An Integrated Approach to Assessing Digitalization of Integrated Digital Delivery Projects

Abstract

As digital technologies transform the built environment industry, the integrated digital delivery (IDD) initiative has emerged as a key approach to enhance project coordination, productivity, and sustainability. Despite the growing adoption of digital solutions, construction organizations lack effective tools to evaluate the digitalization level of IDD projects. While various frameworks exist for assessing organizational and industry-level digital maturity, there remains a significant gap in project-level assessment approaches, hindering organizations’ ability to measure implementation progress and make informed technology decisions. This study aims to develop an IDD–digitalization assessment system (IDD-DAS) to measure the extent of digital implementation in IDD projects. A total of 31 digital activities, serving as key assessment indicators, were identified across four IDD project phases through literature review and expert validation. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) method was employed to develop the IDD-DAS. The system was validated through three case studies across residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects, demonstrating its effectiveness and practical applicability. The findings revealed that the four project phases are equally important in determining the overall digital maturity, emphasizing the necessity for a holistic and integrated approach to digital innovation in the built environment industry. The identification of key digital activities within the four digital phases underscores the critical role of digital data management and collaboration platforms in IDD projects. This study advances the body of knowledge by developing a comprehensive project-level digitalization assessment system with systematically validated indicators that capture digital implementation across IDD project phases. The findings advance digital transformation practices in the global built environment industry, supporting organizations toward enhanced efficiency and innovation. This study provides construction industry practitioners with a comprehensive and user-friendly assessment system to evaluate the digitalization level of their integrated digital delivery (IDD) projects. The developed system offers a standardized approach for organizations to understand their current digital maturity and identify areas for improvement across different project phases. While existing assessment tools focus primarily on organizational or industry-wide evaluations, this system specifically addresses project-level digitalization, making it directly applicable to day-to-day project management. Project managers can utilize this tool to diagnose digital implementation gaps, make informed decisions about technology investments, and track transformation progress. The system’s validation through diverse case studies demonstrates its broad applicability and effectiveness in real-world settings. By providing clear assessment criteria, this tool enables construction organizations to better plan and execute their digital transformation strategies, ultimately leading to improved project outcomes through enhanced digital integration and collaboration. This systematic approach to evaluating digital maturity helps individual organizations improve their project delivery and also contributes to raising industry-wide digital standards, ultimately advancing the built environment sector toward greater efficiency, innovation, and sustainability.