To build or not to build? Assessing the strategic needs of construction industry clients and their stakeholders

Abstract

The pre‐design stage of construction projects has become a focal point in design management research in the last decade, as it is primarily the source of problems such as rework, change orders, and contractual claims. In particular, it is widely acknowledged that client briefing is an intractable problem which many projects encounter. Primarily this is because little attention is given to assessing the needs of the client, stakeholders and those of the design team. With this in mind, this paper presents a soft system approach known as strategic needs analysis (SNA) to assist clients, stakeholders and their design teams in determining their strategic needs for a given project. The rationale for using a SNA approach during the early stages of the project development process and in relation to the strategic environment of the client organization is presented and discussed. The SNA process is described and applied to two case study projects. It is concluded that SNA can improve the strategic decision‐making process of a project, as clients are able to identify their strategic needs and thus improve the effectiveness of the briefing process.

Large Scale Infrastructure Projects: The Art of Project or Change Management?

“…As a result, it is important to define the overall design principles and design requirements based on a significant analysis of the environment's trends and needs in order to appropriately assess both internal and external factors that can influence the success of the project (Love, Holt, Shen, Li, & Irani, 2002). Defining a design strategy that is aligned with the overall environment and the strategic needs of the client and stakeholders during the pre-design stage of construction projects can be the source of change orders, rework and contractual claims (Smith, Love, & Wyatt, 2001). To avoid scope creep from the start, it may be essential to include a 'strategy of Not,' that clearly defines what should not be considered as part of the infrastructure project.…”

The Management of Stakeholders’ Needs and Expectations in the Development of Construction Project in Malaysia

“…Following an extensive literature search, two models are selected, namely: the strategic needs analysis (SNA) model (Smith et al,.2001) and the stakeholder management model (Jergeas et al 2000). These models will form the basis of the following discussion.…”

“…Nevertheless, these groups also have a great deal of resources at their disposal to frustrate projects by action-group protest activity or other sophisticated means of action. Smith et al (2001) contribute to the definition of stakeholders as representatives, direct and indirect, who may have an interest and can make a contribution to the proposed project. Winch (2002) provides a more comprehensive definition of stakeholders as those actors who will incur a direct benefit, or loss, as a result of the project.…”

“…This degree of variation makes it difficult to ensure that all their needs and expectations are properly addressed and managed. Satisfying the needs of the client, users and others stakeholders is one of the criteria for project success, and failure to manage their needs and expectations may contribute to project failure (Turner 1999;Smith et al 2001). Thus, an important aspect of project management is to obtain stakeholder buy-in and support for the project.…”

Responsible construction?

“…The UK construction industry is under increasing pressure to improve its practices (Howell, 1999;Smith et al, 2001). Since the 1940s, it has been continuously criticised for its less than optimal performance by several government and institutional reports such as Simon (1944), Emmerson (1962), Banwell (1964), Latham (1994), Egan (1998) and Fairclough (2002).…”