A new perspective on the challenges of contract management information systems

Abstract

One of the cornerstones of construction project delivery is contract management. It can be directly related to business and project performance (Muhammad et al., 2019). Nevertheless, contracts and contract management have proven to be a complex and risky undertaking. It has been named as one of the main causes of conflict in the construction sector (Jaffar et al., 2011). To mitigate these problems, information systems have been implemented in contract management. Nevertheless, these systems are not fully delivering on their promises. Evidence that overall costs were reduced or an improvement in project performance is very limited (Zhai et al., 2009), and contemporary information systems have often failed to realize their goals (Mutschler et al., 2008). These developments indicate that the implementation process needs optimization. Preliminary research identified two socio-technical theories that are useful for analyzing human-system interactions during the implementation and use of information systems. Activity theory provides the framework for the analysis of human-system interaction. At the same time, boundary objects seem to be involved when multiple specialists transfer knowledge through the use of objects. Information systems are highly involved in this process. Therefore, boundary objects are also included as a focus of this research. These two theories should provide a new perspective on the challenges concerning contract management information systems. This analysis brought a few bad practices to light: •Support for the system users was severely lacking •Wrong tactics were used to incentivize system use •Responsibilities were unclear, and accessibility of necessary knowledge was limited •Solutions were often late and ineffective or only partly effective •Turnkey solutions rarely functioned as desired •Boundary objects are often not handled correctly Generally, the implementation process was characterized as unstructured and reactive. Next, these lessons learned were applied to create a set of recommendations that should improve current practices. The first set of recommendations was aimed at creating the right information system. The creation of a development team is key in facilitating this process. By sharing responsibility over multiple specialists under the guidance of a system coordinator, the information systems can be correctly created. Next, Including feedback from users, keeping the system as simple as possible, and using proper specifications make sure the information system is fit for purpose. The second set of recommendations cover the realization of the requirements for the correct supporting infrastructure for the information system. This consists of the introduction of a few new roles under the support team and some supporting tools to align the supporting structures with the users. This supporting infrastructure requires the introduction of system ambassadors, a system developer, a system coordinator, and a trainer. The necessary supporting mechanisms are two-stage training, system meetings, clear and targeted manuals, and rules, and finally, the securing of common interpretations. Finally, to make the recommendations more usable, they were transformed into the tool-support implementation (TSI) roadmap. This roadmap transforms the recommendations into a two-phase strategy that managers can apply in their projects. The first phase ensures the right conditions to build the correct information system. Consequently, the second ensures the right conditions to create the right supporting structures. Following this roadmap should ensure the proper creation and implementation of a contract management information system. Finally, to bring these conclusions back to the starting point, the following answer to the main research question is provided. Contract management can indeed be improved with an analysis of the implementation process based on socio-technical perspectives. The application of this new perspective brought a new set of problems concerning the implementation of contract management information systems to light. By showing what went wrong, changes could be recommended in order to improve current practices. Therefore, the importance of these challenges lies in the fact they need to be addressed to gain the benefits that information systems are supposed to have. To realize this goal of the research, the recommendations, and tool-support implementation roadmap have been constructed. When these recommendations are applied by using the TSI roadmap, the presumed benefits of information systems should finally be unlocked. As a result of these benefits, current contract management practices are likely to be improved.