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Abstract
The construction industry has never standardized methods for the planning and control of projects. This deficiency has been aggravated over the past decade by the ready availability, widespread use and expanding capabilities of the microcomputer. Microcomputers have given even the smallest of builders the capability of benefiting from modern project management techniques which only a few years before were available to only the larger and more sophisticated builders having access to mainframe computers.
To fulfill the construction industry's need for project management software, a flurry of project management software packages have been written or adapted from existing mini- and mainframe computer software packages for microcomputers. These microcomputer-based project management systems all have different computing and reporting capabilities and can produce varying results using identical input data. This has led to a great deal of confusion and problems in the planning, monitoring and controlling of construction projects by builders, designers and owners.
In addition, advances in management science which have been successfully applied in government and other industries have not been taken advantage of by the construction industry. These advances provide the potential for more effective risk management that should allow U.S. builders to successfully assume greater risks and become more competitive in the world marketplace.
The objective of this project was to define the characteristics of a model microcomputer-based project management system for the planning, monitoring and control of construction projects. This objective was met by first reviewing modern management techniques to identify those techniques that should be incorporated into a model project management system for the construction industry. Following this, a review of how project management is currently performed in the construction industry was made to make certain that the results of this project were compatible with the construction industry. A model project management system for the construction industry was then defined.