Is agile project management applicable to construction?

Owen, R; Koskela, LJ; Henrich, G; Codinhoto, R

Abstract

This paper briefly summarises the evolution of Agile Project Management (APM) and differentiates it from lean and agile production and ‘leagile’ construction. The significant benefits being realized through employment of APM within the information systems industry are stated. The characteristics of APM are explored, including: philosophy, organizational attitudes and practices, planning, execution and control and learning. Finally, APM is subjectively assessed as to its potential contribution to the pre-design, design and construction phases.
In conclusion, it is assessed that APM offers considerable potential for application in predesign and design but that there are significant hurdles to its adoption in the actual construction phase. Should these be overcome, APM offers benefits well beyond any individual project.

Citation

Owen, R., Koskela, L., Henrich, G., & Codinhoto, R. (2006, July). Is agile project management applicable to construction?. Presented at 14th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, Ponteficia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: 14th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
• Conference Location: Ponteficia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
• Start Date: Jul 25, 2006
• End Date: Jul 27, 2006
• Publication Date: Jul 25, 2006
• Deposit Date: Jun 21, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Keywords: Agile, Project Management, Construction
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference; References : Anderson, C.; McMillan, E. (2003) “Of Ants and Men: Self-organized Teams in Human and Insect Organizations”, Emergence: Complexity and Organization, 5, (2), pp. 29-41. Argyris, C.; Schön, D. A. (1996) “Organizational Learning 2 : Theory, Method and Practice”, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass ; Wokingham, pp. xxix, 305p. Armour, P. G. (2006) “Counting Boulders and Measuring Mountains”, Communications of the ACM, 49, (1), pp. 17-20. Austin, S.; Baldwin, A.; Li, B.; Waskett, P. (2000) “Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT): A Dependency Structure Matrix Tool to Schedule the Building Process”, Construction Management and Economics, 18, pp. 173-182. Ballard, G. (2000) “The Last Planner System of Production Control”, Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy), The University of Birmingham, Birmingham. Beck, K.; et al (2001) “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” [online]. Available from: http://www.agilemanifesto.org/ [Accessed 9 Jan 2006]. Best, R.; de Valence, G. (1999) “Getting it Right at the Start”, Building in Value: Pre-design Issues Best, R. and de Valence, G.(Eds.). London, pp. 1-9. Blomberg, J. (1998) “Myter om Projekt”, Nerenius and Santerus, Stockholm. Boehm, B.; Turner, R. (2003) “People Factors in Software Management: Lessons From Comparing Agile and Plan-Driven Methods”, Crosstalk - The Journal of Defense Software Engineering, (Dec 2003). Boehm, B. W.; Turner, R. (2004) “Balancing Agility and Discipline : A Guide For The Perplexed”, Addison-Wesley, Boston ; London. Bonabeau, E.; Meyer, C. (2001) “Swarm Intelligence: a Whole New Way to Think About Business”, Harvard Business Review, (May), pp. 107-114. Bonaceto, C.; Burns, K. (2005) “Using Cognitive Engineering to Improve Systems Engineering”, Mitre Technical Paper [online]. Available from: www.mitre.org/work/tech_papers/tech_papers_05/05_1361/05_1361.pdf [Accessed 30 May 2005]. Bowers, J.; May, J.; Melander, E.; Baarman, M.; Ayoob, A. (2002) “Tailoring XP for Large System Mission Critical Software Development”, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2418, (2418/2002), pp. 100-111. Clark, K. B.; Fujimoto, T. (1991) “Product Development Performance: Strategy, Organization and Management in the World Auto Industry”, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass. Cockburn, A. (2003) “Process: the Fourth Dimension (Tricking the Iron Triangle)”, Humans and Technology [online]. Available from: http://alistair.cockburn.us/crystal/articles/ptfd/processthefourthdimension.htm [Accessed 10 Jan 2006]. Codinhoto, R. (2003) “Guidelines for Integrated Management of the Design and Production Processes in Construction Projects”, Dissertação de Mestrado (Mestrado em Engenharia Civil) – Núcleo Orientado para a Inovação da Edificação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, pp. 176. College, B. (2005) “Relational Contracting - Creating Value Beyond the Project”, Lean Construction Journal, 2, (1), pp. 30-45. Cornielle, J. (2004) “Memorandum Submitted by IBM (SC 15)”, Select Committee on Work and Pensions Written Evidence. Crawford, C. M.; Benedetto, C. A. (2000) “New Products Management: International Edition”, Macgraw Hill, Boston, Mass. Edmondson, A.; Moingeon, B. (1999) “Learning, Trust and Organisational Change”, IOrganizational Learning and the Learning Organization : Developments in Theory and Practice Easterby-Smith, M.;Burgoyne, J. and Araujo, L.(Eds.). SAGE, London, pp. viii, 247p. Highsmith, J. A. (2004) “Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products”, Addison-Wesley, Boston, pp. xxvi, 277 p. Hock, D. (2000) “The Art of Chaordic Leadership”, Leader to Leader, 15, (Winter 2000), pp. 20-26. Howell, G. A.; Koskela, L. (2000) “Reforming Project Management: The Role of Lean Construction”, 8th Annual Conference on Lean Construction, Brighton, UK. IGLC. Howell, G. A.; Laufer, A.; Ballard, G. (1993) “Uncertainty and Project Objectives”, Project Appraisal, 8, (1), pp. 37-43. Kagioglou, M. Cooper, R. Aouad, G. Hinks, J. Sexton, M., et al. (1998) “Final Report: Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol”, University of Salford, UK. Kamara, J. M.; et al (1997) “Considerations for the Effective Implementation of Concurrent Engineering in Construction”, Concurrent Engineering in Construction, London. The Institution of Structural Engineers, pp. 33-44. Koch, C. (2005) “Failures in Building Operations - An Occasion for Learning?” International Conference on Operations and Global Competitiveness - EurOMA, Budapest, Hungary. Koskela, L.; Howell, G. A. (2002a) “The Theory of Project Management: Explanation to Novel Methods”, 10th International Conference on Lean Construction, Gramado, Brazil. IGLC. Koskela, L.; Howell, G. A. (2002b) “The Underlying Theory of Management is Obsolete”, PMI Research Conference, PMI, pp. 293-302. Koskela, L. J.; Kagioglou, M. (2005) “On the Metaphysics of Production”. 13th International Conference on Lean Construction, Sydney. IGLC. Liker, J. K. (2004) “The Toyota Way : 14 Management Principles From The World’s Greatest Manufacturer”, McGraw-Hill, New York ; London, pp. xxii, 330 p. MacCormack, A.; Kemerer, C. F.; Cusumano, M.; Crandall, B. (2003) “Exploring Tradeoffs Between Productivity and Quality in the Selection of Software Development Practices”, IEEE Software, pp. 75-85. Massie, J. L.; Douglas, J. (1992) “Managing : a Contemporary Introduction”, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, pp. 540 p. McGregor, D. (1960) “The Human Side Of Enterprise”, Penguin, Harmondsworth, pp. xiv, 246p. Mintzberg, H. (1983) “Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations”, Prentice Hall International, Englewood Cliffs, pp. 312. Miron, L. I. G.; Formoso, C. T. (2003) “Client Requirement Management in Building Projects”, 11th International Conference on Lean Construction, July 2003 Blacksburg, Virginia. IGLC. Morriss, P. (1991) “Project Specification and Initiation”, Guidelines for the Management of Major Construction Projects, National Economic Development Office, HMSO, London. 66 Robert Owen, Lauri Koskela, Guilherme Henrich and Ricardo Codinhoto Proceedings IGLC-14, July 2006, Santiago, Chile Naim, M.; Barlow, J. (2003) “An Innovative Supply Chain Strategy for Customized Housing”, Construction Management and Economics, V, pp. 593-602. Ouchi, W. G. (1981) “Theory Z : How American Business Can Meet the Japanese Challenge”, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass. Owen, R. L.; Koskela, L. (2006a) “Agile Construction Project Management”, 6th International Postgraduate Research Conference in the Built and Human Environment, 6/7 April 2006 Delft, Netherlands. Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment, University of Salford. Owen, R. L.; Koskela, L. (2006b) “An Agile Step Forward in Project Management”, 2nd Specialty Conference on Leadership and Management in Construction and Engineering, 4-6 May 2006 Grand Bahama. CIB / ASCE. Pennanen, A.; Koskela, L. (2005) “Necessary and Unnecessary Complexity in Construction”, 1st International Conference on Built Environment Complexity (Becon), 11-14 September 2005 University of Liverpool. Pietroforte, R. (1997) “Communication and Governance in the Building Process”, Construction Management and Economics, 15, (1), pp. 71-82. Prasad, B. (1996) “Concurrent Engineering Fundamentals: Integrated Product and Process Organisation”, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Royce, D. W. W. (1970) “Managing the Development of Large Software Systems”, Proceedings, IEEE WESCON, (August), pp. 1-9. Sanchez, L. M.; Nagi, R. (2001) “A Review of Agile Manufacturing Systems”, International Journal of Production Research, 39, (16), pp. 3561 - 3600. Schwaber, K. (2004) “Agile Project Management with Scrum”, Microsoft Press, Redmond, Wash., pp. xix, 163 p. Shine (2003) “Shine Technologies Agile Methodologies Survey Results” [online]. Available from: http://www.shinetech.com/ dosearchsite.action?quickSearch=true&searchQuery.queryString=agile+survey [Accessed 20 December 2005]. Stapleton, J.; Consortium, D. (2003) “DSDM : Business Focused Development”, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.; Harlow, pp. xxvii, 239 p. Tanaka, T. (2005) “Quickening the Pace of New Product Development” [online]. Available from: http://www.toyota-engineering.co.jp/qvsystem-eng.htm [Accessed 7 December 2005]. Tzortzopoulos, P.; Cooper, R.; Chan, P.; Kagioglou, M. (2006) “Client Activities at the Design Front End”, In Design Studies. In Print. Wegner, P. (1995) “Interactive Foundations of Object-Based Programming”, IEEE Computer, 28, (10), pp. 70-72.