Controlling interfaces : a key to project success

Abstract

Most problems cited in papers dealing with project success factors are often linked to the responsibility of particular players in the construction phase, rather than to the relations among them and with their environment. Challenging the current belief that "dividing is ruling", this new vision groups problems seemingly different in nature, and provides, from their analysis, a unified set of recommendations that, if applied, could help drastically reduce unpredictability of the outcome of a project and boost productivity. Yet, and it is confirmed by the few articles that have been written about this approach, little has been done on the construction field. The appearance of a new form of project management, lean construction, and the verifiable results of improvement it triggers, offers the interface perspective a more comprehensive and supportive environment, in which it can be more easily developed, implemented and perfected. This study focuses on what should be considered the three most important interfaces during the construction phase of the project, and will compare the improvements suggested by this approach to the principles of lean construction, to support the utility of this new way of perceiving problems.