Abstract
Construction projects are of very complex nature, and subject to circumstances of high uncertainties and risks due to the interdependences of activities and processes in the project performance. As a result of the dynamic complexities inherited in construction projects, changes in the scope of work are inevitable. Of particular concern is that, when scope changes are introduced in a project, contractors follow a systematic procedure in managing the changes, but with poor planning and implementation thereof because the project complexities that underpin the scope changes are not fully understood. Therefore, despite that complexity is an inherent and defining feature of construction projects, studies in the literature have failed to grasp and present the dynamics of project complexity which underlie the scope changes in the delivery of construction project. The TOE (Technical Organizational Environmental) framework was adopted and applied on a multiple-case study research design in order to explore and denote project complexity relations to scope changes in construction projects. Through a content analysis procedure, six key elements of project complexities that relate to scope changes in the construction projects has emerged. Understanding these complexity elements could enable the project management team to apply a front-end planning approach in the initiation phase of the projects in order to better manage scope changes in the execution phase of the project, and eventually to improve the project performance.
Highlights
Scope Changes in construction projects are very common and likely to occur from different sources, by various causes, at any stage of the project, and as a result, may have considerable negative impacts on items such as costs and schedule delays (Hao, et al, 2008; Moayeri, Moselhi and Zhu, 2017), and quality (Pilehchian, Staub-French and Prasad, 2015) performance
Through the content analysis procedure, six elements of project complexity relating to the scope changes in construction projects has emerged
This study argues that construction projects by its very own nature are dynamic and complexity, and as such, scope changes is inevitable during the project delivery
Summary
Scope Changes in construction projects are very common and likely to occur from different sources, by various causes, at any stage of the project, and as a result, may have considerable negative impacts on items such as costs and schedule delays (Hao, et al, 2008; Moayeri, Moselhi and Zhu, 2017), and quality (Pilehchian, Staub-French and Prasad, 2015) performance. Though the New Engineering Contract (NEC) is commended for its change management procedures in term of the use of Early Warnings (EW) and Compensation of Event (CE) respectively (Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), 2005; NEC, 2020), the assessment of the CE is always on the basis of its effect on the prices and the completion date (NEC, 2005), omitting the influence on changes in the scope of work. In the mist of these uncertainties in relation to the application of the construction contract, this study provides in-depth empirical insight to advance the understanding of the project complexities leading to scope changes. To determine the elements that contribute to environmental complexity in construction projects, Bosch-Rekveldt et al (2010) probed the following questions: What is the number of stakeholders (internal and external) around the table? In the view of all the factors mentioned above, it is evident that scope change is inevitable in construction projects, the NEC contracts make provision for scope change control (Table 2)
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