Factors generating schedule delays and cost overruns in construction projects

Abstract

Delays and cost escalations in construction projects are problems that have been approached by many researchers through time, developing a significant body of literature. This paper developed a literature review to examine 30 research papers published since 1988 in the Web of Science database to identify the main factors causing these deviations. The results show that articles are covering different continents, decades, and project types (infrastructure-building). There are more articles regarding time deviation, and most of the articles belong to Asia and Africa. A list of 73 factors reported in the papers and also the top 10 most common factors. Factors were grouped considering the project life cycle stages, listing those related to Planning/Design (17), and Construction (46) and ten additional factors related to external causes were included.