Method to reduce the gap between construction and IT companies to improve suitability before selecting an enterprise system

This study proposes a method to reduce the perception gap between the system required by construction companies and the system proposed by information technology (IT) companies during the negotiation process before selecting an enterprise system. The goal of the proposed method is to increase the developed system's suitability to a construction company. First, a set of selection factors was determined and defined. The gap between construction companies' requirements and the IT companies' offerings was then analyzed. Then a method to reduce the gap to improve suitability before selecting the system was described. The applicability of the method was tested by comparing selected and non-selected cases from two previous projects. The analysis result showed that the method is highly applicable to both construction companies and IT companies. Construction companies can apply the method to select a preferred system on the basis of suitability; and during the negotiation process before system selection, IT companies can apply the method to analyze whether a system satisfies the specific requirements of a construction company. The set of defined selection factors is also applicable to the evaluation criteria of the enterprise system.