Question 1: Types of Project Life cycles
A project is well stated when the scope, time and cost are clearly defined. In other words, for an activity to qualify as a project it must have a definite scope, timeline and the cost likely to be incurred. The project life cycle denotes the various stages of the project. Projects must go through four main phases, initiation, planning, execution and termination (Rowley, 2013). This is what is called the project life lifecycle. Various types of project life cycle exist. The most common ones are predictive, iterative, incremental and adaptive life cycles. The differences in the types of project life cycles are important in the development of schedules and budgets for the projects (Meredith and Mantel, 2012). It is the duty of the project manager to know what type of project life cycle would apply for the project to be undertaken. The project is a mechanism for quality control as well as a way of structuring the organization for risk management (Meredith and Mantel, 2012). This work will consider the applications of the various types of project life cycle.
In the predictive life cycle, the cost, time and scope of the project are determined beforehand. These elements of the project are considered first in detail before the project is undertaken. The project is the split into different phases that may be sequential or overlapping (Rowley, 2013). The sequential division is the most common and enables assessment of progress of the project. This type of project life cycle can be applied in many projects whose requirements can be determined before the initiation of the project. The best application is in the construction of a road or railway line. The amount to be spent in the construction must be clearly stated as well as the time by which the project should be completed. The total distance to be covered should also be defined before the initiation of the project. Sometimes the project may be short-term; in other cases, it may be long-term—these must be clearly spelt out.
The iterative and increment type of project life cycle involves the determination of the cost and time before the project is initiated. However, the scope is not defined until the end of the first phase (Rowley, 2013). After the completion of the first phase, the project is assessed and then the scope of the next phase is defined. This type of project life cycle can be used for projects that are long-term but the scope is not easily determined. An example would be a project to set up a city. The infrastructure may be constructed in different phases. The scope of the current phase may be outlined but not for the next phase. The first phase has to be completed before the next is rolled out.
The adaptive type of project life cycle is also known as change-driven or agile type. The project is divided into several phases just as in predictive type. The detailed scope is determined only ahead of time of the current project. A set of deliverables are stated and the work done in accordance to those deliverables. The adaptive type of project life cycle may be applied in the development of software that is necessary for rapid changes. An example may be the construction of software to substitute the common key-lock doors with special eye-detection locks (Rowley, 2013). This may necessitate the use of the adaptive type. The type of project life cycle to be used for a given project is determined by the type of project to be embarked on. The scope, time and cost must be the guide in determining the most appropriate method.
Question 2: Schedule Delay Analysis Techniques in Industry & Research
Abstract
Delays in construction works and projects are very common. These can be avoided in certain cases. The organization or company should choose a technique that is suitable that to help them work within the given schedule. Failure to deliver within the stipulated schedule results into claims and disputes that may result into court cases. The owner as well as the contractor may lose profits and benefits when such occur. The contractor is likely to take more time in the project than required and time for other projects may also be lost. The aim of this research was to find out the different techniques of scheduled delay analysis applied in industry and research. The frequency of their use was also compared to determine the most commonly used techniques. This work involves a theoretical study of comparing literature from different studies and then deriving data on the various techniques. The As-Planned vs. As-Built and the time impact techniques are the most widely used in both industry and research.
Introduction
The planning of every project is of utmost importance in any industry and research. Every project should have a defined life-cycle outlining the requirements and duration of the project. The parties involved in the project should all play their part in ensuring that the project goes to completion according to the schedule. In the construction industry and research field, several projects are carried out. These projects involve huge sums of money and time invested therein. It is the duty of every contractor to sign an agreement with the company or industry with the knowledge of all details on the project. This ensures that the project runs smoothly and that the requirements of the project are met as required.
The time for performance of the plan is crucial to the involved parties. This issue of time required in the project makes it important for the contractor and the employer to analyze the various project delays that are likely to occur. This enhances decision making on the “potential time and/or cost compensation claims” (Enshassi and Jubeh 3). These have to be outline clearly and they act as a reference point whenever any delay occurs in the course of the project. Loss of profits or benefits is almost inevitable for project owners. The owner of the project may suffer from the delay in having the project established within a particular time. This translates into other effects such as delayed earnings from the project. The contractor may also suffer in one way or the other. He is likely to incur extra cost in the project for over-staying in the project. This work focuses on the various scheduled delay analysis strategies utilized in both industry and research. A theoretical study of various industries and research firms was done to ascertain the techniques commonly used.
Literature Review
Scheduled Delay Analysis Techniques serve to “calculate the project delay and work backwards to try to identify how much of it is attributable to each party (contractor, owner, or neither) so that time and/or cost compensation can be decided” (Nuhu, 2013). A given project is guided by a set of objectives and this should always be clearly outlined. Among the most common issues on projects are the details of the project, what was done, variances in the project and the effect of these variances on the accomplishment of the project. These factors have to be considered for every project as they define the terms of the project. The employer and the contractor are therefore able to make a valid agreement based on real variables. Delay analysis for projects is done in order to find out the amount of money each party in the contract is to pay in case of delays during the project (Enshassi and Jubeh 2013). Delays are a major challenge to the contracted parties. In many occasions the parties view the delays as a failure on the side of the other party. This, in most cases, results into conflicts and claims that turn out to be costly to either party.
Various delay analysis techniques are applied in different set ups that help in defining these variables. Every project should have a method that is suitable for it. One method may work well for one project and that does not mean that it will be so for another project. It is therefore important to consider every project in totality and find out a method that would be most suitable for the given project. Different methods of delay analysis have been reported by various authors. The most common methods used are: As-Planned vs. As-Built; Impacted as-Planned; Collapsed As-Built; Window Analysis and Time Impact Analysis (Enshassi and Jubeh 2013; Nuhu 2013; Keane and Calekta 84).
As-Planned vs. As-Built: This technique involves comparison of the various procedures of the critical path (original baseline technique) with the ones of as-built system. It involves the assessment of delays in the project, identification of the procedures and sequences, which characterize the time-period of the project and the consequences on the contracting parties (Enshassi and Jubeh 2013, Nuhu 2013; Keane & Calekta, 2008). It is a retrospective method. This technique looks at the plan and the finished project and then analyses the variables involved. It offers several advantages such as being cost-effective, simple and easy to use (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). As-Planned vs. As-Built relies more on common sense. The contractor and the owner can both contribute to the delays that may occur during this process. This techniques also has some disadvantages; “it assumes that both schedules are correct in activity duration and logic relationships sequences, failure to consider changes in the critical path and inability to deal with concurrent delays and complex delay situations” (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). The method does not have a ‘systematic procedure’ through which the degree of effects of the delays can be assessed discretely. It is recommended that this method is complemented by other methods (Nuhu, 2013). However, in projects that involve simple cases it can be used alone.
Impacted as-Planned technique involves the application of as-planned method alone in the delay analysis in which delays and disturbance are viewed as activities into as-planned critical path schedule (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). This is in order to demonstrate the way the schedule completion time may be impacted by the delays. Delays and disruptions are studied to find out their effect on the planned project. It involves forecasting so as to prepare for the specific delay that is likely to be experienced. It does not require the as-built component in order to work effectively. This is because it assumes that the plan remains the same and that there is no variation in the critical path that may affect the project. This method is considered the least favorable technique since it has several theoretical flaws (Enshassi and Jubeh 2013).
The results obtained through the Collapsed As-Built technique are very accurate in most cases. This technique involves a lot of effort that is necessary for determining the as-built critical path. Changes in the critical path should be closely considered as it can lead to serious impacts that would affect the project negatively. Both complex and concurrent delays in should be dealt with in order to get the best results (AbouRizk, 2010).
The time impact method assumes that doing several analyses on the schedule updates can evaluate the impact of the delay impacts on projects. Given that data and information needed is available, time impact method is a reliable and acceptable method for most projects. The parties involved are given room and time to scrutinize the causes of the delay and address the issues contributing to the delay (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). This technique is expensive in terms of time involved especially when a large number of delay events are involved.
Window analysis method is focused on the identification and the quantification of the gains and losses on a given critical path schedule. It looks at actual performances and compares with the as-planned technique. This technique takes into consideration the variable feature of the critical path. However, just like the time impact technique, it consumes time (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). It is also expensive to operate when significantly higher numbers of delays are involved.
Other methods also exist but in most cases they are related to these major methods discussed. Several issues arise with the programming and delay analysis. These issues must be given due attention and then resolved to ensure that all the activities in the project run smoothly (AbouRizk, 2010). There are issues that are related to the “ownership of float in construction programs, concurrency and program approvals.” Other such issues include “mitigation, acceleration, pacing, contractor’s entitlement to early completion and the assessment of disruption damages” (Keane and Calekta, 2008).
Selection of the suitable scheduled delay analysis method to use for a particular project involves a lot of factors. This involves the “capability to schedule data, analysts’ familiarity with the operations of the software used in the project, clear specification in the contract concerning concurrent delays and float ownership and time, fund and effort allocated to the analysts” (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). These factors have to be considered in order to get the method that is most suitable for the project to be undertaken. In many cases, one method is usually superior to another and therefore consideration of various factors should be done.
Research Objective
The main objective of this study was to determine the various schedule delay analysis techniques (DATs) applied in industry and Research.
Schedule Delay Analysis in Industry
Schedule delay analysis methods are widely applied in industries. Each industry usually operates on the technique that is best for them. Most of the methods of delay analysis come in handy to many of the industries. Attention here is given to the various methods used in different industries as observed from other researches. The use of various schedule delay analysis techniques in the US is very widespread. This is mainly due to the diverse number of construction projects being undertaken. The As-Planned vs. As-Built is used together with the other methods. Aside from this technique, the other technique widely applied in industries is the impacted as-planned method. It is superior to the as-planned vs. as-built method and in highly industrialized settings it finds greater application in construction.
Gaza strip uses the As-Planned vs. As-Built as the main technique of delay analysis while the collapsed as-built method is also commonly used (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). The other techniques are applied in small scale but the impact as-planned method and the time impact method are also commonly used. The As-Planned vs. As-Built method is commonly used here because of its simplicity. The environment in Gaza that involves simple constructions also necessitates the use of this technique (Enshassi and Jubeh, 2013). Every industry has its own unique culture and organization. This influences the diversity in the methods of delay analysis applied. Some industries may apply more than one method in its operations.
Schedule Delay Analysis in Research
Most researches apply different techniques of delay analysis in their process. The techniques are usually designed according to the objectives of the research. Very little data exists on the use of the various techniques in research. Most of the researches apply the time impact method as the main technique of delay analysis.
Conclusion
Delay analysis is very important in all construction projects and researches. The method to use is of utmost importance as it helps in preventing or reducing the disputes that may arise in case of delays. The parties that are involved, the owner and the contractor, must choose a method that is suitable for them. The As-Planned vs. As-Built technique remains to be the commonly applied technique in both industry and research. Other methods are also used to a large extent as most methods may not be used alone. The As-Planned vs. As-Built is commonly complemented with the time impact method.
References
AbouRizk, S. (2010). "Role of Simulation in Construction Engineering and Management." J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 136(10), 1140-1153.
Enshassi, A., and Jubeh, A. (2013). Delay Analysis Methods and Factors Affecting their Selection in the Construction Industry in Gaza Strip.
Keane, J., P. and Calekta, A., F. (2008). Delay Analysis in Construction Contracts. Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
Meredith, J., R. and Mantel, Samuel J. (2012). Project Management: A Managerial Approach. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Nuhu, B., (2013). “Construction Delay Analysis Techniques- A Review of Analysis Issues and Improvement Needs.” Buildings 20B, 3, 506, 531.
Rowley, J. (2013). 5Th Edition PMBOK® Guide-Chapter 2: Project Lifecycle Types (Predictive, Iterative, Agile. 4Squareviews.
