Re- conceptualising agile for lean construction: The case for "agilean" project management

To address limitations of Lean in construction, new paradigms linked to Agile management methods are receiving increased attention. Agile approaches to management in manufacturing and information technology [IT] developed independently and with different objectives. However in applying Agile to construction, theorists have not made a distinction between the two paradigms. Hence the aim of this research is to analyse the appropriateness of Agile manufacturing and Agile IT to construction. A review of the extant literature on both is undertaken and from this it is concluded that Agile IT is more suitable to construction project management [PM] than Agile manufacturing. Then interviews were undertaken with Agile experts and project managers to assess how Agile IT could be applied. The results of the interviews suggest that concepts from Agile IT need to be integrated with those of Lean to be effective in the construction environment, i.e. Agile needs to be re-conceptualized for Lean construction. This paper presents a potentially unifying framework, called "AgiLean PM", which illustrates how waste elimination, through Lean, and the ability to react to change, through Agile, is achieved at the operational level; with PM methods providing the necessary strategic oversight.