*5.4. The Expression and Use of Activity Relations*

DSM has developed many ways to express the relationship between tasks such as marks, numbers, colors, shadows, etc. This research only uses the most basic markup methods. This expression simply indicates whether there is an interconnection between activities [70]. Other expressions can express more information, such as the probability of overlap or rework between activities [71], interaction strength [72,73], and the duration of the activity [74,75].

In the above information, the connection strength of activities is an important criterion in the choice of project delivery method, especially the delivery method that needs to shorten the project duration. Stronger connections mean that activities can receive more complete information before they can be implemented. Therefore, more effective measures and organizational methods need to be used to ensure the efficiency of information transmission. However, taking additional measures at the same time may bring additional costs. Only when the benefits of relatively strong activity adjustments are greater than the increased costs are adjustments worthwhile, while weak links can be used to diversify risks through contracts and other means. Therefore, follow-up research should deeply analyze the relationship between activity intensity and activity combination from activity intensity.

#### **6. Conclusions**

Relationships between activities will become more complicated as building technologies evolve, requiring more flexible delivery methods. A proper PDM will directly affect the effectiveness of the owner's and contractor's organizational arrangements and resource allocation, which will affect the project's success. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully select/design the appropriate PDM at the beginning of the project. Different delivery methods adapt to other activity processes and therefore require different organizational approaches. The delivery method is determined according to the process to maximize the satisfaction of the project requirements. Activity-based DSM can show feedforward and feedback between activities. Operation methods such as partition can optimize and reduce rework caused by information feedback, shorten project duration, and save cost. Depending on the relationship between the activities, the decision maker can choose to delegate certain activities to the appropriate contractor and determine the proper PDM. At the same time, the selected PDM can also be optimized through this framework.

The goal of this paper is to develop an analytical framework that can be used in the early stages of project contracting to demonstrate to participants project activities and the relationships among participants and to support participants' effective allocation and coordination of work. The framework shows the whole process of the project and its activities in a visual way. When decision-makers are faced with specific goals, such as shorter time frames, cost savings, and better organization, this framework can assist decision-makers in comprehensively reviewing the project and making quick judgments to design the appropriate PDM. The difference between the study and previous studies is that the characteristics of the delivery method are designed from the internal process of the project, rather than extracted from the completed project, which is universal and stable and will not be invalid due to the changes in the project.

In summary, the following managerial insights can be helpful for PDM selection.

Process-based PDM selection can reduce decision-making difficulties caused by changes in project characteristics and complexity and improve the pertinence and universality of PDM.

Applying this method to select an appropriate PDM with an organized structure reduces the subjectivity of decision makers.

The framework visualizes the entire process of the project, helping decision makers comprehensively review the project and make quick decisions.

In the absence of experienced decision makers, or the absence of consensus among decision makers, this research will provide good insights to support the final decision. This research is associated with the following limitations:


**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, Q.Z. and C.C.; methodology, Q.Z.; software, H.T.; formal analysis, Q.Z.; investigation, H.T.; resources, C.C.; data curation, C.C.; writing—original draft preparation, Q.Z. and H.T.; writing—review and editing, C.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The research was supported by the "National Natural Science Foundation of China", the funding number is 71971147.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**

