*5.2. Establishing the DSM under the Requirements of a Particular Project*

Analysis and examples show that the proposed framework helps to select the most objective delivery method or verify the rationality of the delivery method and optimize activities. However, it should be noted that the needs of the owner always have an important influence on the selection process, and even the relationship between the same type of project activities under the different needs of the owner may be different. Therefore, determining the owner's needs is the fundamental requirement for applying this method.

When the project is under high time pressure, finding connections between activities and their intensity to increase activity overlap and reduce rework becomes the main response method. As time becomes the highest priority goal, the division of design phases will be simplified, design and construction need to be partially paralleled, and the information feedback path of activities needs to be redesigned. Based on the relationship between these activities, one can choose the delivery method that can best achieve time compression. When quality becomes the main goal, due to the uniqueness of construction products, more small-scale coupling activity packages need to appear in the delivery method to ensure that product quality is always controllable and form a final product with satisfactory quality.

#### *5.3. Decomposing the Activities*

This case study only carried out a three-level decomposition because the hospital project was only 13,918 m2 and the scale of the project was not large. In order to ensure that it was completed on time, the owners and contractors were willing to use traditional construction technology rather than innovative technology. The workflow was not much different from regular projects. Project delivery methods vary depending on the scale and technical complexity of the project and will also change during hierarchical decomposition.

Proper decomposition is the key to effectively solving big and difficult problems, which can minimize the interaction between sub-problems [68]. Finding the right level of abstraction to formulate a DSM is not easy since activities can be defined at multiple levels, from very detailed to high-level abstraction [69]. Too much or insufficient task decomposition may lead to management failure. The more decomposition levels, the more specific the underlying activities performed by individuals or small teams. Through continuous decomposition levels, the size of the model increases exponentially, the management organization will increase, and the efficiency will decrease. Too few decomposition levels will result in blurred relationships between activities and unclear division of the management interface. The general rule is to model the process to the level of detail that people want to understand and be able to control the process [47]. The delivery method is expressed as a contract, so it usually only involves the enterprise (sub-enterprise) level and does not need to target individuals or small teams.
