Investigation of critical success factors in construction briefing by way of content analysis

Abstract

Construction project briefing is a complex and dynamic process which involves identifying and conveying clients’ actual needs and requirements accurately to the project team. The briefing process is critical to the successful delivery of a construction project and there are many limitations inhibiting its effectiveness. A study of factors which could contribute to a successful briefing (in this study referred to as critical success factors, CSFs) will enable special attention to be paid to those areas which could improve its performance. The objectives of this study are to identify, categorise and prioritise a general set of critical success factors for construction project briefing. This study is intended to complement the existing but limited research into the identification of such factors and to serve as a stepping stone to the identification and establishment of yardsticks which could be used by construction practitioners on all projects in future. A questionnaire was used to collect opinions from experienced construction practitioners. Thirty-seven factors were identified and coded, and the content analysis yielded five major categories. They include project-related factors, human-related factors, process-related factors, input-related factors and output-related factors. Thirty-six percent of respondents identified ‘open and effective communication’ as the most frequently mentioned factor critical to briefing. Other important factors, in descending order of importance, include such as ‘clear and precise briefing documents’, ‘clear intention and objectives of client’ and ‘clear project goal and objectives’. This set of critical success factors can serve as a checklist for practitioners when conducting a briefing in their construction projects. The results of the questionnaire survey generally in line with the findings of a validation exercise by focus group meeting.