlyarticulated mental models of a system into visible well-defined, hierarchical models. Itis a well-known methodology for identifying and summarizing relationships amongspecific elements, which define an issue or a problem and provides a means by whichorder can be imposed on the complexity of such elements (Mandal and Deshmukh,1994). Developed model is portrayed graphically as well as in words.

The ISM methodology is interpretive from the fact that the judgment of the groupdecides whether and how the variables are related. It is structural too, as on the basis ofrelationships; an overall structure is extracted from the complex set of variables. It is amodeling technique in which the specific relationships of the variables and the overallstructure of the system under consideration are portrayed in a digraph model (Ravi andShankar, 2005).

There are two concepts which underlie ISM and which are essential tounderstanding both the ISM process and the product. One is the concept ofreachability and the other is the concept of transitive inference (Watson, 1978). Both the

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concepts are discussed in the later sections of the paper. Through the use of theseconcepts, the ISM system offers a formal approach to structuring complex systems andis claimed to be more efficient and effective than less formal unassisted approaches(Watson, 1978).

Benefits related to measures of project success1 Project completion as per the estimated time2 Project completion as per the estimated

budget3 Project completion as per the specifications4 Life cycle concept becomes a competitive

factor5 Project information obtained in real time6 Richer information made available to managers7 Less time spent in query and approval process8 Effective change management9 Reduced risk of errors and rework on projects

10 Effective concurrent construction management11 A complete log of all communications maintained for

tracking purposes12 Effective material procurement and management13 Effective contract management14 “One-source” documentation archive maintained for

clients15 Client satisfaction16 Reduced administrative costs of document handling

and distribution to multiple parties17 Project managers spend more time on managerial

workBenefits related to effective team management18 Effective collaboration and coordination between

project team members19 Effective communication management between

project team members20 Greater management control21 Effective joint decision making22 Motivation of the workforceBenefits related to effective use of technology23 Increased information portability in the ICT

environment24 Reduced hard copy storage of documents/drawings25 Flow of accurate information26 Ease of retrieval of information27 Improved capability of the system to cross-reference

to other correspondence28 Multilocational availability of informationBenefits related to increased organizational efficiency29 Increase in overall organizational efficiency30 Better information assessment and management

within the organization31 Useful information compiled and disseminated to

other projects

Table I.Perceived benefits of ICT

adoption for buildingproject management

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The various steps involved in the ISM technique are as follows:

(1) Step 1. Variables affecting the system under consideration are listed, which canbe objectives, actions, individuals, etc.

(2) Step 2. A contextual relationship is established among variables with respect towhich pairs of variables would be examined.

(3) Step 3. A structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM) is developed for variables,which indicates pair-wise relationships among variables of the system underconsideration.

(4) Step 4. Reachability matrix is developed from the SSIM and the matrix ischecked for transitivity, leading to the development of “Final reachabilitymatrix.” The transitivity of the contextual relations is a basic assumption madein ISM. It states that if a variable A is related to B and B is related to C, then A isnecessarily related to C.

(5) Step 5. The “Final reachability matrix” obtained in Step 4 is partitioned intodifferent levels. Final reachability matrix is developed in its conical form, i.e.most zero (0) variables in the upper diagonal half of the matrix and most unitary(1) variables in the lower half.

(6) Step 6. Based on the relationships given in the reachability matrix and thedetermined levels for each variable, a directed graph is drawn and the transitivelinks are removed.

(7) Step 7. The resultant digraph is converted into an ISM by replacing variablenodes with statements.

(8) Step 8. The developed ISM model is reviewed to check for conceptualinconsistency and necessary modifications are made.

Structural self-interaction matrixConsultation and discussions with the experts from the industry and academics, helpedin identifying the relationships among the identified benefits. For analysis, acontextual relationship of “leads to” type was chosen. This means that one variableleads to another variable. Following four symbols were used to denote the direction ofrelationship between the benefits (i and j):

(1) V: benefit i will help achieve benefit j.

(2) A: benefit i will be achieved by benefit j.

(3) X: benefits i and j will help achieve each other.

(4) O: benefits i and j are unrelated.

The following description explains the use of relationships V, A, X and O in the SSIM(Table II):

. Benefit 11 helps achieve Benefit 27. This means that when “a complete log of allcommunications is maintained for tracking purposes” it “improves the capabilityof the system to cross reference to other correspondence.” Thus, the relationshipbetween Benefits 11 and 27 is denoted as “V” in the SSIM.

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. Benefit 21 can be achieved by Benefit 23. This means “Increased informationportability in the ICT environment” helps in “effective joint decision making.”Thus, the relationship between Benefits 21 and 23 is denoted as “A” in the SSIM.

. Benefits 20 and 21 help achieve each other. This means “greater managementcontrol” helps in achieving “joint decision making” and vice versa. Thus, therelationship between Benefits 20 and 21 is denoted as “X” in the SSIM.

. Benefits 1 and 24 are not related. This means that there is no direct relationbetween “Project completion as per the estimated time” and “reduced hard copystorage of documents/drawings.” Thus, the relationship between Benefits 1 and24 is denoted as “O” in the SSIM.

Similarly, relationships between all the benefits have been identified and denoted in theSSIM.

Reachability matrixSSIM is transformed into a binary matrix, called the initial reachability matrix bysubstituting V, A, X, O relationships by 1 and 0 as per the case. The rules for thesubstitution of 1 and 0 are as follows:

. If (i, j) entry in the SSIM is V, then (i, j) entry in the reachability matrix becomes 1and the ( j, i ) entry becomes 0.

. If (i, j) entry in the SSIM is A, then (i, j) entry in the reachability matrix becomes 0and ( j, i ) entry becomes 1.

Table II.Structural self-interaction

matrix

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. If (i, j) entry in the SSIM is X, then both (i, j) and ( j, i ) entries in the reachabilitymatrix become 1.

. If (i, j) entry in the SSIM is O, then both (i, j) and ( j, i ) entries in the reachabilitymatrix become 0.

The final reachability matrix is obtained by checking for transitivities as explained inthe Step 4. Table III shows the “Initial reachability matrix” and Table IV shows the“Final reachability matrix.” Table IV identifies the driving power and dependence ofeach benefit. The driving power of a benefit is the total number of benefits, which itmay help achieve including itself. The dependence of a benefit is the total number ofbenefits that may help in achieving it.

Level partitionsFrom the final reachability matrix, reachability and antecedent set (Warfield, 1974) foreach benefit are found. The reachability set for a particular variable consists of thevariable itself and the variables it drives. The antecedent set consists of the variableitself and the variables on which it depends. Subsequently, the intersection of these setsis derived for all the benefits. The variable(s) for which the reachability and theintersection sets are the same are given the top-level in the ISM hierarchy, as theywould not help achieve any other variable above their own level. After theidentification of the top-level variables, these are discarded from the other remainingvariables (Ravi and Shankar, 2005) and again the process is repeated. From Table V,it is seen that “Project completion as per the estimated time” (Benefit 1),

Table III.Initial reachability matrix

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“Project completion as per the estimated budget” (Benefit 2), “Project completion as perthe specifications” (Benefit 3), “Effective contract management” (Benefit 13), “Clientsatisfaction” (Benefit 15) and “Motivation of the workforce” (Benefit 22) were found atLevel I. Thus, these benefits are positioned at the top of the ISM model. Table VI showsthe levels for each benefit obtained after 11 iterations.

Developing conical matrixA conical matrix is developed by clustering benefits at the levels achieved, across rowsand columns in the final reachability matrix. Table VII shows the final reachabilitymatrix in the conical form. Most zero (0) variables are in the upper diagonal half of thematrix and most unitary (1) variables are in the lower half.

ISM-based modelThe identified levels help in building the digraph and the final model of ISM. Based onthe conical form of reachability matrix, the initial diagraph including transitive links isobtained. After removing the indirect links, the final diagraph or ISM-based model isobtained. Figure 1 shows the final ISM-based model. It is observed that “Increasedinformation portability in the ICT environment” (Benefit 23) and “ease of retrieval ofinformation” (Benefit 26) form the base of the ISM hierarchy and “client satisfaction”(Benefit 15) and “motivation of workforce” (Benefit 22) are at the top and reflect theeffectiveness of all the benefits.

If Benefit 23 is achieved, it leads to “increase in overall organizational efficiency”(Benefit 29) and in “maintaining a complete log of all communications for trackingpurposes” (Benefit 11), which further helps in “flow of accurate information” (Benefit25), “improved capability of the system to cross reference to other correspondence”(Benefit 27) and “less time spent in query and approval process” (Benefit 7).

Table IV.Final reachability matrix

with transitivities (1)

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Benefits 23 and 26 help in achieving “effective communication management” betweenproject team members (Benefit 19). “Effective communication management” leads to“maintaining a complete log of all communications,” “improved capability of thesystem to cross reference to other correspondence” (Benefit 27) and “flow of accurate

Benefits Reachability set Antecedent set Intersection set Level

1 1-3, 13, 15, 22 1-3, 5-15, 17-23, 25-30, 31 1-3, 13, 15, 22 I2 1-3, 13, 15, 22 1-31 1-3, 13, 15, 22 I3 1-3, 13, 15, 22 1-3, 5-13, 15, 17-23, 25-30,

311-3, 13, 15, 22 I

4 2, 4, 15, 22 4-9, 11, 17, 18-21, 23,25-30, 31

4

5 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 27, 30, 31 5-9, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25-30 5-9, 18, 19, 21, 27, 306 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 30, 31 5-9, 11, 14, 18, 19, 21, 23,

25-30, 315-9, 18, 19, 21, 30, 31

7 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 30, 31 5-9, 11, 18-21, 23, 25-30 5-9, 18-21, 308 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22 5-9, 11, 17, 18-21, 23,

25-30, 315-9, 17-21

9 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22 5-9, 11, 17, 18-21, 23,25-30, 31

5-9, 17-21

10 1-3, 10, 13, 15, 22 5-12, 17, 18-21, 23, 25-30,31

10

11 1-4, 6-22, 25, 27, 30, 31 11, 18, 19, 22, 26, 28 11, 18, 1912 1-3, 10, 12, 13, 15, 22 5-9, 11, 12, 17, 18-21, 23,

25-30, 3112

13 1-3, 13, 15, 22 1-3, 5-13, 15-31 1-3, 13, 15, 22 I14 1, 2, 6, 14, 15, 22, 27, 31 11, 14, 19, 23, 28 1415 1-3, 13, 15, 22 1-31 1-3, 13, 15, 22 I16 2, 13, 15, 16, 22 5-9, 11, 16, 18, 19, 21,

23-3016

17 1-4, 8-10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20-22 5-9, 11, 17, 18-21, 23,25-30, 31

8, 9, 17, 20, 21

18 1-13, 15-22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31 5-9, 11, 18-21, 23, 25-31 5-9, 11, 18-21, 25, 27, 28,30, 31

19 1-22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31 5-9, 11, 18, 19, 21, 23,25-30

5-9, 11, 18, 19, 21, 25,27, 28, 30

20 1-4, 7-10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20-22 5-9, 11, 17, 18-21, 23,25-30, 31

7-9, 17, 18, 20, 21

21 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 30 5-9, 11, 17, 18-21, 23,25-30, 31

5-9, 17-21, 30

22 1-3, 13, 15, 22 1-31 1-3, 13, 15, 22 I23 1-25, 27-31 23 2324 2, 13, 15, 16, 22, 24 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 28 2425 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 25, 30, 31 11, 18, 19, 23, 25, 26, 28 18, 19, 2526 1-13, 15-22, 24-28, 30, 31 26 2627 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 27, 30, 31 5, 11, 14, 18, 19, 23, 26-30 5, 18, 19, 27, 3028 1-22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31 18, 19, 23, 26, 28 18, 19, 2829 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 27, 29-31 23, 29 2930 1-10, 12, 13, 15-22, 27, 30, 31 5-7, 11, 18, 19, 21, 23,

25-315-7, 18, 19, 21, 27, 30, 31

31 1-4, 6, 8-10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18,20-22, 30, 31

5-7, 11, 14, 18, 19, 23,25-31

6, 18, 30, 31Table V.Iteration I

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information” (Benefit 25). Multilocational availability of information (Benefit 28) andBenefit 19 are interdependent and Benefit 28 also helps in “maintaining a complete logof all communications” and “improved capability of the system to cross reference toother correspondence.”

Benefit 11 helps in “providing clients with a complete one source documentationarchive” (Benefit 14), which further helps in “compilation of useful information forother projects” (Benefit 31).

Levels Benefits Types

I 1 Project completion as per the estimated time Projects related2 Project completion as per the estimated budget Projects related3 Project completion as per the specifications Projects related

13 Effective contract management Projects related15 Client satisfaction Projects related22 Motivation of the workforce Team management related

II 4 Life cycle concept becomes a competitive factor Projects related10 Effective concurrent construction management Projects related16 Reduced administrative costs of document handling

and distribution to multiple partiesProjects related

III 12 Effective material procurement and management Projects related24 Reduced hard copy storage of documents/drawings Technology related

IV 8 Effective change management Projects related9 Reduced risk of errors and rework on projects Projects related

18 Effective collaboration and coordination betweenproject team members

Team management related

20 Greater management control Team management related21 Effective joint decision making Team management related17 Project managers spend more time on managerial

workProjects related

V 6 Richer information made available to managers Projects related30 Better information assessment and management

within the organizationOrganization related

31 Useful information compiled and disseminated toother projects

Organization related

VI 5 Project information obtained in real time Projects related7 Less time spent in query and approval process Projects related

VII 25 Flow of accurate information Technology related27 Improved capability of the system to cross-reference

to other correspondenceTechnology related

VIII 14 “One-source” documentation archive maintained forclients

Projects related

IX 11 A complete log of all communications maintained fortracking purposes

Projects related

19 Effective communication management betweenproject team members

Team management related

X 28 Multilocational availability of information Technology related29 Increase in overall organizational efficiency Organization related

XI 23 Increased information portability in the ICTenvironment

Technology related

26 Ease of retrieval of information Technology relatedTable VI.

Levels of benefits

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Benefits 25 and 27 are not dependent on each other, but collectively help in “providingricher information to managers for decision making” (Benefit 6), which helps in“improved information assessment and management within the organization”(Benefit 30), which also helps in achieving Benefit 31 and this further leads toBenefit 6 since information from previous similar projects always helps the managersto plan the projects better.

“Effective communication management” helps the project team to “obtain theproject information quicker and in real time” (Benefit 5) which further improves the“query and approval process” that is also affected by Benefits 25 and 27. Benefit 5 alsoaffects Benefit 27, but has gone up one level in the ISM model because “improved queryand approval process” (Benefit 7) is affected by “improved capability of the system tocross reference to other correspondence” (Benefit 27) but does not affect it evenindirectly.

Benefits 5-7 and 19 are interdependent to “effective collaboration and coordinationbetween project team members” (Benefit 18) and are at lower levels in the ISM modelbecause they also collectively help in achieving “better information assessment andmanagement within the organization” (Benefit 30), which further affects Benefit 18.

Benefit 6, 30 and other related benefits help the “managers to spend more time onmanagerial work” (Benefit 17), which further helps in “effective change management”(Benefit 8) leading to “reduced risk of errors and rework on the projects” (Benefit 9),which is a measure of “effective collaboration and coordination between the projectteam members” (Benefit 18), but is also helped by it. Benefit 18 and “effective jointdecision making” (Benefit 21) are interdependent and help in achieving “greater

Table VII.Conical form ofreachability matrix

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management control” (Benefit 20). “Effective joint decision making” helps in improvingthe “query and approval process” (Benefit 7), but is two levels above it in the ISMmodel, because Benefit 7 affects Benefits 6 and 30 which further help in achieving“effective joint decision making.”

“Effective change management,” “greater management control” and other benefitshelp in “effective material procurement and management” (Benefit 12), which furtherhelps to complete the project within the estimated time (Benefit 1) and cost (Benefit 2)and “effective contract management” (Benefit 13), which further help in achievingincreased “client satisfaction” (Benefit 15). “Effective communication management”

Figure 1.ISM-based model

2. Project completion as per the estimated budget

3. Project completion as per the specifications

1. Project completion as per the estimated time

10. Effective concurrentconstruction management

12. Effective material procurement andmanagement

17. Project managers spend more time on managerial work

8. Effective changemanagement

9. Reduced risk of errorsand rework on projects

6. Richer information madeavailable to managers

5. Project information obtained in real time

25. Flow of accurate information

11. A complete log of all communicationsmaintained for tracking purposes

28. Multilocational availability of information

23. Increased information portability in the ICT environment 26. Ease of retrieval of information

29. Increase in overall organizational efficiency

19. Effective communication managementbetween project team members

14. “One source” documentationarchive maintained for clients

27. Improved capability of the system to crossreference to other correspondence

30. Better information assessment andmanagement within the organisation

18. Effective collaboration andcoordination between projectteam members

24. Effective jointdecision-making

20. Greater management control

24. Reduced hard copy storage ofdocuments/drawings

26. Reduced administrative cost of documenthandling and distribution to multiple parties

13. Effective contract management

22. Motivation of the workforce 15. Clientsatisfaction

31. Useful information compiledand disseminated to other projects

7. Less time spent in query and approval process

4. Life cycle concept becomes a competitivefactor

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(Benefit 19) reduces the “hard copy filing/storage of documents/drawings” (Benefit 24),which further helps in reducing the “administrative cost of document handling anddistribution to multiple parties” (Benefit 16) and reducing the project cost (Benefit 2).These two benefits help in achieving increased “client satisfaction.”

“Effective collaboration and coordination” and other benefits help in multiple designalternatives to be assessed leading to “Life cycle concept becoming a competitivefactor” (Benefit 4), which helps in completing the project in estimated cost (Benefit 2)and leads to “Client satisfaction.” “Effective change management,” “reduced risk oferrors” and other benefits lead to application of “concurrent constructionmanagement,” which further helps in completing the “project on time,” “effectivecontract management,” “increased client satisfaction” and also leads to “motivation ofthe workforce” (Benefit 22).

“Effective change management,” “reduced risk of errors” and other benefits alsolead to completing the project “as per the specifications” (Benefit 3), which “satisfies theclient” and “motivates the workforce.” Project completion on time also increases thechances of “Project completion within the estimated cost” and successful projectcompletion is an indication of “effective contract management” and satisfies the clientand motivates the workforce for future projects.

MICMAC analysisThe objective of the cross-impact matrix-multiplication applied to classification(MICMAC) analysis is to analyze the driving power and the dependence of thevariables (Mandal and Deshmukh, 1994). Driving power and dependence of eachbenefit is shown in the final reachability matrix (Table IV).

The benefits are classified into four clusters (Figure 2). The first cluster consists ofthe “autonomous benefits” that have weak driving power and weak dependence. Thesebenefits are relatively disconnected from the system, with which they have only fewlinks, which may be strong. Benefits 14 (“one source” documentation archivemaintained for clients) and 24 (reduced hard copy storage of documents/drawings)come under this category. Second cluster consists of the dependent benefits that haveweak driving power but strong dependence on other benefits. These benefits primarilycome at the top of the ISM model. Top-level benefits in the ISM model like “Clientsatisfaction” (15), “motivation of the workforce” (22), “effective contract management”(13), “project completion as per the estimated time, budget and specifications” (1-3), etc.come under this category. Third cluster has the linkage benefits that have strongdriving power and also strong dependence. These benefits are unstable because of thefact that any action on these benefits will have an effect on other benefits and also afeedback on themselves. Primarily, middle-level benefits like “effective collaborationand coordination” (18) and “effective communication management between projectteam members” (19) come under this category because these benefits are dependent onother benefits but also drive top-level benefits. Fourth cluster includes the independentbenefits having strong driving power but weak dependence. These benefits primarilylie at the bottom of the ISM model like “ease of retrieval of information” (26) and“multilocational availability of information” (28).

The benefits, which lie in the third cluster, need special attention and proactiveattention from the management, since these have high-driving power but they are alsodependent on other benefits.

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DiscussionThe developed ISM model provides a structure to the complex issue of the importance ofperceived benefits of ICT adoption for building project management. It shows that theproject-related benefits are primarily at the top of hierarchy, team management-relatedbenefits are primarily in the middle and technology and organization-related benefits areprimarily at the bottom of hierarchy. But, organization and technology-related benefitshave high-driving power and these are “strategic benefits” for the project teamorganizations. Thus, organizations are required to give more attention on strategicallyincreasing these benefits from application of ICT and if application of ICT for generaladministration in the organization is matured, appropriate IT tools are included in theworking framework and team management issues are planned at the earlier stages of theproject, then project-related benefits would be achieved by default. The four groups ofbenefits are inter-related and cannot be achieved in isolation. This analysis provides aroad map to managers or project management organizations to decide that if they areplanning ICT adoption for achieving certain benefits then what are the other drivingbenefits that should be achieved prior to that and also what are the dependent benefitsthat would be achieved by default. Thus, it forms an important component of thebenefits management plan for the building project management organizations.

Validation of ISM-based model and future scope of workA questionnaire survey was conducted in the Indian construction industry to assessthe use of IT tools and ICT for general administration and building project

Figure 2.MICMAC analysis

23

26

2911

28

31302928272625242322212019181716151413

Dri

ving

Pow

er

121110987654321

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Dependence

Note: Driving power and dependence diagram

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

25 27 5,30

31

20

17

12

3 1 13 2,15,2210

1624

14

4

1918

7 6218,9

CLUSTER III

CLUSTER II

Linkage Benefits

Dependent Benefits

CLUSTER I

Autonomous Benefits

CLUSTER IV

Independent/Driving Benefits

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management by the construction organizations. The questionnaire had differentsections, but to remain within the scope and objective of this paper, the section of thequestionnaire dealing with benefits of ICT adoption for construction projectmanagement is discussed.

This section contained identified 31 perceived benefits as listed in Table I. Therespondents were asked to rate the importance of each benefit on a five-point Likertscale. On this scale, 1 and 5 corresponded to “not important” and “most important”,respectively, whereas 3 corresponded to “moderately important.” In total, 149 completeresponses were received and analyzed. Responses of this section were tested forreliability by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. The value was 0.8, which is acceptable(Carmines and Zeller, 1979 cited in Prahinski and Benton, 2004; Nunnaly, 1978 cited inSantos, 1999).

The scores for each group of benefits were aggregated and Pearson correlation wascalculated among the four groups of benefits (Table VIII). Data analysis shows thatthere are significant correlations among the four groups of benefits.

This validates the results obtained from ISM analysis that all the four groups ofbenefits are inter-related and cannot be achieved in isolation.

Future scope of work included complete questionnaire survey data analysis formapping ICT adoption for building project management and studying perceptions ofproject managers for perceived barriers, enablers, and industry drivers affecting ICTadoption for building project management. ISM analysis discussed in this paper andfurther data analysis led to the development of a causal model of relationships betweenfactors affecting ICT adoption for building project management. The model was testedthrough structural equation modeling analysis.

ConclusionResearchers and building project managers have identified the benefits of adoption ofICT for building project management. But, the measure of these benefits is perceptionbased as it is difficult to quantitatively assess these benefits in the multiple enterprisescenario of the construction industry. Construction professionals requireunderstanding of the driving power and dependence relationship between thebenefits to plan the method of ICT adoption in their organizations and for buildingproject management. Paper has utilized ISM analysis as a technique to understandsuch a relationship between the identified benefits of ICT adoption for building projectmanagement and the developed model can form an important component of thebenefits management plan of building project management organizations leading tostrategic adoption of ICT by these organizations. The developed model shows thatorganization, and technology-related benefits have high-driving power and these are

Project success Team management Technology Organization

Project success 1.000Team management 0.540 * 1.000Technology 0.503 * 0.707 * 1.000Organization 0.452 * 0.637 * 0.653 * 1.000

Note: *Correlation is significant at: p , 0.01 level (two-tailed)

Table VIII.Correlation among fourgroups of benefits

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“strategic benefits” for the project team organizations. Thus, organizations arerequired to give more attention on strategically increasing these benefits and ifapplication of ICT for general administration in the organization is matured,appropriate IT tools are included in the working framework and team managementissues are planned at the earlier stages of the project, then project-related benefitswould be achieved by default. Also, the four groups of benefits are inter-related andcannot be achieved in isolation. The results of ISM analysis are further validatedthrough a questionnaire survey data analysis. ISM analysis studies perceptions ofIndian construction managers. But, the results can be generalized for other countriesafter due considerations as the benefits were identified after an extensive literaturereview.

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Corresponding authorVanita Ahuja can be contacted at: [email protected]

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