DESIGNING A CONCEPTUAL COST ESTIMATION DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (CCE-DSS) FOR PUBLIC PROCURING ENTITIES IN NIGERIA
Danlami Ebenezer Salla
Department of Quantity Surveying,
Bayero University, Kano
Email: edsalla.qs@buk.edu.ng
ABSTRACT: The growing complexity of construction projects, public demand for accountability and daunting pressures on meagre budgetary allocations and quest for reduction in transaction cost have continued to mount pressure on in-house cost experts to devise scientifically provable design for conceptual cost estimates (CCE) of construction projects. By combining historical data with predictive analytics, proven benefits abound for optimizing cost estimation for construction projects at the preliminary stages. The application of decision support systems (DSSs) in Conceptual Cost Estimation (CCE) is a good platform where a data-sensitive and conducive environment can support construction project budgeting process and enhance decision-making on competing project alternatives and similar future projects. In a build-up to the development and design of a support system architecture for CCE-DSS, a pro-foma is developed from a Qualtrics platform to collect data from new construction projects with similar attributes. The system analyzes data by a predictive analytic model and displays results graphically. The analysis of data from selected ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) were compared in a cross-matrix fashion to draw inferences. This paper sets a platform for predicting the acceptance of DSSs in public organizations in Nigeria and adds to the body of knowledge on conceptual cost CCEDSS design, by proposing the development of a DSS architecture for construction cost estimation in public organizations. It is concluded that the application of DSSs for CCE in public organizations have many promising levels of accuracy. The results of the study can be improved upon by employing hybrid multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM) in the system architecture and increasing the number of public organizations to make for a more generalized conclusion.
Keywords: Conceptual Cost Estimating, Decision Support Systems, Public Organizations, Nigeria
