Indicators for Observing Elements of Linguistic Action Perspective in Last Planner® System

Abstract

The implementation of the Last Planner® System increases the reliability of planningand performance levels through the management of commitments. So far, theconversations during which commitments are set at planning meetings have not beenanalyzed in sufficient depth. However, this analysis is essential to generate reliablecommitments that reduce the uncertainty and variability of projects. The researchreported in this paper moves toward this analysis by developing indicators ofcommitments based on the Linguistic Action Perspective, developed by Fernando Flores.Indicators of commitments (i.e. definition of roles and responsibilities, declaration of therelevance of each commitment); requests and promises (i.e. making the deadline explicit);and foundations of trust (i.e. reliability), were developed and tested based on themethodology “Design Science Research”. To verify the feasibility of measuring theseindicators, a pilot test was conducted, which consisted of a Villego® Simulation appliedto a group of students. Given the nature of this simulation, only part of the indicatorscould be verified, while the remainder is currently being verified through observation onsite. The indicators that were validated are a useful tool to measure, control and improvethe management of commitments in planning meetings, as they provide fast and specificfeedback on these aspects, which undoubtedly enriches implementation of the LastPlanner® System.