A framework for construction strategy formulation and visualization

Informed decisions on the efficacy of project and construction strategies to meet client objectives and satisfy project delivery constraints involve the three tasks of formulation, representation and assessment of alternative strategies. This need is present in not only the initial planning phase of a project, but during the execution phase as necessitated by changed objectives and conditions. Explored in this paper is a way of thinking about the concept of construction strategy and its interrelated parts (tactical variables and plan) in aid of the foregoing tasks, with particular emphasis on large scale vertical and horizontal building and civil infrastructure projects. This way of thinking has been pursued as a complement to other work directed at the visual representation and assessment of construction strategy alternatives in the form of 4D images, construction schedules, and related images, such as the distribution of resources in terms of time, space and physical system. Motivating this work is the pressing need to reduce impediments associated with exploring alternative strategies in a timely and insightful manner using existing scheduling and 4D modeling tools. Our strategy framework takes into account the dynamic factors of a project and consequences for strategy formulation and adaptation as positioned in the domains of time, space/system and project participant, and as driven by project directives.