Using issue logs to improve construction project performance
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 18 March 2021
Issue publication date: 8 March 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The Project Management Body of Knowledge recommends the use of issue logs as a best practice to minimize the potential project cost and schedule growth. Although the broader topic of project control has been widely studied in the construction literature, the specific application of issue logs has remained relatively understudied. This study aims to analyze the extent and consistency with which construction teams utilize issue logs and the corresponding project performance outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A dataset of 5,635 individual issues was gathered from the final issue logs of 881 small building projects delivered via the design–bid–build method. Differences between groups were determined using the Kruskal–Wallis H test with post hoc testing via the Mann–Whitney U test with pairwise comparison.
Findings
The results showed that, on average, project teams who used issue logs to a greater extent achieved a 3.1 to 4.3% reduction in cost growth and a 5.3 to 12.3% reduction in schedule growth. This result shows that issue logs can be used to improve construction project performance in the areas of cost and schedule.
Originality/value
This result provides a contribution to practitioners, wherein project teams should be encouraged to establish their issue management practices early in the project schedule to encourage greater issue log usage for the remainder of the project.
Keywords
Citation
Shalwani, A. and Lines, B. (2022), "Using issue logs to improve construction project performance", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 896-915. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-12-2020-1089
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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