Adoption of agile practices for achieving construction project success in sri Lanka: a narrative review

Abstract

The construction industry is traditionally characterized by high complexity, fragmentation, and a reliance on rigid, plan-driven methodologies that often lead to cost overruns, schedule delays, and quality issues. This paper examines how agile practices influence construction project success in Sri Lanka. This paper is based on a narrative literature review that synthesizes findings from both global studies and emerging local cases. A conceptual framework is developed linking key agile practices such as iterative planning, cross-functional teams, and continuous feedback with success parameters such as time, cost, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction. The findings highlight that while agile practices have significantly improved project outcomes in software and some infrastructure contexts, Sri Lankan construction is still in an early adoption phase. Rigid contract structures, limited agile expertise, and cultural resistance are identified as the key barriers to adopt agile practices in construction. The study concludes that tailored implementation of agile practices, for example, using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to facilitate flexibility, can help Sri Lankan construction projects achieve the benefits reported in mature contexts. Recommendations for policy and practice include training, pilot projects, and organisational change to sustain agile adoption.