Use of online communication portals in construction projects: issues associated to alignment of technology and processes.

The online portals have been in use as an information and communication tool for some time in construction projects. Although they have brought significant benefits, the way they are implemented in projects is crucial to deliver the desired outcomes. Appropriates of the technology and processes are two critical aspects that determine the effective use of online portals, as in any other Information and Communication Technology initiatives. Moreover the challenges facing alignment of technology and processes in the online portal implementation is greater in ‘intra-organisation’ context than in ‘inter-organisation’. Online portal implementation in construction projects are typically intra-organisational. In the context of this research supply chain perspective is employed to contextualise the intra-organisational setup of construction projects. This paper identifies the issues impacting technology and process alignment with online portals in sharing information and communication across construction project supply chains. The un-alignment of technology and process will impact on the successful outcomes of the portal, in turn impacting on the project outcomes. A single case study strategy using interview method is employed to collect data. Coding and thematic analysis is used to identify the relevant issues. The findings identify two issues impacting on technological alignment and six issues impacting on process alignment of online portals in the project teams. The issues impacting on technology are (a) the extent of hardware/software systems interoperability and (b) technical capacity/ capability of the supply chain members. The issues impacting on process alignment are (a) designing and resourcing of information management processes, (b) communication of the processes relating to information management to project team, (c) the perceptions on intend and actual purpose of the portal, (d) the level of irrelevant information overburden, (e) level of clarity on accountability and responsibility of project team members, and (f) contractual environment- attitudes of and trust between members.