The Great Misalignment in Construction Contracting: Best Practices and Software

Construction software’s promise of efficacy has been significantly unfulfilled. Although Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been commonly used for over thirty years, many problems have existed relatively unchanged. There are several reasons for this, but one is overlooked: the absence of contractor best practices embedded in the industry’s software. The primary cause appears to be developers’ commercial interest. This paper used a literature review and an industry survey to study possible contributing factors. This paper quantifies this lack of software capability to support valuable processes. Currently, surveyed professionals perceive over 40% difference between the value of the practices tested and the enabling ability of the respondent’s software. The industry is in a new age with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computing. Will the same problems exist after these advanced technologies are widely adopted? This research adds to the body of knowledge by articulating a gap between industry-accepted practices’ value and commercial software support that enables their execution. The paper asserts that government, associations, researchers and construction organisations should facilitate reengineering to existing ICT to reflect contractor processes. This will make the coming transformation of technology more valuable to all stakeholders.