9.3.2. Different perspectives
Different perspectives regarding the root causes of performance
problems. The simple truth is that when there is no explicit
focus on the process, the direction of improvement
efforts is determined by the prevailing mental models of the
participants. The prevailing perspective (mental model) in construction
considers project work as a collection of (activities)
rather than a flow [3]. People who hold this perspective believe:
(1) Sources of the problems are (outside the process) the owner
makes changes or adds scope, the design is incomplete, the
subcontractors were late, did not provide manpower when
needed, etc.; (2) Performance problems are typically attributed
to individual factors, such as responsibility, motivation, and
skills, rather than systemic factors (how the work is managed,
coordinated, etc.); (3) Delivering a project is just like skinning
a cat. There are thousand ways to do it, all pretty much the
same. Process-focused approaches (such as TQM and lean production)
emphasize both the components of the process (activities,
crews, etc.) and the interdependencies between
components of the complex production system [53]. Sources
of the problems are (inside the process) interdependence and
variation, and the incentives, behaviors, and work rules that
generate and propagate them. Consequently, different perspectives
lead to different directions of improvement efforts. In
other words, the definition of the problem drives the solutions.