The analysis of information flow interdependencies within projects

Abstract

Information flow exchange within highly distributed, co-located, self-organising and networked projects is critical for successful planning, and ultimately, for successful infrastructure project delivery. While conventional project scheduling methods are still widely used as project support tools, most lack capacity for harnessing and exploiting both direct and indirect forms of information flow interdependency between activities in these project types. The present study sets out to develop and present a practical method for modelling and analysing information flow interdependencies in infrastructure projects. We propose and apply a five-stage approach, using an integrated form of Network Analysis augmented with fuzzy Cross-impact Matrix Multiplication Analysis. The findings classify project activities based on their dependency levels with other directly and indirectly related project activities. The novel contribution to project management practice is that key information flow interdependencies can thus be identified and then more effectively harnessed due to an enhanced ability to interpret the information with a clearer understanding of originating communication context.