ITcon Vol. 26, pg. 953-973, http://www.itcon.org/2021/51

The effectiveness of web-based technology platforms in facilitating construction project collaboration: a qualitative analysis of 1,152 user reviews

DOI:10.36680/j.itcon.2021.051
submitted:March 2021
revised:April 2021
published:November 2021
editor(s):Nashwan Dawood, Farzad Pour Rahimian
authors:Mahmuda Chowdhury, PhD Candidate,
Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia;
chowdhurym@deakin.edu.au

M. Reza Hosseini, Associate Head of School (Research),
Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia;
reza.hosseini@deakin.edu.au

Igor Martek, Senior Lecturer in Construction,
Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia;
igor.martek@deakin.edu.au

David John Edwards, Professor,
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Birmingham City University, City Centre Campus, Millennium Point, Birmingham, UK;
drdavidedwards@aol.com

Dr Jun Wang, Lecturer in Construction,
Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia;
jun.wang1@deakin.edu.au
summary:The construction industry accounts for 9% of global GDP. Efforts at addressing construction’s inherent inefficiencies have over the last decade increasingly involved the deployment of web-based collaborative tools. Consequently, much research has been devoted to assessing these platforms; including interoperability, workflow management and technological limits. What has not been considered to date are the views of web-based tool users themselves as to the functionality, potency and usability of the various platforms available on the market. Currently, there are 5,300,000 documented users of web-based collaborative tools. If web-based collaboration is to be further enhanced, the views of users must be known. This study explores this dimension. Financeonline’s top six tools were considered: CoCostruct, PlanGrid, Autodesk BIM 360, Procore, e-builder and Aconex. Around 200 reviews for each tool were collected from ‘Business Software Reviews from Software Advice,’ resulting in a total dataset of 1,152 complete reviews. Text-mining analysis was applied to this dataset, using RapidMiner Studio 7.5. Thirty key terms with a frequency of over 100 occurrences were retrieved; terms such as software, manage, inform, support, easy use, function, track and friendly. These constitute the subject of the reviews. These terms were then analyzed for sentiment qualifiers; either positive or negative. A total of 804 sentiments were positive, 322 negative and 26 neutral. This study thus highlights that while 70% of user reviews of web-based collaborative tools are positive, there remains much room for improvement. Areas for improvement are also indicated by this study.
keywords:Collaboration technology, construction, web-based collaboration tools, text mining, sentiment analysis
full text: (PDF file, 0.473 MB)
citation:Chowdhury M, Hosseini M R, Martek I, Edwards D J, Wang J (2021). The effectiveness of web-based technology platforms in facilitating construction project collaboration: a qualitative analysis of 1,152 user reviews, ITcon Vol. 26, Special issue Construction 4.0: Established and Emerging Digital Technologies within the Construction Industry (ConVR 2020), pg. 953-973, https://doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2021.051
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