Abstract
Project managers (PMs) play a key role in the successful completion of construction projects. Therefore, PM competencies have been heavily investigated over the past few decades, often focusing on two types of skills: hard skills, including technical knowledge; and soft skills, including personal traits. This extensive body of knowledge was lacking the focus on PMs of transportation projects who work in a state highway agency (SHA). This research addresses this gap by developing a comprehensive competency assessment model tailored for SHA PMs. This research identified 55 PM essential competencies spanning five categories: project management knowledge and experience; leadership; SHA operational knowledge and experience; industry knowledge and experience; and cognitive/personal effectiveness. Also, by collecting extensive data from 90 PMs, this research developed a mathematical model to compute competency weights for differentiating exceptional and average PMs. The weights were then used to create a comprehensive score that can assess PM competencies as an overall percentage. This score was benchmarked using the collected data to distinguish between exceptional and average PMs. To effectively communicate the research findings to industry practitioners, a computer-based tool was created. This tool assists SHAs and their PMs in assessing competencies, and identifies training needs to improve overall PM performance and skill sets. The tool was tested and validated by five Wisconsin Department of Transportation PM supervisors, all of whom acclaimed its accuracy and potential value.
Highlights
Transportation construction projects are a key component of the construction industry
By reviewing the analysis provided in table 7, it can be concluded that the questions that had the most impact on the scores of the Project Managers (PMs) were ones related to communication, stakeholder management, and dealing with complex issues during the project lifecycle, like changes
The capabilities and skills of PMs have been heavily researched in recent years
Summary
Transportation construction projects are a key component of the construction industry People interact with their products on a daily basis and they can have a huge impact on their everyday experiences. As the average State Highway Agency (SHA) projects become more complex in terms of technology and scope, the competencies of PMs must evolve and expand to include skills and traits needed for their challenging roles. The term ‘soft skills’ refers to a different set of competencies needed by PMs that are more difficult to measure and improve. These competencies usually reflect personal traits and personality attributes which affect the PM’s performance. These competencies usually include leadership aspects as well as cognitive traits that exceptional PMs should have
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