Radhlinah Aulin

Assessing understanding of planning and scheduling theory and practice on construction projects

Abstract Despite attention being paid to the development of planning and scheduling theory, it is unclear whether project stakeholders and practitioners have sufficient understanding about how it applies in practice. A study was conducted with the aim of assessing practitioners’ perceptions of planning and scheduling theory and practice on construction projects in Oman. Data were gathered through a questionnaire-based survey and analyzed using the relative importance index. Respondents were asked to consider: (1) the suitability and efficiency of existing planning methods; (2) scheduling development and performance control; and (3) knowledge-based planning and scheduling concepts. The analysis revealed no significant variations among respondents’ perceptions in regard to the above topics. The findings did, however, reveal a number of factors that are of equal importance to the development of project planning and scheduling. The overall findings imply that practicing managers should implement new management strategies that foster knowledge-based planning and scheduling concepts for a more effective construction process. Recommendations are made for improvement that include the need for practicing managers to professionalize project planning and scheduling based on a more proactive and knowledge-based planning approach, which is supported by management.

A taxonomy of planning and scheduling methods to support their more efficient use in construction project management

Purpose The implementation and control processes of project planning and scheduling involve a wide range of methods and tools. Despite the development and modification and integration of the project management theory with newer scheduling approaches in particular, practitioners’ views on the efficiency and effectiveness of these methods and tools differ. This situation can be attributed in part to a lack of understanding of the most appropriate basis for implementing these methods and tools. This study, therefore, aims to overcome this deficiency by conceptualizing and adopting a taxonomy of planning and scheduling methods. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a review and discourse analysis of the literature covering a large number of theoretical and empirical studies. The underlying theories of various planning and scheduling methods were analyzed with respect to the taxonomy criteria adopted in the study. Findings Using the taxonomy, the key characteristics of planning and scheduling methods considered in this study were identified and interpreted. These included concepts and theories; key features; suitability and usability; and benefits and limitations. Overall, the findings suggest that project managers should consider taxonomy as a support tool for selecting and prioritizing the most appropriate method or combination of methods for managing their projects. Recommendations include the need for more advanced or multi-dimensional taxonomies to cope with the diversity of project type and size. Originality/value The results of the study allow project managers to improve their current practices by utilizing taxonomy when considering the implementation of planning and scheduling methods. Moreover, taxonomy can be considered as a tool to promote learning on the part of those less experienced in planning and scheduling. Taxonomy can be considered as an initial platform for further research in this area.

Understanding Management Roles and Organisational Behaviour in Planning and Scheduling Based on Construction Projects in Oman

There are many challenges associated with the construction processes of planning and scheduling. These challenges are relevant to all project parties or stakeholders and therefore management roles or organisational behaviours of those parties have to be properly considered and assessed. With this in mind, this study is aimed at assessing practitioners’ perspectives on the current significance and applicability of a set of criteria or factors concerned with management roles and organisational behaviour of the different parties based on construction projects in Oman. The study has adopted a quantitative approach in which a questionnaire-based survey was chosen and conducted to gather responses from construction projects in Oman. A total of 67 valid responses were analysed based on the rankings and means of the respondents’ perspectives on the significance and applicability of the identified factors to current practice. The overall findings indicated that all investigated factors should be critically considered as equally important to the development process of planning and scheduling. Nevertheless, the findings implied that a management priority should be given to the most important factors significantly affecting project planning and scheduling. The study provides some useful recommendations on how to improve project management (PM) roles and organizational behaviours (OB) in planning and scheduling on the part of key project parties. (Less)

Towards Improving Management Roles and Operational Behavior in Planning and Scheduling: A Perspective from Oman Construction Projects

Implementation and control of planning and scheduling of construction project require high level of coordination by all parties involved. Therefore, the management role and operational behavior of each party should be properly addressed. Literature review showed that little research was directed towards identifying and assessing efficiency of such management roles and organizational behaviors. This paper focuses on the analysis and discussion of responses to an openended questions survey that examined the practitioners’ opinions towards the management roles and operational behaviors. The results revealed common factors regarded as important management roles in promoting the current practice in planning and scheduling. These included: (a) efficient forecast of resources for non-aggressive schedules; (b) effective conformance-measures of schedule quality control; (c) well-defined prioritizing system for resource assignment in scheduling; (d) proficient participation of clients in setting-out the planning roles, needs and constraints; (e) proactive assessment of human and nonhuman aspects on scheduling performance; (f) fostering new technology or visualization tools for supporting scheduling control; and (g) usefulness of feedback and communicating systems in scheduling. The study provides a new insight towards evaluating the significant project management roles and behaviors for the best likelihoods of enhancing the implementation of planning and scheduling in a more efficient