Markets change, customer needs fluctuate, and technologies evolve; hence if construction organisations adhere strictly to a project management methodology that does not cater to these changes, they become incompetent, obsolete, and perish. Organisations face disruptions from increasing global competition, changing market demands and accelerating technological advancements.
To survive and be sustainable in this new normal, organisations are developing a culture that values project management, mastering various project management approaches and developing new skills to gain a competitive advantage. Changes happen so rapidly now that adopting a project management approach that embraces change is the only way to be successful.
Construction is risky, and sustaining this risky business in a high-risk environment needs an alternative project management methodology that can cater to these changes, reduce delivery times, improve customer satisfaction and improve return on investment.
Construction 4.0
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has changed how current business models function by decreasing market barriers to entry and how organisations compete in the market. The revolution in the construction industry termed Construction 4.0 was a fundamental change toward better digitisation.
Today, various innovative technologies and equipment exist, such as prefabrication, automation, three-dimensional (3D) printing, virtual reality, drones, sensors, information technology (IT) surveillance systems and applications, robots and mobile networking systems are being used to assist project management practitioners in better understanding the industrial processes in real time.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the pace of digital transformation, forcing many organisations worldwide to reflect on and rethink every aspect of their business, including the project management approaches they utilise.
Start-up organisations leverage disruptive technologies to compete and outperform established players in the market by efficiently addressing the gaps in the market. Mature organisations in the market with a legacy of long years but slow innovators must adopt an Agile mindset to survive in this competitive market.
Adoption Of AMP In Construction Industry
Even though there are several potential opportunities and benefits that agile methodologies yield that make them attractive, choosing an agile approach that does not address all the business needs of an organisation can introduce significant risk. The literature review shows that agile methods offer considerable potential for application in construction.
However, there are significant hurdles to their adoption in the actual phase, which should be overcome to reap the benefits. Hence, organisations must carefully assess their Agile readiness before adopting Agile methodology.
This study brings to the forefront, using qualitative analysis, the top five challenges foreseen by project management practitioners in the construction industry for adopting APM, which include:
1. Cultural Change
2. Resistance to Change
3. Inadequate Documentation
4. Inadequate Training
5. Lack of formal guidelines
To overcome these challenges, the project team and organisation should consider blending some elements of predictive project management, such as documentation of project activities and developing a formal organisational structure. Increased documentation in APM will make it easy for project organisations to manage quality, knowledge, and schedules.
An entire transition from predictive to APM comes with many problems; hence, a combined hybrid approach would be better than a complete switch. Traditional Project Management (TMP) and APM can co-exist and complement each other within the project management approach for the same project, which is called Hybrid Project Management.
Key Takeaways
This article contributes to the literature by establishing that apart from the people and process drivers, innovative technology that digitises, automates and integrates the process also drives an organisation to adopt APM. This research found that the three main drivers of APM in construction include people factors, Agile practices and Construction 4.0 (technologies that digitise, automate and integrate the construction process).
Thus, unless traditional organisations, such as construction organisations, adopt Agile and hybrid approaches, they risk becoming obsolete in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous digitalised world. It contributes to the theory by showing that Agile organisations are, in fact, built-to-change organisations with similar characteristics as set forth by Edward Lawler and Christopher Worley, with an emphasis on empowered cross-functional teams and servant leadership instead of individuals and shared leadership in built-to-change organisations. Therefore, adopting APM would serve construction organisations in sustaining the new normal.
In addition, it contributes to practice by providing a conceptual framework for Agile adoption with which project management practitioners in the construction industry can build capabilities and reinforce all the significant factors that influence the adoption of APM.
The construction processes where APM could be adopted in construction projects are design, planning and procurement. A step-by-step approach is considered reasonable for the gradual and successful adoption of APM rather than all at once, which may pose several risks and problems. This article recommends a combination of TPM and APM, i.e. Hybrid Project Management that would be the most appropriate approach to construction projects.
