Modelling Construction Innovation Contraints: A Tool for Sustaining Innovation in Projects

There is concern that the construction industry lacks the ability to effectively sustain product innovation through the project process. A review of literature identifies lost opportunities where product innovations were introduced into construction projects but poorly managed, thus not fully implemented. Whilst literature points to project constraints for this failure it is proposed that the problem lies rather in the failure of stakeholders to adequately manage the constraints. Previous construction innovation research has failed to substantially evaluate and priortise constraints in implementing innovations into projects thus leading to a gap in knowledge of how Project Managers might manage these constraints to ensure successful adoption of the innovation. This paper presents a methodology for quantifying and modelling innovation constraints using FMEA and Perceptual Mapping techniques.An iterative grounded theory approach was used to identify constraint data from 30 case studies of construction projects where a product innovation was introduced. Constraint data was extracted and quantified from the case studies using content analysis and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). The resultant data was subject to manipulation using perceptual mapping techniques to formulate an Innovation Management Flowchart (IMF) and Constraint Classification Matrix (CCM). These outputs map the critical management tasks with the appropriate stakeholder responses to determine the optimum workflow sequence required to successfully implement an innovation into a construction project. A key attribute of Perceptual Mapping is that it can communicate both qualitative as well as quantitative information thereby enabling the outputs to be used by non-academic beneficiaries. The benefit of this research is an established methodology and communication framework which can be used by Project Managers to inform the risk management strategy for their projects.