Supervisors info:
Λάζαρης Απόστολος, Ακαδημαικός Υπότροφος, Τμήμα Οικονομικών Επιστημών, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Taking into consideration the contribution of the construction sector to the Greek economy and the fact that delaying the completion of works has a negative effect on the country’s GDP, it stands to reason that one should examine in depth the challenges faced by the construction companies in Greece, as well as the possibility of whether the adoption of agile principles can help in managing them more effectively.
To that end, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to construction executives in Greece, the statistical analysis of which contributed to the following findings. To begin with, the most common challenges during the construction phase in Greek public construction works, are cost and time overruns, while as far as Project Management as a whole is concerned, team dysfunction and lack of transparency between stakeholders were identified as major hurdles.
The main reasons given for exceeding the initial project deadline and budget were errors in the specifications or scope provided during the procurement phase, as well as sudden staff changes in the project team.
Meanwhile, the majority of executives state that they either use no agile methodologies or they never even heard of agile project management. They do, however, follow certain agile principles, which have positively aided in better managing the project, in combination with traditional project management methods (waterfall), which means they practically apply a hybrid model.
Last but not least, the active and continuous participation of stakeholders during the design, development, and execution of the Project, as well as their working together with the project team being one of the most dominant philosophies in agile management, seems to benefit the project as a whole and lower the possibility of cost and time overruns.
Keywords:
agile project management, agile, construction management, construction, public works,
