Prioritizing the factors causing delays in construction projects while considering the performance area of project management standards

(Case Study: Herat urban development projects)

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify and prioritize the causes of delays in Herat city's urban development projects using project management standards. All experts and engineers working on development projects in Herat city, a total of around 50 people, were included in the statistical population for this study. A basic random sample approach was chosen based on the features of the statistical population. Researchers employed a researcher-made questionnaire on effective factors on construction project delays based on project management knowledge which had a reliability of 0.7118.

The data from the surveys was evaluated using an analytical hierarchical approach, and the results suggest that, according to project management standards, scope management was the most important factor impacting the delay of urban development projects in Herat city. In the sub-questions, the following were the most prominent factors in the standards of project management knowledge: integration management, guidance, and job management. Scope control in the subject of scope management; scheduling control in the field of time management; cost estimation in the subject of cost management; quality assurance in the subject of quality management; human resource management program preparation in the field of human resources; communication management planning factor in the subject of communication management; risk management planning in the field of risk management; procurement implementation in the field of procurement management; and ultimately stakeholder management planning in the context of stakeholder management, with respect to each main level, are found to be the most significant sub-levels to have the greatest impact on the delay of urban development projects in Herat City.