English abstract
While the concepts of planning and scheduling seem to be adequately discussed in the project management literature, relatively few examples of factors specifically affecting the performance of planning and scheduling are to be found. The study reported in this paper investigated a set of factors identified as enablers and barriers to successful project planning and scheduling of construction projects in Oman. The study adopted a questionnaire-based survey to measure the impact of each factor. The data were analysed using the relative impact (or importance) index (RII). On the basis of RII rankings, the results revealed that the identified enablers and barriers were all considered significant. This could imply that all of the factors should be considered equally from the perspective of project planning and scheduling, including schedule control. In addition, the results suggest that project managers should pay attention to the more significant barriers to mitigate their potential impacts on planning and scheduling. Recommendations for mitigating those barriers are presented. The study provides useful insights into the impact of various factors on the planning and scheduling performance of construction projects in Oman and how improvement might be achieved.
