Managing risk and uncertainty in an agile construction environment: Application of agile building specialist model

The study focuses on managing risk and uncertainty in construction project due to the owner dissatisfaction in project outcome and dynamism within agile construction environment. The aim of the paper is to examine the agility gap created by risk and uncertainty in the supply chain processes through procurement routes. The paper identifies some areas in supply chain processes which are prone to greater risks and uncertainty and proposes an agile management principle based on the concept of integration and fragmentation in product development and execution processes respectively, resulting in agile specialists’ involvement. The paper is based on extensive literature review and a comprehensive single case study of 3-office block complex in Finland. The paper concludes that the involvement of the agile specialists mitigates against risks and uncertainty, enhances the project quality and permits a modular approach to design that permits the use of experts’ knowledge in design and construction. The proposed model serves as an agile management tool in preventing both predictable and unpredictable external and internal project changes through the early involvement of agile specialists and their integrated attributes in product development through to construction and project startup.