ASSESSMENT OF THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE AND RELATIONSHIPS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

This study assessed the relative importance and relationships of the project management practices of construction companies in Nigeria. A total of 221 valid responses were received from the respondents from 250 questionnaire survey carried out on their professional certifications and the level of usage of fifty-three identified project management practices. The result of the data analyses in SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) and LISREL (linear structural relationship) indicates that only 22% of the respondents have at least a certification in project management which implies a poor level of skillfulness in the utilization of project management tools, methods and techniques in managing projects. Also, the respondents agreed that the utilization of project management practices enhance project management as indicated by the above average value of their relative importance. However, it was found out that there was poor utilization of the tools relating to budget management as indicated by the below average value of the relative importance index. The SEM model indicates that communication management positively influences the other project management practices with the highest level of impact on procurement management. It also indicates that cost management negatively influences quality management which implies that excessive control of project cost could result to a compromise in the quality of the output. These findings calls for project organizations to encourage and support the training of their professionals in project management practices and certifications.