Exploratory Study on the Effectiveness of Interface-Management Practices in Dealing with Project Complexity in Large-Scale Engineering and Construction Projects

Abstract

Recently, formal approaches to interface management (IM) have been adopted in a number of large-scale engineering and construction (E&C) projects. However, understanding of the role and performance of IM practices in E&C projects is quite limited today. Given this circumstance, this paper attempts to understand the effectiveness of IM practices in E&C projects from the perspective of dealing with project complexity. To fulfill the objective, data on project complexity and IM practices were collected from 45 large-scale E&C projects and analyzed using quantitative analysis methods such as principal component analysis and linear regression. The data analysis revealed that current formal IM practices employed in E&C projects are effective for mitigating the adverse impact of project complexity originating from uncertainty in scope and communication and large numbers of stakeholders; however, they are not as effective for dealing with project complexity originating from large numbers of engineered items. These results provide insights into the direction of future advancement in IM techniques for large-scale E&C projects.