International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability, 3 (2019) 17 - 28

Journal Homepage: www.erjournals.com

ISSN: 0184 - 7937

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF

PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES (PMM) USAGE
IN THE UK AND NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Ebiloma, David OjimaOjo1; Rimtip, Manbyen Nanven2
Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Design and Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland.
Corresponding Email: davidebiloma2017@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Modern PMMs, such as PMBOK, APMBOK and PRINCE2, in the Nigerian construction industry is under-
utilized as the industry is still ignorant of its use. The use of PMM in Nigeria is seen to be low as the understanding
of PMM is low in the country. Comparing with the construction industry in the UK, it is noticed that they had not
adopted any of the methodologies. Therefore, the study is aimed at investigating the factors that affect the success
and failure of PMM usage in the UK and Nigerian construction industry, with a view to solving the challenges in
project management and fostering the use of modern methodologies in the construction industry. This research
utilised face to face and telephone interviews in order access the practice in the construction industry in Nigeria
and the UK. Participants interviewed include four senior project managers from the construction industry in
Nigeria and two senior project managers from the construction industry in the UK. Most the participants
identified factors such as the type of contracts in the country, incomprehension of PMM, poor emphasis on
management, the ideology of the people (resistance to change), and policy enforcement challenges to be
responsible for the preventing the adoption of PMMs as well as the success rate of the methodologies. Comparing
with the construction industry in the UK, the barriers identified were the level of training and education of
professionals on PMMs as well as the understanding between the professionals in the industry. Encouraging
competence by engaging the services of competent professionals, having effective supervision plan both from the
government and the construction industry and having policies in place to ensure good management practices can
motivate the adoption of PMMs in the Nigerian construction industry.

McHugh and Hogan (2011) are of the opinion that

INTRODUCTION
Project management (PM) is seen to be an essential
aspect of the international construction industry as
Matos and Lopes (2013) describes that it has become
an essential tool in the development of projects and
applied in software projects as well as other
businesses.
How to cite this article: Ebiloma, D. O. and Rimtip, M. N.
(2019). Factors Affecting the Success or Failure of Project
Management Methodologies (PMM) Usage in the Uk and
Nigerian Construction Industry. Journal of Innovation and
Sustainability, 17 – 28
organisations must enact good PM practices in order
to compete favourably in the industry. Sanchez et al
(2013) in considering countries leading in the
industrial sector mentioned that the consequence of
PM is indicated by appraising productivity as well as
performance, taking into cognisance the organisation
as well as the people who lead and perform the
project in order to deliver a satisfactory environment
for PM.

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability 17

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3448866

 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).
PMI (2013) defines PM as the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
scheme in order to meet the necessities of the project;
stating that this can be achieved by implementing and
combining the processes involved in carrying out the
project. Turner (2014), on the other hand, described
project management methodology as a structured
approach in delivering project derived from a defined
process and capable of handling all project types.
Matos and Lopes (2013) also explained that it is the
definition of a group of tasks as it is an essential
mechanism used in measuring project progress as
well as control tasks.
Various methodologies for project management in
the construction industry have been acknowledged
by several authors to include Project Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Projects in a
Controlled Environment (PRINCE2), BS 7000-2:
2008 guide, BS 6079; a guide to project
management, ISO 10006; quality management-
guidelines to quality in project management and
Association for Project Management Body of
Knowledge (APMBOK) Guide among others
(Sanchez et al, 2013; Matos and Lopes, 2013;
McHugh and Hogan, 2011; Turner, 2014; Hornstein,
2015). For the purpose of this research, three
methodologies will be considered; PMBOK,
APMBOK and PRINCE2.
The study by Rimtip (2016) revealed that modern
PMM in the Nigerian construction industry is under-
utilized as the industry is still ignorant of its use. The
use of PMM in Nigeria is seen to be low as the
understanding of PMM is low in the country. Though
it may seem that the presence of the PMI in the
country might improve the understanding;
participants in this industry particularly
acknowledged that the low awareness of these
methodologies in the industry is a challenge, despite
the fact that the methodologies improved the
performance and success of the projects. The use of
traditional project management is perceived to be a
dominant approach in Nigeria as the information
from the interview confirmed that. It was also
identified that there are challenges with the
International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability
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traditional approach as satisfaction is not truly
achieved. Comparing with the response from the
construction industry in the UK, it was noticed that
the respondents in the UK had not adopted any of the
methodologies mentioned, though the description of
the processes provided by the participants had a close
link to the PMM processes discussed in the
literatures. It was deduced that it is as a result of the
training received by the participants as one of the
participants mentioned that PMM was part of the
modules learned in training. This suggested that
having the knowledge of PMM transforms into the
project manager’s actions in managing projects.
Considering the foregoing, it is important to evaluate
the factors that can hinder or foster the use of these
PMMs in the construction industry. Therefore, the
study is aimed at investigating the factors that affect
the success and failure of PMM usage in the UK and
Nigerian construction industry, with a view to
solving the challenges in project management and
fostering the use of modern methodologies in the
construction industry. The specific objectives are to:
i. appraise the factors that lead to or hinder
successful use of these methodologies; and
ii. provide recommendations on the use of such
methodologies in the Nigerian construction
industry.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The PMBOK, APMBOK and PRINCE2
PMBOK: PMBOK was created by the Project
Management Institute (PMI) to safeguard a set of
knowledge theory in PM as it provides guidelines for
managing individual projects (Matos and Lopes,
2013; PMI, 2013). It consists of nine knowledge
areas; integration, scope, cost, time, quality, risk,
human resources, communication as well as
procurement management and five process areas;
initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and
controlling as well as closing (Sanjuan and Froese,
2013; Sam and Imikan, 2019). Matos and Lopes
(2013) observed that the principle of PMI depends
largely on the fact that project management tools and
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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).
techniques are common both in the software industry
project as well as the construction industry projects.
PMBOK Guide is globally recognised for the
management of project, describing established
norms, methods, processes and practices which
evolved from the contributions of project
management practitioners’ good practices (PMI
2013). The PMBOK Guide was first published in
1987 and the American National Standard Institute
(ANSI) approved it as an American National
Standard (ANS) (Matos and Lopes, 2013).
APMBOK: Considering the PMI’s model, the
Association of Project Management in the United
Kingdom (UK) as recorded by Hornstein (2015) was
of the opinion that the PMI’s model was too narrow
and as a result, they developed a model similar to
PMBOK in 1991 known as the Association of Project
Management Body of Knowledge (APMBOK).
Morris et al (2000) reported that the APM use
APMBOK as a regulating document to control its
examinations, certification and accreditation
practices, defining subject matters in project
management that should be learned. APM (2006)
posited that the APMBOK is not a set of rules or
methods that guides people, teams and organisations
on what to do or how to carry out a project as it
attempts to give explanation to various management
topics to impact knowledge as it states that effective
project management has to do with appropriately
balanced, combined knowledge, experience and
behaviour. Morris et al (2006) reported that the APM
BOK has to do with the following;
i. Describing topics relating to project
management viewed as relevant to project
management practitioners in managing projects
as suggesting how to get additional
information;
ii. Pointing out practices that have been
recognised as useful;
iii. Indicating accepted and applicable thoughts as
well as explain newer practices;
iv. Indicate relevant standards;
v. Refer to some basic theoretical framework.
International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3448866
PRINCE2: PRINCE2 is described as a project
management methodology positioned on a continued
business justification as well as a planning process
that is centered on products (Sanjuan and Froese
2013). Matos and Lopes (2013) explained that it was
created by the Central Computer and
Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) which is now
known as the Office of Government Commerce in
1989. It is structured based on lots of project
experience and contributions of sponsors, managers,
project teams, consultants, academics and trainers,
giving fundamental roles as well as responsibilities
in a project, grouping management by stages with a
defined divergence liberality on project costs, risks,
scope, benefits as well as quality (Sanjuan and
Froese, 2013; Matos and Lopes, 2013). Turner
(2014) opined that PRINCE2 works by separating
the management aspect in a project from its design
and construction among others, addressing project
management with four integrated elements: project
environment, themes, processes and principles.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methodological choice suitable for this study
was the qualitative research. The study also made use
of the concept of exploratory studies as it sought to
answer research questions of ‘what’ and ‘how’. The
research strategy that best suited the study was the
case study as Yin (2014 cited in Saunders et al, 2016)
described that it is an investigation on a subject area
within its real-life context. Two cases were identified
for the research: Nigeria and UK construction
industry, setting the boundary. The data collection
technique adopted for this research was the semi-
structured interviews, utilising both open ended as
well close ended questions in order to discover as
much as possible about the implementation of PMM
in the Nigerian and UK construction industry. The
type of sampling chosen for the research is the
homogenous purposive non-probability sampling.
The research population considered for this research
is the construction industry in Nigeria compared to
the construction industry in the UK. To find out
about PMMs used to manage construction projects,
the professionals involved in managing these
construction projects in the industry were targeted, as
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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).
they will have more information in this regard. Due
to the size of professionals present in this industry, a
sample size of 6-8 professionals was considered. The
data collected was analysed manually first and then
analysed by NVivo software in order to further
identify emerging themes and patterns. The
Table 1: Interview Questions in relation to research aim and Objectives
Interview Question
Q1: How can you evaluate the success of the
methodologies?
Q2: What do you think can be done to improve project
performance and success in the industry?
Q3: How relevant do you think adopting
internationally recognised standards will be in
achieving project success?
(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Coding of Interview
Case 1: Nigeria
Participants: Participants in this case study are
professionals in the construction industry in Nigeria
mainly Architects and Quantity Surveyors who have
been involved in managing construction projects.
From the participants’ background is shown in Table
2, it can be deduced that the participants are
professionals in the construction industry, having
work experience in the industry between 15 to 40
years. The participants are also well trained in their
professions, having qualifications from Bachelor of
Science to Master of Science in their respective
fields.
Response to Question 1:
‘How can you evaluate the success of this
methodology?’
This question represents the participants’ perception
of the success of the methodology they have adopted
in projects. The aim here is to understand the
International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability
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interview questions and what aspect of the research
questions and objectives it aims to answer are
represented in Table 1.
Research Objective
O1: To critically appraise the reasons for failures or
successes of these methodologies.
O2: To provide recommendations on the use of such
methodologies in the Nigerian construction industry.
O2: To provide recommendations on the use of such
methodologies in the Nigerian construction industry.
meaning each participant ascertain to the successful
implementation of this methodology as well as the
success rate on the projects. The response of the
participants is illustrated in Table 3.
Consequent to the riposte of the participants, the
codes generated includes the limitations of the
tradition project management approach, benefits of
adopting a methodology, and the limitations of
adopting the PMBOK. The pattern includes
challenges with traditional PM, impact of adopting
PMM on projects, project manager’s satisfaction
with the methodology used, and the challenges of
adopting PMBOK in Nigeria. The general theme
emerging from this question is the PMM
success/failure rate which comes under the category
PMM practice.
Response to Question 2:
‘What do you think can be done to improve project
performance and success in the industry?’
The participants’ perception and what they think can
be done to improve the performance of construction
projects in general are explored and presented in
Table 4. The codes generated includes governance of
the country, safety, corruption, improving economy,
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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).

improve policies, encourage competent The participants were then asked to provide their
professionals, ensure adequate planning, adequate opinion on the relevance of PMM in the construction
training of personnel, and encourage collaborate industry in Nigeria. In other words, they opinion of
relationship. Patterns includes prioritising how important PMM will be in improving project
construction projects, enforcing regulations/policies, management practices in Nigeria was evaluated and
improving project management modules, engage their responses represented in Table 5. The codes
qualified professionals, motivation, making generated here include; improve project
competent project managers and communication. performance, improve achieving project success and
The theme has to do with improving project awareness and performance of PM. The pattern is the
performance, while the category is adopting PMM. need for PMMs; the theme is improving project
performance/PM practices; and the category is the
Response to Question 3 relevance of PMM
‘How relevant do you think adopting
internationally recognised standard will be in
achieving project success?’

Table 2: Participants Background in relation to the research

Participant Profession Years of Training Professional Types of project managed
Experience Body
Membership

Participant 1 Quantity 20 to 25 years BSc and NIQS Buildings to include

Surveyor MSc QS institutional buildings,
infrastructures, residential.

Participant 2 Quantity 16 years OND and NIQS, Residential, institutional

Surveyor HND QS QSRBON buildings and also
refurbishment works.

Participant 3 Architect 19 years BSc and NIA and Residential and institutional
MSc ARCON buildings
Architecture

Participant 4 Quantity 38 years BSc QS and NIQS, Commercial buildings, office

surveyor MSc PM QSRBON, buildings, institutional
CIBSE, buildings
RICS, AAQS

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).

Table 3: Response to Question 1

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).

Table 4: Response to Question 2

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

Table 5: Response to Question 3

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).

Case 2: Scotland The participant’s experience and practice is between

Participants: The participants in this case study are 15-40 years and the summary of the background of
as the first case study professionals in the UK each participant is represented in the Table 6.
construction industry.

Table 6: General Background of participants Case 2

Participant Profession Years of Training Professional Types of project

Experience Body managed
Membership

Participant 1 Operations 19 years BSc Construction ICIOB Retail projects

manager in Management and (supermarkets, shopping
construction presently on parks) ranging from few
professional million pounds to
doctorate 120million pounds
programme

Participant 2 Regional practiced OND and HND QS Used to be a Up to 250M Pounds

design architecture member of projects in Housing,
manager for and RIBA and schools, offices, factories,
construction construction Scottish cinemas
projects for 40 years Architects
.

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

Response to Question 1
Consequent to the participant’s response as illustrated
in Table 7, the following codes were generated;
limitations of not adopting a methodology and
stakeholder importance, the patterns include;
challenges with no PMM, pressure on project
manager, the need for PMM, and defining key
performance indicators (KPI). The theme is the PMM
success/failure rate and the category is PMM practice.

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability 24

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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).

Table 7: Response to Question 1

contract types. The pattern is the effectiveness use

Response to Question 2 and creating awareness of PMMs, and BIM. The
The participant’s response on how to improve project theme is improving project performance and the
performance generated codes such as framework category is adopting PMM. The response is
development, effective education/utilising represented in Table 8.
frameworks, utilising BIM and selecting effective
Table 8: Response to Question 2

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).

Response to Question 3
The response of the participants represented in Table
9, indicated the perception of each participant on the
relevance of PMM from their experience in
managing construction projects and the codes
generated includes improve project success and
improve achieving project success. The patterns here
include the need to apply PMMs correctly and BIM.
The theme is same as the previous theme as it relates
to improving project performance and the category is
the relevance of PMM.

Table 9: Response to Question 3

(Source: Author’s Compilation, 2016)

RESULTS ANALYSIS/DISCUSSIONS
Case 1- Nigeria
From the assessment of the success rate provided by
the participants, participants 1 and 3 were seen to
admit challenges with the traditional PM approach.
According to participant 1, there has been ‘several
challenges with the client in terms of the
contractor/client relationship’. Participant 3 also
commented on the success say that ‘there are lots of
challenges associated with this process as
satisfaction cannot be achieved’. However,
participant 2 and 4 acknowledged that applying the
PMBOK on projects improved the performance of
their projects as well as success. In spite of the
success rate provided by the participants, participant
4 identified that the fact that the PMBOK is not
popular in the country, there are challenges in
adopting the methodologies.
the opinion that adopting PMM will improve project
performance. The response was group into the
following;
• adequate training of personnel
• corruption
• encourage collaborative relationship
• encourage competent professionals
• ensure adequate planning
• governance of the country
• improve policies
• improving economy
• safety
The relevance of PMM cannot be over emphasized
in the construction industry in Nigeria. All the
participants accepted that the construction industry
in Nigeria require PMMs to improve project
performance.

Consequent to the response from question 2, the Case 2- Scotland

participant’s opinion of adopting PMM involved The response from case 2 has the same pattern and
improving project performance as they were all of categories as case 1 and the findings are summarised.

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 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).
Participant 1 here is of the opinion that the lack of
structured approach to process puts a lot of pressure
on the project manager, as the success of the project
relies on the inherent skills of the project manager.
Participant 2 on the other hand is of the opinion that
ensuring client satisfaction is the key to project
success as well as making profit which leads to the
essence of the business case described by PRINCE2,
PMBOK and APMBOK.
In adopting PMMs, respondents pointed out that
‘having frameworks with people having an
understanding of how this framework can be used
collaboratively as part of the design, construction
process’ is important as it can limit the pressure on
project managers as well as reduce the risk of
omitting key elements of the project process as well
as improve the competence of the PM. Participant 2
also stressed the need of adopting the BIM in other
to address the drawbacks of communication,
collaboration, and stakeholder management among
other factors. Participant 1noted that the relevance of
PMMs is tied ‘applying the standard correctly’ as
this ‘can lead to a better chance of success as success
is subjective to the different meaning different parties
associate to success’. Participant 2 on the other hand
stated that ‘having a frame work like BIM will
increase project performance’.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Factors Affecting Failure and Success of PMM
Most the participants identified factors such as the
type of contracts in the country, incomprehension of
PMM, poor emphasis on management, the ideology
of the people (resistance to change), and policy
enforcement challenges to be responsible for the
preventing the adoption of PMMs as well as the
success rate of the methodologies. Comparing with
the construction industry in the UK, the barriers
identified were the level of training and education of
professionals on PMMs as well as the understanding
between the professionals in the industry.
The similarity deduced from the cases is the training
of professionals on PMMs. This indicates the level
of awareness of the PMMs although it can be said
that the level of awareness of the PMMs in the UK is
more than the Nigerian construction industry. One of
International Journal of Innovation and Sustainability
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3448866
the factors also distinguishing the Nigerian industry
is the poor emphasis on management which can be
said to be the reason of the low PMM knowledge.
Also, issues such as the cultural difference as spotted
by Muriithi et al (2003) in the literature are seen to
play a major role.
Improving PMM Practice in Nigeria
PMMs have been acknowledged by the participants
that adopted its use on projects to be effective in
achieving project success. One of the recurring
points to note from the participants response was the
fact that emphasis must be placed on effective
management of construction projects and this can be
done by paying more attention to management
practices. Encouraging competence by engaging the
services of competent professionals, having effective
supervision plan both from the government and the
construction industry and having policies in place to
ensure good management practices can motivate the
adoption of PMMs in the Nigerian construction
industry.
Consequent to the response from practitioners in the
UK, developing frameworks for management
practices by the government and educating/training
professionals and creating awareness will improve
PMM practice.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The study was aimed at investigating the factors that
affect the success and failure of PMM usage in the
UK and Nigerian construction industry, with a view
to solving the challenges in project management and
fostering the use of modern methodologies in the
construction industry. Barriers limiting the adoption
of these methodologies were investigated and it was
revealed that low awareness of PMM, poor
enthusiasm, governance and culture among other
factors impede the adoption of these methodologies.
Recommendations were made on how these barriers
could be overcome in order to use PMMs more and
improve the Nigerian construction industry through
this. Awareness of PMMs should be enforced by
integrating PMMs in project management
curriculums in schools as well as organising trainings
on the effective utilisation of PMMs on construction
projects. Invest in research on building materials
27
 Ebiloma and Rimtip (2019).
sourced locally to address the problems of
availability of materials as well as encourage
diversification in the construction industry.
Collaborative relationships between construction
industry participants as well as the stakeholders
should be encouraged.
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