IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 7, Issue 2, No 1, March 2010 www.IJCSI.org 36 Aim of this paper is to give a review on current practices of DSS technology in construction tendering processes. The organisation of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 presents in general current practices of construction tendering processes. General concepts and components of DSS are outlined in Section 3. Further, Section 4 reviews on the implementation of DSS in tendering practices. Current challenges faced in DSS are discussed in Section 5. Finally, Section 6 concludes with a summary of this paper. 

## 2. Tendering Processes In Construction Industry

As defined by Halaris et al. [36], tendering is the list of processes to produce, display and manage tender documents by client or consultant. It also involves action to perform bidding by interested contractors in order to win the contract by responding to tenders with their capabilities and skills formation. Meanwhile, according to Ng et al. [37], tendering processes begin with the analysis to ensure tender specification meets with end users need, followed by contractor selection, tender invitation and ending with contract awarding and contract monitoring. The period of tendering processes is defined to begin with tender preparation and to end with tender completion. 

## 2.1 Types Of Tender Method

In construction industry, there are three different types of 

| Table 1: Types Tender Method                        |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |                                                          |
|-----------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| Types of Tender                                     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |                                                          |
| Open Tender                                         | All interested contractors are invited to submit tenders.  This method opens the opportunity for new or  unfamiliar contractor to compete for the contract [4].                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |                                                          |
| Restricted                                          | /                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | Only invited/selected contractors are allowed to bid the |
| Selected Tender                                     | tender. This approach makes competition among  contractors lesser. Normally, it is applied when  construction contract needs special expertise and high  technology. Those contractors who filled these  requirements are invited. Most organizations in UK and  many countries as well adopt this method [11].                                                                                                                                                                       |                                                          |
| Negotiation                                         | Client consults the chosen contractors and negotiates the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |                                                          |
| Tender                                              | term of contract with them. Normally, it is applied under  special circumstances such as:   when the construction contract is too complex or  unique to identify technical and financial properties,   when there is an emergency situation that require the  project to be completed in a short time,   when there is only one contractor that fulfils the  contract requirement in terms of expertise and  technology,   when involves security project of national  importance |                                                          |
| tender including open tender, restricted tender and |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |                                                          |

tender including open tender, restricted tender and negotiated tender. These types of tender are largely 

practiced in Europe [26], Nigeria [4], Malaysia [38, 39], and Turkey [28]. Table 1 differentiates each type of tender. 

## 2.2 General Tendering Processes

Tendering processes in construction sector involve set of parties. They are client and consultant as contracting authorities as well as interested organizations or contractors. Usually in many countries, the government is the largest construction client. Client is also identified as 

![0_image_0.png](0_image_0.png)

project owner [28], consultant as info broker and contractor as provider or tenderer [36]. Despite the use of different terms for describing actors in tendering, the role of each of them remains similar. 