Human Factor in Interrelated Construction Projects: Modelling Decision- Making and Collaboration through a Serious Game Platform

This research proposal seeks funding to continue and expand on a project titled "Management practices in fragmented natural systems,” which was partially funded by the Advance Construction Cluster of SOFE in 2022. The project aims to address the human factor in the success of managing interrelated projects in a construction supply chain, which is often overlooked in normative success solutions. Modelling behavioural traits in the real system is costly and disruptive, making surrogate models for laboratory experiments the preferred choice. In the previous project, we developed a serious game platform that enabled an online version of a laboratory with the possibility of full manipulation of all factors to match the study assumptions. Simultaneously, we conducted a physical simulation laboratory investigation of the relationship between managerial decisions and complex construction operations.

The study examined two common management models to identify the most significant success factors in establishing collaboration as a core management practice. To establish collaboration within a team, strong decision-making skills were identified as the most essential skill. The study had limitations in the number of experiments conducted, the number of models tested, and the sampling criteria used to select participants.

This proposal has two main objectives. First, it seeks to use the developed platform to quantify and model the relationship between strong decision-making skills and collaboration. The online platform will permit increasing experiment sizes, testing various models, and using different sampling criteria for participants to address these limitations. Additionally, focusing on strong decision-making skills as the only independent variable of the model helps minimise ambiguity and ensure accurate data collection.

The second objective of the proposal is to take the platform to the next level by enabling flexibility in the number of participants in each round of experiments. Currently, six participants must be available, limiting the use of the tool. With this expansion, the tool can be used with fewer participants, increasing the number of scenarios for data collection. Ultimately, the proposed research project will provide valuable insights into the role of human factors in the management of interrelated construction projects and will produce a flexible and cost-effective laboratory tool for investigating these relationships.

By exploring the role of human factors in the success of managing interrelated projects in a construction supply chain, the proposed research project contributes to the ACP's mission to advance the construction industry and adopt advanced technologies for sustainable development.