Developing a Performance Index for Relationship-Based Construction Projects in Australia: Delphi Study

Over the past decade, an increasing trend of client organizations has been observed to adopt relationship-based approaches to run their building and construction projects internationally. Since there are numerous benefits of adopting relationship-based projects in construction, it is important to conduct research in the area of key performance indicators (KPIs) because it can help set a benchmark for measuring the performance of relationship-based projects. Nevertheless, few, if any, comprehensive and systematic research studies in this area have been conducted. This paper reports an empirical study which applies the Delphi survey technique to formulate a model to assess the success of relationship-based construction projects in Australia. Four rounds of Delphi survey questionnaires were conducted with 22 construction experts in Australia. The Delphi survey selected eight KPIs to evaluate the success of relationship-based projects in Australia. These KPIs included: (1) client's satisfaction; (2) cost performance; (3) quality performance; (4) time performance; (5) effective communications; (6) safety performance; (7) trust and respect; and (8) innovation and improvement. A statistically significant consensus on the eight selected KPIs was also obtained from the Delphi experts. A formula for calculating a performance index for relationship-based projects in Australia has been finally derived. Construction senior executives and project managers can use the index to measure, monitor, and improve the performance of their individual relationship-based projects. It also broadens the existing body of knowledge of both academics and practitioners in the construction industry because the research method could be replicated in other geographical locations to create similar indices for international comparisons, thus assisting in the understanding of managing relationship-based projects across different countries.