Abstract
Decision making is a relevant task in the building construction sector, and various systems and methods for decision support are emerging. By means of a systematic literature review, this article identifies the methods for decision making in building construction and the lifecycle phases for which decision support systems are proposed. The selected articles are analyzed and grouped according to the adopted decision-making methods and the defined lifecycle phases. The findings show that multiple criteria decision analysis is the most used method for decision support in building construction and that the construction phase is the most addressed phase within the relevant existing works. The findings related to the construction phase are further refined by grouping the articles into application areas and by reviewing in detail the proposed methods therein. The scarce availability of data and project cases is identified as the most common barrier for the successful development and implementation of decision support systems in the building construction sector. This work provides a basis for scientists and practitioners for identifying suitable methods for decision-making support in a specific lifecycle phase of a building.
Highlights
The adoption and development of computer and information technology for supporting decision-making activities is gaining importance in many business sectors
Existing decision support systems employ different methods for decision making to address specific problems in the construction lifecycle. To make this information on existing decision support systems available, we provide a comprehensive review of the application areas of decision support systems and the most used methods for decision making in the building construction sector
The results section is divided into the following subsections: description; (ii) decision support in building construction (RQ1–2); and (iii) decision support in the (i) data description; (ii) decision support in building construction (RQ1-2); and (iii) decision support construction phase (RQ3–4)
Summary
The adoption and development of computer and information technology for supporting decision-making activities is gaining importance in many business sectors. Construction is a business sector where adequate decision making is one of the key factors to achieve success [2]. Decision making is characterized by a high complexity [3], and there is an increasing need for adopting systems that can support these operations [2]. Decision making is based on available knowledge and information and can be considered as an evaluation of the potential effects of alternatives [3]. The evaluation of alternatives should consider available information, and the preferences and the knowledge of experts [4]
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