PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to facilitate further understanding of project complexity by highlighting the factors contributing to project complexity as reported by the practitioners facing the “actuality” of projects.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was undertaken by conducting semi‐structured interviews with the primary focus on the aerospace industry. Participants are involved in a variety of project settings, exhibiting different types and levels of complexity.FindingsAnalysis of responses highlights “people” issues as the main factor contributing to project complexity and the importance of soft skills in managing complex projects.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on a limited number of respondents from the aerospace sector. This will be further refined and improved upon by compiling views of additional practitioners involved in multiple aerospace projects.Practical implicationsThe main research conclusions are that “hard” project management skills help to organise, plan and manage, and track changes during the course of the project. However, understanding of project complexity and its contributing factors helps practitioners to understand the dynamic, social and complex contexts of projects, thus highlighting the importance of “soft” skills.Originality/valueThis paper proposes the “project complexity triangle – people, product and process”, highlighting their importance as the three major areas contributing to project complexity.

The application of Whole Life Cycle Costing (WLCC) within the construction industry is rapidly increasing; notwithstanding, the underlying methodology of many WLCC models is variable and inconsistent. The deficiency in detailed recording of decisions based on WLCC analyses is a particular concern and moreover, attempts to capture the data related to these decisions are not evident. Data capture is vital in facilitating the iterative and logical application of WLCC. In an attempt to re-engineer the WLCC design process, the evolving research described hereinafter reports on the development of the 'Logbook', a WLCC model decision-support software application. The application works simultaneously with a WLCC model to provide the designers of buildings with a repository of decision data (via the WLCC model), and a sequential, chronological record of the decisions made based on this data -from inception through to final design optimization. It is anticipated that the software will encourage the application of WLCC models as an iterative rather than retrospective process.

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Abstract. The management of data, information and knowledge through the project life cycle of buildings and civil infrastructure projects is becoming increasingly complex. As an attempt to drive efficiencies and address this complexity, the United Kingdom Government has mandated that Building Information Modelling (BIM) methods must be adopted in all public sector construction projects in 2016. Emerging from the US Department of Defence, BIM is an approach to the co-ordination of design and production data using object-oriented principles as described in ISO 29481-1:2010. The underlying philosophy of BIM is to ensure the "provision of a single environment to store shared asset data and information, accessible to all individuals who are required to produce, use and maintain it" (PAS 1192(PAS -2:2013. A key aspect of BIM lies in the notion of 'interoperability' between various software applications used in the design and construction process and a common data format for the efficient exchange of design information and knowledge. Protagonists of BIM argue that this interoperability provides an effective environment for collaboration between actors in the construction process and creates accurate, reliable, repeatable and high-quality information exchange. This UK government mandate presents numerous challenges to the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professions; in particular, the characteristics of BIM Level 2 remain explicitly undefined and this created a degree of uncertainty amongst the promoters and those professionals charged with delivering projects. This research casts a critical lens on the current literature in the domains of object-oriented modelling of infrastructure and the associated implications for procurement and project management. A mixedmethods approach using questionnaire analysis and secondary case study analysis was used to enact an inductive research approach that captures a range of data on the practical issues and considerations associated with the integration of BIM in the industry.

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