Developing a project surveillance system to monitor and control building projects: the case of Hong Kong

Commonly called the iron triangle, cost, time and scope continue to be primary concerns for project managers. Regarding this trio, studies have shown that cost and time can be measured objectively by using the <i>S-curve</i>. Nonetheless, there is still a lack of knowledge on developing an <i>S-curve</i> using data of completed projects to monitor and control ongoing building projects. This study, grounded in classical organizational theory, seeks to develop an <i>S-curve</i> called project surveillance system (PSS) by utilizing a huge database of recently completed infrastructure and building projects in the past two decades provided by the Development Bureau of the HKSAR Government. The dataset was pre-processed and categorized into four groups depending on whether the projects were completed on schedule and within budget, or if they exceeded their planned time and/or cost. The data categories were used to develop PSS curves. Among the curves, one known as an ‘all-performing PSS’ (developed from dataset of projects completed on time and within budget) serves as the best generalized model following case studies validation. This PSS will support project, programme and portfolio managers to effectively monitor and control building projects. Future studies will develop a PSS using Artificial Intelligence algorithms to enhance accuracy.