Mobile application prototype for onsite information management in construction industry

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study aimed at investigating the information requirements for broad use mobile applications for construction projects. It also presents the results of usability testing of a mobile application prototype for improving information management in construction projects. To achieve the research objectives, the information required to properly design the mobile application was collected by distributing an online questionnaire among construction professionals. Then a serverbased application prototype was developed based on enterprise content management concepts. The mobile application was tested in a laboratory by setting a group of construction management postgraduate students who had experience of working in the construction industry. This study determines and ranks the critical onsite information artifacts, considered highly important from the perspective of clients, consultants, and contractors. The study also illustrates the development of a mobile application prototype and results of a usability test. The test results demonstrate that the application is well designed, user friendly, and meets user requirements. The results of this study are useful for developing a functional mobile application to manage onsite information in construction projects. The paper makes an original contribution by investigating information requirements of a mobile application for onsite information management.