Tools for flexible project management methodology in the construction industry

Fedorchenko Viktor Alekseevich Master's Degree, Department of Marketing and Engineering Economics, Don State Technical University 344000, Russia, Rostovskaya oblast', g. Rostov-Na-Donu, ul. Sotsialisticheskaya, 162, of. 22-304 jannamary@yandex.ru

Vasilenko Zhanna Andreevna PhD in Economics Associate Professor, Department of Marketing and Engineering Economics, Don State Technical University 344000, Russia, Rostovskaya oblast', g. Rostov-Na-Donu, ul. Sotsialisticheskaya, 162, aud. 22-304 jannamary@yandex.ru

Introduction

Currently, new management techniques are being developed, replacing the old ones by optimizing business processes, improving the efficiency of the team, creating a more powerful corporate structure. Construction is a branch of the economy in which all transformations occur rather slowly. This is not surprising, because in order to change some gear in such a large and complex mechanism as construction production, it takes a lot of time and effort. Some changes may eventually require a review of the functioning of the entire mechanism.

Since construction is one of the most complex industries, which often creates products of great public importance, naturally, the risk is extremely high ^[7]. In the end, postponing the deadlines for the implementation of construction projects and going beyond the budget is far from uncommon ^[9]. In this regard, there is an increasing need for improved communication, transparency of processes and the ability to adapt to emerging problems ^[8]. In order to increase the competitiveness of the industry, it is necessary to solve the following problems:

Low transparency in the construction process. The problem that construction companies often face is the inability to properly track their processes from concept creation to implementation, which leads to chaos. There are often many status updates for a single operation, when one employee submits some data, and after a short period of time another employee submits information different from this. This problem occurs when teams track the results of their work in endless Excel spreadsheets. This makes the already complex processes even more cumbersome, because the employee who has to convey reliable information to the project management has to double-check the relevance of the data received, slowing down the process at the same time.

Traditionally, construction projects are considered poor candidates for a flexible approach because they tend to be very consistent in nature, and changes become more expensive as projects move further along the lifecycle. Adjustments made at the design stage, as a rule, cost many times less than those made during implementation, which is why the design and estimate documentation is so carefully checked. In addition, during the construction of strategically important nuclear power facilities, mistakes are simply unacceptable.

A lot of efforts have been made to increase the productivity of construction using innovative techniques such as lean construction and the so-called integrated project management (IPM) or integrated project implementation (IPD).

In the presence of ideal conditions, the developed schedules and plans in construction are absolutely detailed and reliable, which avoids problems and delays in the project. However, a typical problem for the construction industry is the larger the project, the more collisions, adjustments and, as a result, the increase in the cost of production. In addition to material, the most voluminous cost item in a construction project is labor remuneration. Labor costs for the project increase compared to the original plan when deadlines are missed. The most obvious solution may be hiring the right people, in the right positions, with the right materials and tools, as well as with the right work instructions ^[2].

Delays and overspending may occur due to the lack of material for the production of works by the required period, which may occur due to a breach of obligations on the part of suppliers, lack of funds due to funding restrictions, etc. Delays in deadlines may be the result of the lack of accurate work instructions (technical maps, work projects), which may occur due to incomplete or inaccurate design, delays in decision-making, the development of instructions or adjusted scope of work. Finally, delays due to a shortage of labor may occur due to the inability to find the right specialists, problems with the work schedule or difficulties when working with contractors (frequent adjustments), etc. It should also be noted that delays are not related to the human factor - adverse weather conditions or other external events. In typical projects, these delays can lead to claims from the contractor and counterclaims, especially when the search for those responsible for the failure of deadlines begins. These legal issues may further delay the implementation of the project and increase costs ^[3].

Research methodology.

The research methodology includes an abstract-logical analysis of the studied area and a qualitative forecast of the effects of implementation. The methodology of flexible management and the specifications of Agile principles presented in scientific publications on related issues of the studied area are used as initial information.

General issues of strategic planning and project management are actively explored by T.V. Preobrazhenskaya, M.S. Murtazina, A.A. Aletdinova, V.I. Malyuk. The features of project management in the construction sector are presented in the works of A.D. Murzin, N.A. Osadchey. Some aspects of the use of flexible project management are highlighted by domestic and foreign scientists and practitioners - Peter Landau, S. Jin, Ken Schwaber, Jeff Sutherland, O.L. Chulanova.

The paper analyzes the possibility of adapting the flexible management approach, improved on the principles of Agile, to the field of investment and construction complex. The currently prevailing methods of erecting buildings and structures are a sequential process, which is characterized by cascade control methods. In the course of the analysis, traditional and innovative approaches are compared with the study of the advantages of the latter.

The results of the study and their discussion.

A flexible project management system basically contains a certain philosophy. It appeared during the development of projects in the field of IT. Since the 50s of the twentieth century, projects have been developed using the classic cascade method, which is still used in production today. However, technologies are being improved, more complex tasks need to be solved for the implementation of projects, which increases the importance of such problems as cost overruns and deadlines.

As a result, programmers conducted a study and determined that the existing management principles were outdated. They developed and proposed a new philosophy, and also published a manifesto that includes 12 principles of Agile ^[13]:

1) the priority of work on the project is to meet the needs of customers by timely and continuous transfer of a valuable product to them;

2) changes are welcome at any stage of project development if they are aimed at providing a competitive advantage;

3) you need to create a working product as often as possible, the cycle is from several weeks to several months;

4) daily interaction between the customer and the developer;

5) interested professionals should work on the project, it is necessary to create the most comfortable environment for their work;

6) the most effective way to transfer information within the team and communicate with the customer is a personal conversation;

7) the main indicator of progress is a working product;

8) when developing, the stability of the entire process is important, for this it is important to have the ability on the part of the customer, the developer and the user to always maintain the same pace of work;

9) constant attention to technical excellence and design quality increases maneuverability;

10) simplicity matters, it can be defined as the ability to optimize processes and minimize the amount of unnecessary work;

11) the best projects are born from self-organizing teams;

12) the group should regularly think about improving its efficiency and adjust the ways of working to improve the result.

Over the years since the advent of the flexible management system, it has been used in many industries. The managers of the company, in which management is based on Agile, believe that the principles they follow make it possible to speed up work, improve the quality of process execution and the level of interaction within the team.

To determine the relevance of the flexible project management methodology for the construction industry, first of all, it is necessary to consider the construction process as a whole.

The project life cycle includes the following stages ^[11]:

1) pre-investment;

2) pre-project;

3) project;

4) construction and installation works;

5) commissioning;

6) liquidation.

In fact, Agile is mainly applicable at the planning stage (design and preparation for construction), at which construction work has not yet begun. The focus of sprint groups is to create a more repetitive workflow and the most frequent provision of a useful product, which they do with sketches, site plans, etc. These actions allow you to adapt to changes in the project at the early stages of the process, which in an industry such as construction is much cheaper than any subsequent ^[5].

Another technique that Agile teams use is called Lean - this is splitting the project into more manageable parts and gradually refining them as they approach implementation. This is known as the Last Planning System (LPS), where the final plans are prepared by the persons responsible for the execution of the work. Like any Agile project management method, it promotes "systems thinking" rather than "local optimization". This approach focuses on "pull planning", in which only the most important work that can be done is considered. As a result, this contributes to the creation of an atmosphere of joint leadership.

An important element when using Agile is to stay in constant contact with the customer.

To do this, companies hold daily meetings designed to set tasks within the team; weekly meetings with the customer – checking the eliminated comments and setting new ones and determining the deadline for their elimination; monthly meetings – preparing for the delivery of the scope of work for the reporting period and determining plans for the next one; general meeting – a meeting involving project managers from outside the customer and the contractor to determine the milestones of the project ^[12].

To cope with this problem, a flexible methodology involves visualization at every stage of the workflow. In fact, this can be achieved through the integration of Kanban boards, where groups of employees can visualize the stages (and sub-stages) of their workflow. As a result, these boards will turn into value stream maps, giving teams the opportunity to quickly detect limitations, eliminate losses and promptly respond to emerging problems.

The low level of communication among employees is one of the main reasons for the failures of many projects regardless of the industry. It is not surprising that Agile teams put the item "Individuals and interactions" before "Processes and tools". However, due to the high complexity of the workflow in the construction industry, there is often a lack of communication and a lack of accountability.

Integrating regular feedback loops to synchronize progress and discuss issues is a way to solve this problem with Agile. For example, teams of employees hold daily meetings where they tell what work has been completed, what they plan to do, and discuss everything that prevents them from completing this task ^[1].

This information helps to maintain an even level of project development among all specialists involved in this process, and acts as a guarantee that any problems will be detected as quickly as possible. Team members are also encouraged to continue the conversation after the meeting and help each other if someone gets stuck.

Another innovative Agile practice that can be applied in the construction industry is the integration of regular inspections of the provision of services. After completing their weekly, fortnightly, or monthly plans (shorter time frames are preferred), specialists can participate in lessons learned classes, raising concerns and suggesting improvements. The idea here is to discuss more general issues in the work management process while they are still relevant to the project.

Delays in the implementation of the project.

Adding visual diagrams, such as aggregate flow diagrams (Figure 1), can also help Agile teams monitor the stability of their workflow and see which types of work are becoming cluttered. This can help identify problem areas and optimize the efficiency of processes.

Fig. 1. Visual diagrams of the aggregate flow

Another reason for significant delays in the implementation of projects and cost overruns in the construction industry is constant corrections. For example, the study shows that about 30% of the work performed by construction companies is actually related to alteration ^[4].

One way to solve this problem using Lean Agile methods is to introduce regular and short steps to ensure quality in the project lifecycle. Usually the goal is to remove a large stage of quality control of a given product. However, when managing construction projects, this may not be possible. However, by visualizing and implementing frequent monitoring steps to ensure consistent quality, you respond more quickly to problems and reduce the number of excessive improvements that cause project overruns and delays (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. An example of Lean implementation in the construction industry.

Theory is a great first step, but when it comes to implementing Lean Agile techniques in the construction industry, you also need to see how it happens in practice.

In order for flexible project management methodologies to take root in the domestic construction industry, all parties involved in the production of a construction product should be ready to implement them. At the same time, we can give an optimistic forecast, because Agile for Russia is a new technique that began to be actively implemented 3 years ago and is now in a phase of rapid growth. According to the ScrumTrek study, the use of Agile in Russia is 1-2 years behind the global average. It can be assumed that the active implementation of Agile will soon affect the construction industry.

Traditional projects are executed in a single continuous flow with sequential steps that include project launch, project planning, project execution and project completion. Typical construction projects include the planning stage, the design stage, the construction stage, the testing stage and the transition to the user stage, followed by the closure of the project. There are more complex models with multiple phase gates and application phases, but the main common feature is the sequential nature, when user input occurs mainly at the planning and/or design stage. At the construction stage, another sequential work plan is drawn up, usually in the form of a project schedule based on trade or geographical areas (for example, floors, buildings, etc.) ^[6]. In a typical large construction project, several contractors work for the general contractor,

Advantages of flexible management methodology:

- adjustments can be made regardless of the stage of the project, which significantly increases the competitive advantages of the product.;

- the project is divided into short cycles, at the end of which the company issues a completely finished product to the client;

- flexible adjustment process minimizes production risks, rapid development of a minimally viable product for further adjustments and testing;

- continuous participation of all team members in the development and constant contact with the customer;

- an indicator of efficiency is a working product, which requires highly qualified performers and a verified organization of the workflow.

Disadvantages of flexible management methodology:

- it is impossible to calculate costs – change of requirements, which may be contradictory to the initial ones, depending on the specifics of the project;

- flexible methods require a lot of compassion in the process, which can be difficult, especially for young contractors;

- frequent edits can be the reason for the endless improvement of the project, there is also a possible downside – a decrease in the quality of the product.

Conclusion

Thus, based on the literature sources and the considered concept, the following conclusions can be drawn.

The most characteristic management technique for construction at the moment is a cascade control system. Despite the spread of flexible methodology in IT and beyond, some concepts such as "responding to changes" cannot be applied during construction and installation work. The principle of the construction of buildings and structures is a sequential process: it is impossible to erect interstory floor slabs until the foundation is filled in. It is necessary to calculate in advance for months ahead the required number of workers, the composition of teams, to provide for the availability of materials and specialized equipment. The inability to calculate costs is a serious problem for a construction and investment project. flexible methodology cannot offer a worthy alternative to clear planning and calculation.

According to its composition of works: the construction of a building is a process consisting of a complex of works performed by various narrowly focused teams. Creating one single cross-platform team is impossible because of a completely different type of work. During the continuous improvement of the project – frequent adjustments may occur failure of clear deadlines, delays at some stage of the work. Due to the peculiarities of technological processes, it will simply be impossible to make up for some time delays, since the provided technological breaks will not allow this.

The analysis shows that construction is currently an industry for which the cascade project management technique is the most characteristic. However, in order for construction organizations to remain competitive, they should not stay in place in the field of project management and make the management and process of project development and implementation more flexible.

A good alternative to the transition from a traditional management model to a flexible one can be the creation of a hybrid management methodology aimed at drawing up a set of measures characteristic of both one and the other of the above methods.