Construction Organizational-Level Information Management Framework

Abstract

Comprehensive organizational-level information management (IM) performance assessment has the potential to improve IM performance in construction organizations. However, the organizational-level IM components and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure each component are not adequately developed in construction IM literature. This paper proposes an organizational-level IM framework, which identifies the IM components, IM activities, and KPIs required for comprehensive organizational-level IM performance measurement in construction-owner organizations. The eight IM components (IM processes, ICT resources, practice resources, people resources, IM inputs, IM outputs, IM constraints, and IM objectives) are developed and defined on the basis of the analysis of 55 documents related to IM frameworks published from 1990 to 2010 inclusive. In addition, a total of six IM activities and 40 lagging and leading KPIs are developed and defined on the basis of the analysis and synthesis of IM characteristics and issues in 381 IM journal articles published from 2000 to 2011 inclusive. A structured validation is used to capture the IM conditions and needs of construction-owner organizations. This was achieved by evaluating the appropriateness, comprehensiveness, accuracy, and relevance of the IM activities and KPIs for use in IM measurement through seven construction IM researchers and 11 industry practitioners (strategic managers) in eight large case study construction-owner organizations in Canada. The researchers’ validation results show a 92% agreement with regard to the appropriateness and comprehensiveness of the IM activities and KPIs for use in organizational-level IM performance measurement, as the definitions developed for several KPIs did not fully encapsulate the requirements for those IM activities and KPIs. The subsequent practitioners’ validation confirms the appropriateness, comprehensiveness, appropriateness, and relevance of the IM activities and KPIs for organizational-level IM performance measurement. The proposed IM framework provides a better understanding of organizational-level IM and the KPIs needed to comprehensively measure the IM performance through strategic managers in construction-owner organizations.