A Conceptual Hybrid Project Management Model for Construction Projects

1. Introduction

The publication by Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) is structured as a research paper, bifurcated into sections, including an introduction, the main body encompassing information relating to project management approaches, the hybrid approach in construction projects, as well as a discussion, conclusion and referencing list. With respect to the author's brief bibliography, Abdallah Lalmi, and Sassi Boudemagh Souad, during the preparation of the research, were studying in the faculty of architecture and urban planning, project management department at the Algeria University of Salah Boubnider. In contrast, Gabriela Fernandes was pursuing Mechanical Engineering at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Besides this, the context of the current publication revolves around facilitating a conceptual hybrid project management model for construction projects; however, information needs to be present in the article that portrays information about the author's previous publications as well as the publication's intended audience. Although concerning the main objective of drawing upon both conventional and modern project management approaches to enhance project value and interaction with the client, it can be assessed that project management professionals of the construction industry are the primary intended audience of the publication (2004). Agile Project Management: How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements?

2. Core

2.1 Analysis of the Publication in Terms of Subject Matters/Field 

In terms of subject matter, the publication first-of-all presents a brief and concise introduction about the research context to set the background and rationale behind the research by enumerating the reasons behind the project failure of the construction projects. It includes cost overruns, unreasonable growth in project content, and schedule overruns. Then, the authors align these factors with traditional project management methods while stating the need for a more agile and lean method of construction project management. In light of this, the authors first explored and examined traditional project management approaches such as "Waterfall," "Lean," "Agile," "Kanban," and Scrum" (Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad, 2021).

Apart from this, the authors frequently portray examples of companies currently utilizing the approaches to make the subject matter more critical and extensive. However, instead of highlighting examples of construction industry projects, the authors in the first section of the publication majorly highlighted the example of the automobile company Toyota. Despite this, several concepts and models also seem to be utilized throughout the publication, such as the project quality approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), Total Quality Management (TQM), Just in Time (JIT), and supply chain management in construction projects (Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad, 2021). Based on all this information, the authors later highlighted a hybrid approach to construction project management, as reflected in figure 1. Aside from the above-presented sub-sections, the discussion section in the research entails a comprehensive evaluation of the hybrid model broken down into four key phases of the project lifecycle: initiation, planning or design, re-planning, execution, and control phases.

Figure 1: Proposed hybrid construction project management model (Source: Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad 2021)

2.2 Benefit of the Publication

The publication directs a wide variety of theoretical and practical benefits toward construction project professionals. For instance, information regarding different applications of both conventional and modern project management approaches present in the publication could assist project professionals in the construction industry in terms of comparing and contrasting the applications of each project management approach. Furthermore, in light of the practical benefit, the hybrid project management model could aid construction project management professionals in enhancing the likelihood that a project will succeed. It is done by lowering costs, accelerating project timelines, improving outcomes, removing waste, and raising project satisfaction.

2.3 Focus of the Author in the Publication

The publication by Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) majorly focuses on highlighting a hybrid construction project management model by analyzing and evaluating the applications and effectiveness of traditional approaches to project management, such as agile and lean. In light of this focus, Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) further opinionated that the fundamental idea of the conventional method is that projects should be linear, straightforward, and foreseeable while having well-defined material to allow for thorough scheduling and tracking without much change. In assent to this, Alexander (2017) further described that the conventional method is static since it enables actions to be planned and scheduled in a well-specified sequence, frequently with very few interdependencies.

Based on the understanding of the traditional approach, Cooke-Davies et al. (2009) further asserted that the conventional methods to project management is based on linear linkages, which do not accurately portray the entire complexities of projects. However, the environment of a construction project is inherently characterized by complicated interactions with a large number of interfaces. It is mainly because of the high level of involvement of stakeholders. For instance, the foundation of the (conventional) waterfall technique is the accurate characterization of each phase, with subsequent phases feeding into the earlier phases. When executing and controlling a project, a typical approach necessitates significant documentation. In this respect, the waterfall approach also holds a downside commonly described by the phrase "one size does not fit all," despite the fact that it is portrayed as a robust methodology that applies the principles and procedures to all projects (Chin, 2004).

Focusing on all these applications of traditional project management approaches, Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) further identified the necessity of a twofold structure that integrates the two strategies since it has each of their benefits and because one cannot simply substitute one strategy for another (Vinekar, Slinkman & Nerur, 2006). Affirming this, Al Behairi & Tareq (2016) also described that what is required before beginning the construction project is to present the new hybrid model as well as the project team's approval, which is judicious and raises the project's likelihood of failure. In this regard, a hybrid approach is not simply the practice but rather the adaptation and implementation of the practices in a new way. In this regard, flexibility is the key to building a hybrid model in construction projects.

2.4 Context of the Publication in Terms of Integration into the Subject Matters/Field 

Since the context of the publication majorly revolves around the presentation of a hybrid model that integrates the best practices of traditional project management approaches in the construction industry, it was identified that the current publication follows a systematic and sequential procedure prior to developing and presenting the hybrid model. Moreover, in the publication, Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) also define the implementation of project management approaches in the fields of Information Technology (IT), automobile, as well as manufacturing and construction industry. For instance, the publication highlights that the lean programming emphasizes on the structural similarities between Agile and the "Toyota Production System" or "Lean" concepts (Kerth, 2013). Furthermore, with respect to the manufacturing sector, Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) highlighted the findings of Dove & Nagel (1991), stating that prior to gaining popularity in the domain of agile project management, the term "agility" was initially noted in the manufacturing industry underneath the term of "agile manufacturing."

The author also integrated the work of authors, which is not directly related to presenting a hybrid model for project management in the construction industry; instead presented information only relating to traditional methods such as Waterfall, Scrum, or Kanban. For instance, in the publication of "Lean Software Development," Poppendieck (2001) stated that the agile task matrix is described as a "kanban software system." In this regard, it can be evaluated that aside from integrating direct focus-related information of presenting a hybrid project management model in the construction industry, the publication by Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021) also integrated different works of authors on independent (traditional project management approaches such as waterfall, Kanban, Scrum) project management variables.

3. Conclusion

Based on the above review of the publication by Lalmi, Fernandes & Souad (2021), the publication was presented in a systematic and structured way. However, it can also be concluded that the authors needed to detail any direct information regarding the intended audience and previous publications. These two aspects of the research can be defined as the major weaknesses of the publication. However, it was also identified that the research does not imply the methodology used for data collection in the reviewed publication. However, it can be discussed that the hybrid model, which has been visually presented, is critically discussed in the discussion section of the publication. 

Furthermore, the diverse subject integration was also a potential positive of the publication since significant knowledge was gathered to describe the application of different traditional project management approaches effectively. Apart from this, critical reviews of different authors in similar and different research fields were also notable in the publication that considerably extended the rationale and application of the hybrid project management model highlighted in the reviewed publication. Altogether, In this study, a hybrid project management model is developed based on agile, lean, and traditional methods is designed for construction projects. The use of these techniques' best practices to speed up timelines, save costs, improve outcomes, get rid of waste, and boost satisfaction amongst all construction project stakeholders in order to raise the likelihood of project success.

References

Al Behairi., & Tareq, A. (2016). AGISTRUCT: improved model for agile construction project management. Retrieved December 06, 2022, https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/agistruct-agile-construction-project-management-10180 

Alexander, M. (2017). How to choose the best project management methodology for success. Retrieved December 06, 2022, https://www.cio.com/article/191575/project-management-methodologies-how-to-choose-the-best-for-success.html

Chin, G. (2004). Agile Project Management: How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements. Kyiv: AMACOM.

Cooke-Davies, T., Cicmil, S., Crawford, L., & Richardson, K. A. (2009). Exploring the Complexity of Projects: Implications of Complexity Theory for Project Management Practice. New York: Project Management Institute.

Dove, R., & Nagel, R. N. (1991). 21st Century Manufacturing Enterprise Strategy: An Industry-Led View. (n.p.): Diane Publishing Company.

Kerth, N. (2013). Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Reviews. London: Pearson Education.

Lalmi, A., Fernandes, G., & Souad, S.B. (2021). A conceptual hybrid project management model for construction projects. Procedia Computer Science, 181, 921-930. Doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2021.01.248 

Poppendieck, M. (2001). PROJECT & PROCESS MANAGEMENT-BEST PRACTICES-Lean Programming-Part 2 of 2. W. Edwards Deming's Total Quality Management still rings true for software. Software Development, 9(6), 71-75.

Vinekar, V., Slinkman, C.W. & Nerur, S. (2006). Can agile and traditional systems development approaches coexist? An ambidextrous view. Information systems management, 23(3), 31-42. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1201/1078.10580530/46108.23.3.20060601/93705.4 

Author: Marco Garcia, student LIGS University
Approved by: Dr. Catherine Muthu, lecturer LIGS University