A Conceptual Framework to Enhance Value Creation in Construction Projects

There is a clear link between the building design and the value creation by the businesses and users of the buildings. Measuring project success is a complex task and has traditionally been associated with criteria like time, cost and quality in the project society. However, modern project management literature has revealed that other objectives should be taken into consideration in order to achieve overall success in projects. Understanding the owner's and the users' strategic objectives and translating them into functional buildings seem to be an essential factor for understanding the true value of a project. Fulfilment of these objectives can primarily be assessed when the building is in use. Value creation of a building is therefore directly linked to the effects that owning and using the building have over its lifetime. This paper is aiming towards outlining a method to identify and understand the owner's and user's strategic objectives and use this knowledge to optimize the design of buildings in order to enhance the value creation of projects.The suggested framework is the first step towards developing a method for enhancing value creation in construction projects. The framework is developed based on a qualitative research using literature studies and discussions with fellow scholars and experts. The research reveals that value in a life cycle perspective is created when needs are fulfilled and strategic goals are achieved. In a project perspective, the efficiency and effectiveness of suppliers is also of importance. The framework presents a method that enables the project to move the focus from the project perspective to lifetime perspective. Implementing such a method will help the decision makers to move the focus from what is best for the project to what is best for the users and the owner.