Opportunity management enablers in construction projects: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Using various activities and practices for opportunity management, namely, enablers can help maximise opportunities for project-oriented organisations in the construction industry. Opportunity management literature does not offer an extensive set of enablers with their performance track records in construction projects. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify enablers that have proven effective. This study is based on a systematic literature review of 65 real-life project cases. This is one of the few studies that has attempted to observe the cost and time savings from various opportunity management enablers across many construction projects. By contrast, previous studies have mainly covered a limited number of projects and applied enablers. Using content analysis, we identified more than 20 enablers applied in the reviewed cases, and among them, value engineering (VE) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) proved effective in attaining significant cost savings. Constructability analysis is another viable approach that can reduce costs and expedite the execution of construction. This paper provides realistic cost and time savings that can be expected from using different enablers. Such information is of practical significance to project managers considering applying enablers in construction projects.