Assignment 1: Software for Construction and Infrastructure development projects Evaluation Methodology After researching various cloud-based project management software available for Construction & Infrastructure industry. Total five software were selected for evaluation wrt. suitability for a large infrastructure development company. ‘These options were evaluated based on the core and exclusive features. Each software was awarded score against each feature. The core features were managed as qualifying criteria and scores were awarded in a uniform manner such that if the feature is available similar scores were awarded to eligible software. Additional points were given in only those cases where the given software has significant advantage over the other options. In case of exclusive features, a more critical approach was taken w.rt. to software technical as well as organisational capabilities. The scores were awarded with a significantly higher score where the software claimed to have better features. It is important to note that all the scores were awarded on the scale of 1 to 10 where 1 being the lowest score. However, it shall be noted that every feature was given a weightage, so that contribution of each score is dependent on its importance. A 50% weightage was given to all core features and each feature has equal weightage. As there are ten core features so each feature has 5% weightage. However, the remaining five exclusive features have combined weightage of remaining 50%, with three having 10% each and two with 5% weightage. The exclusive features such as The Customization, Gantt Chart View & Task Dependencies were given higher weightages due to importance of these features for a large project management organisation and leverage in optimisation and deep insight which can be provided by this software. In the study, initially 6 software were selected for evaluation namely Procore, PlanGrid, Autodesk BIM 360, Aconex, Trimble connect & Bentley systems. During initial screening Aconex was not considered for further evaluation due its lack of capabilities in Budget Management, Quality Management, and few other exclusive features The remaining five software were evaluated further and the table on the next page summarises each evaluation parameter, ie, the core features (Sr. 1 to 10) and the exclusive features (a1 to a5). The scores were provided based on information available in technical brochures and industry case studies available on company websites and the general information available over internet, It was given about the company was that itis a large multinational organization in infrastructure & construction industry and employs more than 20,000 workforce including contracted and daily wage ‘workers. itis assumed that analytical and organisational capabilities of software are particularly Important for the company and the company is already using several software for core engineering ‘and project design. It is also assumed that company wants to manage the construction projects though a software which is capable of seamless collaboration and should be able to utilize and analyse the data across the project and provide insights to improve the efficiency. As itis a large established organisation itis also assumed that this call for flexibility in the software and will quires {good amount of customisation. Evaluation Refer evaluation sheet on next page3. Analysis 2a, The Core Features: ¥- All'S software were close to each other in terms of scores obtained in core features with the averages ranging between 8 to 9. Y- Procore, Autodesk & Bentley systems has slight advantage in Budget management in terms of Budget tracking, change management, forecasting and tracking as compared to PlanGrid and ‘Trimble connect. In Ease of use the Procore scored additional point due its straightforward, intuitive, and very simple to comprehend interface. Y- In Analytics and reporting capabilities all five software were awarded equal scores due to their capabilities and possible integration with Power BI & Tableau. 2b. The Exclusive Features: The scores in Exclusive Features varied among the software significantly. ¥ Procore and Bentley systems claimed a higher possibility of customization and flexibility with their solution. However, auto desk can be customised moderately. PlanGrid and Trimble had limited customisation options. Except PlanGrid al 4-software had good Gantt Chart capabilities and Task Dependencies with Robust scheduling & task dependency feature. In photo management Procore and Bentley systems scored higher due to Photo management with upload, organize tagging & GPS tagging features. ¥ In Drawing Management Procore and Bentley sored sigtly higher as compared to competitors Based on above analysis the table below shows the final scores based scored obtained in each feature and the respective weightages. Procore has scored maximum and stending out with respect to its competitors. Br ec er Ce ee eae) Score (Out of 10) 4, Recommendation Based on above results it recommend to exploring Procore thraugh demonstrations with simulation data by the software provider. And if the claims are found valid, company may proceed with procurement process, Note: Bentley Systems scores are marginally below Procore and may be considered as second preference. Bentley Systems claims to be more proficient with design and engineering tools and may be a preferred solution, Due to limited information about the buying company & core requirement, this was not pursued further.