Use of Project Management Knowledge Areas in Civil Infrastructure Projects: Implications for Sustainability Assessment and Risk Analysis

The success of civil infrastructure projects hinges on effective project management. Building on the PMBOK® Guide framework, this study investigates how project management knowledge areas are used in practice and how their use relates to the integration of sustainability and risk-management principles. 272 construction professionals in Türkiye were surveyed and their responses were analyzed using reliability testing, normality checks, and a combination of non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis) and ANOVA. There were found significant differences in perceived use of knowledge areas by education level, project role, project profile, and prior project-management training; in applied practice, company profile explains variation, whereas project type does not. The results indicate that wider, more systematic adoption—particularly in integration, schedule/time, quality, and risk—supports transparent, traceable processes aligned with sustainability objectives. These behavioral determinants were interpreted as enablers of life-cycle sustainability assessment and risk-informed decision making across civil-infrastructure contexts. There were discussed managerial and policy implications for asset owners and contractors, identifying leverage points for training and capability building, and outlining how standardized use of PMBOK knowledge areas can accelerate sustainability assessment and risk analysis in practice.