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Managing a project involves taking a number of critical decisions that can have a crucial impact on the success or failure of the initiative. The analytical definition and visualization of the main components of a project can support project managers engaged to address the right issues at the right time. This article aims to identify crucial crossroads in the management of a project and to provide a visual representation of knowledge involved into a system of project components and decisions.

A design science process is adopted to define the initial goals and requirements and to develop the knowledge visualization framework. Expert feedback is also gathered to obtain a preliminary validation of the framework.

Moving from a system view of project dimensions, we identify eight types of strategic decisions, i.e. growth, problem shifting, goals balancing, escalation, rewarding, resource allocation, problem fixing and cooperation. We then present a visualization map of project decision making addressing six categories of knowledge (i.e. “what-knowledge”, “how-knowledge”, “who-knowledge”, “why-knowledge”, “what for-knowledge”, “when-knowledge”).

The framework needs further theoretical refinement in terms of more fine-grained decision types, other determinants and the reciprocal influence in the management of project activities.

The article can support project managers attempting to build a comprehensive view of project decisions, and it can be a basis to develop novel types of knowledge management systems for project-related applications.

The article proposes a new approach to sustain strategic decision making in project management by adopting a knowledge visualization view. Moreover, it provides an operational tool for managers and analysts at different levels engaged into the management of a project.

The construction industry produces voluminous quantitative data. Much of this data is created during the controls phase of projects and relates to cost, schedule, and administrative information. Recent storage and processing advances in computers as well as display capabilities afforded by computer graphics increase the opportunity to monitor projects fundamentally different from existing project control systems. However, changes in project control methods have been slow to evolve. The lack of a fundamental model of project control data representation contributes to the inadequate application and implementation of visual tools in project control methods. Difficulties associated with the graphical representation of data can be traced to the diversity of skills required in creating visual information displays. Owing to the reality that not all engineers/constructors possess these attributes in great strength, streamlining the process of how to best visualize data is important. Visual representations of data hold great potential for reducing communication difficulties fostered by industry fragmentation. However, without information structure, organization, and visual explanations, the massive amount of data available to project managers results in information overload. Therefore, improved information displays are needed to overcome the possibility of information overload with the capability of human perception. This paper discusses research to create a framework for visual representation of construction project data. Underlying visualization theory, the visual framework, and a detailed implementation are provided.

In recent years, augmented reality (AR) has shown its potential to assist various construction activities. Its use commonly requires additional refinement to be integrated into the building information modeling (BIM) process. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated AR implementation in BIM-enabled projects because of numerous challenges related to its implementation. This study aims to investigate the implementation of AR in construction and identify the critical mechanisms for implementing BIM-AR successfully.

A mixed methodology was adopted for this study. First, this work presents a bibliometric analysis covering articles obtained from Scopus database published between 2000 and 2022. A sample size of 65 research papers pertinent to AR in construction was analyzed using VOSviewer software. Second, a participatory case study was conducted for a BIM-enabled project in China to gain insight into how BIM-AR implementation in construction is achieved.

The findings from the bibliometric analysis show an increasing interest in AR research within construction. The results indicate that AR research focuses on four clusters: real-time communication, project management, construction activities and education. Findings from the case study provide an empirical experience of AR application scenarios in a BIM-enabled project. Concomitantly, 15 critical success factors that influence BIM-AR implementation were finally identified and demonstrated.

This study provides a rich insight into the understanding and awareness of implementing AR. First, the findings are beneficial to construction practitioners and researchers because they provide a concentrated perspective of AR for emerging activities in the construction industry. Second, the results obtained from the case study could provide a useful guide for effectively implementing AR in a BIM-enabled construction project. Overall, this study may stimulate further research on AR-related studies in construction, such as BIM integration, factor analysis and construction education.

The “big room” concept and lean philosophy have become increasingly popular in the construction industry. Visual control is a central part of lean philosophy and the big room concept; its aim is to improve information flow, joint problem-solving and real-time decision-making. Visual control facilitates effective project management by providing information on what work is performed and why, customer requirements, deadlines, work status and potential problems. This study aims to explore how visualisation supports project management and control in a big room and the factors that facilitate good visual control.

This research is based on the case study method, and the objective is to elaborate the current understanding of factors that affect visual control. The study includes a literature review and an empirical study of a large construction project.

The results indicate that many factors facilitate visual control. Despite the importance of facilities and tools, communication and teamwork are identified as the key factors. On a broader level, the results indicate a need for a holistic approach in developing visual management strategies and practices in the construction industry and in complex projects in particular.

A single case may not be able to offer a generalised picture of this complex topic. However, the study provides novel insights for practitioners and researchers interested in the development of visual control and big rooms. Future research topics are also proposed.

While previous studies have identified many elements of successful big room implementation – including integration and early involvement, information sharing, tools and facilities – this study focusses specifically on the factors that facilitate visual control.

This study aims to understand the formal and informal practices of top managers as they seek to control product innovation processes and how the style of control used differs during development stages and gates.

A qualitative in-depth case study was conducted at a multinational corporation (pseudonym: MEC). The authors examined 12 product innovation projects and carried out semi-structured interviews to understand the experiences, perceptions and challenges of the people involved in product development projects with a focus on the interactions between top managers and the project teams.

The authors found that MEC uses formal control mechanisms such as a stage-gate model and a project management and reporting system to keep track of the progress of innovation projects. In addition, top managers use informal controls through involvement in innovation activities and interaction with the team members during the stages and gates of the development process. To carry out their control practices top managers use four distinct styles of control as follows: participative, facilitative, empowering and authoritative.

Suggestions are provided for managers on how formal and informal management control tools can be used in innovation processes. The authors show how top managers can broaden their range of interventions by involving themselves in product innovation projects in different ways.

This paper shows how the combination of formal and informal controls can generate a more holistic view of management control in innovation. It also adds to previous conceptualizations of control use by suggesting four distinct styles, which top managers can use to involve themselves in product innovation processes.

The purpose of this paper is to inform the general management community on the qualitative and visualization capabilities available to them through Excel.

The paper provides a basic overview and illustration of a subset set of qualitative capabilities, along with some brief tutorials and tips on how to make use of these capabilities. Discussions are aimed at novices and those with experience in Excel alike. A reference for more in‐depth discussions and guidance is provided.

Access to novel and powerful capabilities that have traditionally been under‐utilized in Excel are within grasp of any management research or practitioner, provided they know where to find some basic guidance and are intrepid enough to test it out. The wave of new, tech‐savvy management users is likely to have a pivotal impact on the way technology‐assisted decision making is thought of in the future.

The opportunity to open the eyes of a wider audience to the convenience and power of Excel as a development, decision support, research and teaching tool is of critical value. This work suggests that such awareness may be instrumental in changing the climate of organizational technology perspectives across a wide range of fields of practice.

Today the amount of all kinds of digital data (e.g. documents and e‐mails), existing on every user's computer, is continuously growing. Users are faced with huge difficulties when it comes to handling the existing data pool and finding specific information, respectively. This paper aims to discover new ways of searching and finding semi‐structured data by integrating semantic metadata.

The proposed architecture allows cross‐border searches spanning various applications and operating system activities (e.g. file access and network traffic) and improves the human working process by offering context‐specific, automatically generated links that are created using ontologies.

The proposed semantic enrichment of automated gathered data is a useful approach to reflect the human way of thinking, which is accomplished by remembering relations rather than keywords or tags. The proposed architecture supports the goals of supporting the human working process by managing and enriching personal data, e.g. by providing a database model which supports the semantic storage idea through a generic and flexible structure or the modular structure and composition of data collectors.

Available programs to manage personal data usually offer searches either via keywords or full text search. Each of these existing search methodologies has its shortcomings and, apart from that, people tend to forget names of specific objects. It is often easier to remember the context of a situation in which, for example, a file was created or a web site was visited. By proposing this architectural approach for handling semi‐structured data, it is possible to offer a sophisticated and more applicable search mechanism regarding the way of human thinking.

Heritage buildings are significant for their historical and architectural value. Due to the lack of rating systems designed specifically for heritage buildings, it is essential to develop and validate a heritage building assessment tool that considers its specific characteristics. The purpose of this study is to provide an extensive review of research on Sustainability of Heritage Buildings (SHBs).

This review highlights methodologies applied in SHBs research and analyzes major global rating systems in order to identify their deficiencies for SHBs assessment. A systematic review was employed and articles from the top 10 high impact factor journals were studied. Twelve major global rating systems and their assessment criteria were identified.

Significant variability was observed among the assessment tools since each tool assesses several criteria, factors and indicators that fit its local context. Part of this variability can also be seen in the rating scales, threshold values and accreditation titles. As a result, the final sustainability ranking for a given building cannot be compared among the 12 rating systems. Most importantly, these systems fail to analyze some factors such as energy that are considered important with respect to heritage building assessment.

Since no specific rating system could be identified in this review as the most appropriate for heritage buildings, a new sustainability assessment tool that is specific to heritage buildings should be developed. Such a tool will enable facility managers to evaluate and improve the sustainability of their heritage buildings while preserving them.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate innovations in intellectual property rights (IPR) databases, techniques and software tools, with an emphasis on selected new developments and their contribution towards achieving advantages for IPR management (IPRM) and wider social benefits. Several industry buzzwords are addressed, such as IPR-linked open data (IPR LOD) databases, blockchain and IPR-related techniques, acknowledged for their contribution in moving towards artificial intelligence (AI) in IPRM.

The evaluation, following an original framework developed by the authors, is based on a literature review, web analysis and interviews carried out with some of the top experts from IPR-savvy multinational companies.

The paper presents the patent databases landscape, classifying patent offices according to the format of data provided and depicting the state-of-art in the IPR LOD. An examination of existing IPR tools shows that they are not yet fully developed, with limited usability for IPRM. After reviewing the techniques, it is clear that the current state-of-the-art is insufficient to fully address AI in IPR. Uses of blockchain in IPR show that they are yet to be fully exploited on a larger scale.

A critical analysis of IPR tools, techniques and blockchain allows for the state-of-art to be assessed, and for their current and potential value with regard to the development of the economy and wider society to be considered. The paper also provides a novel classification of patent offices and an original IPR-linked open data landscape.

The rate of project failure across the globe seems to reinforce poor performance as a norm. However, engagement with construction digitalisation (CD) represents a departure point for improving project performance. Amidst researchers' recent empirical engagement with CD, the knowledge of the relationship model between CD and project delivery (PD) is abysmal. As a result, developing a business case for CD in developing countries has been slow due to the dearth of empirical evidence. This paper aims to investigate the influence of digitalisation on project performance.

Anchored on cross-sectional survey research design using a questionnaire survey in which a total of 183 copies of structured questionnaires were randomly distributed to medium- and large-sized construction firms operating in Abuja, Nigeria's federal capital. A total of 126 valid responses were received giving an overall response rate of 68.8%. The responses were analysed using mean item score, principal component analysis and multiple linear regression.

Findings from the regression analysis reveal that digitalisation has varying levels of impact on PP measured using quality, time and cost. The relationship model with time performance is weak (r = 0.526, r² = 0.277); on cost performance, the significant model is also weak (r = 0.502, r² = 0.252) and moderate on quality (r = 0.663, r² = 0.439). CD influences project cost, time and quality performance despite the weak relationship model. The results indicate that the most effective benchmark of CD is quality performance.

This study established the relationship between digitalisation and construction PD within the construction industry context, an area lacking research attention in emerging economies. This study is the first study in emerging economies that established the influence of digitalisation on construction PD statistically.