Implementation of 3D Integration Model for Project Delivery Success: Case Study

Abstract

The means for assessing what constitutes successful project delivery is a controversial topic in the literature, with many approaches and frameworks in play. This paper extends an existing three-dimensional (3D) integration model to include an assessment of triple-bottom-line (TBL) performance and applies it, for the first time, to a real-life case study. A subway station megaproject in Tehran, Iran, one of the busiest cities in the world, is retrospectively tested to evaluate its success. The new subway system is an important infrastructure project in Iran, and no research to date has evaluated its delivery from a project-management perspective. This paper provides governmental and private-sector agencies with a procedure to calculate the project delivery success (PDS) score for the construction of this subway or similar infrastructure projects, enabling a unique means to compare performance with other developments in Iran or elsewhere. From field data, it is shown by the researchers and verified by both the site project manager and client’s representative that the subway’s construction is an unsuccessful project. The findings quantify what could have been done, based on advice generated from the model, to deliver a successful outcome. The benefit of the utilized 3D integration model is its applicability to any project type or context, enabling them to be effectively compared and ranked by the percentage change between planned and actual PDS score. Given the introduction of TBL as a fifth core project constraint, an optimum solution can be found via the application of several heuristics (or rules) that define the boundaries within which a successful solution lies. The extended model contributes to knowledge through its ability to quantify success and optimize performance, ideally during the delivery of the project rather than as a postmortem exercise.