A SURVEY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS IN EGYPT: THE CURRENT STATUS

Abstract

Project Management is considered now one of the most dynamic and growing professions worldwide. Effective project management not only reduces unnecessary costs of doing business, but also has become as a crucial factor to gain a competitive advantage and determines the success and survive of organizations. In the last decade, there is a global international interest and attention for organizations to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of its project management practices. Given such background, this clarifies the dramatic increase in the attention, research and practices of the project management maturity and the maturity models. Maturity Models has taken on greater significance not only in assessing organization"s current project management capabilities and efficiency, but also as a path for achieving excellence in project management and further performance improvement. The capability maturity model, the first maturity model developed, has achieved a wide success and Organizations implementing this approach experience and report significant benefits and return on investment. Various models have since been developed and proposed, and they are most commonly implemented in developed countries such as USA, UK, Canada, Europe, etc. The excessive variety of maturity models has made the choice between them difficult and need careful attention and consideration in both the model choice and implementation in the business. In Egypt, there is a lack of documentation available on the current status, awareness and utilization of maturity models in the contracting organizations working in the construction sector and this study aims to fill this gap. To achieve this, it was necessary to consult project management experts and professionals to get an understanding of how these organizations view maturity models and project management standards and to establish the most common business practices and so propose the basis of a maturity model for Egyptian construction contractors that best fits the current status. Based on the analysis of the survey conducted, it was concluded that project management tools and methodologies have not yet been utilized effectively in the Egyptian construction contracting organizations and that there is much room for improvement regarding project management practices in these organizations in order for Egypt to develop the contracting construction sector as a pillar for the Egyptian economy.