Factors affecting performance of graduate architects in contract implementation management: a case study on housing projects in Malaysia

PurposeGraduate architect plays an important role in contract implementation management when handling building construction projects. Graduate architects had been authorized to manage the projects in construction industry due to limited architects in the country. The capability of graduate architect when manage project is critical in reducing performance barriers encountered. The aim of this paper is to identify critical factors that affect graduate architect's performance during project implementation.Design/methodology/approachAn explorative study was undertaken to provide an insight into actual experiences of graduate architects in contract implementation management. The data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews providing case studies on contract implementation management on housing projects in Malaysia and observation of the actual on-going projects.FindingsThe five most crucial factors affected graduate architects' performance related to lack of training in project documentation, failed to obtain professional and peer support in quality and assessment, isolate in role during project coordination, lack of education support in design process and unaware of legal aspects which delayed response to contractor.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focuses only on seven housing projects and semi-structured interviews with twenty graduate architects who in charge of those projects. As such, the resulting factors that affect graduate architect's performance are limited and are constrained only to the construction industry in Malaysia.Practical implicationsThis research examined the factors affecting graduate architect's performance which is a timely study, as the increasing number of population and developments will provide ample opportunities for them to perform.Originality/valueThe outcome of the study is expected to facilitate graduate architects to devise proactive risk mitigation measures to reduce impact of these factors and improve project delivery.