Criteria of selecting appropriate Delay Analysis Methods (DAM) for mega construction projects

Nowadays, one of the major sources of issues in the construction sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the Extension of time (EOT) claims, which is so hard to resolve. Authors and practitioners have started trials in numerous academic studies to show how to properly deploy Delay Analysis Methods (or "DAMs") and to give practitioners executive guidelines to support them with proper analyses and claim resolution. The awareness of the use of these methods is essential to realize their restrictions and capacity to fit in with various project circumstances and to select appropriate delay analysis methods. The main objective of this research is to provide a guide for the selection of appropriate DAM by defining a list of important criteria that have the most preference in choosing the effective method. These criteria will be rated by collecting feedback from experts in the MENA region through questionnaires. The survey was conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the abundance of multinational firms working on mega construction projects with multicultural backgrounds and diversity of expertise in addition to the availability of carrying out interviews when needed and the widespread adoption of standard international construction contracts. Then, the possibility of ranking is calculated by using the Relative Importance Index (RII). This ranking will be considered as an important tool for the proper selection of convenient delay analysis methods. Ultimately this paper will facilitate the selection of appropriate DAM by Delay analyst through investigating project circumstances by mapping it with current ranked criteria.