The development of a tender analysis support tool for use in social housing best value procurement

A number of studies have highlighted the problems and challenges that have been encountered with the analysis of best value tenders carried out in the UK public sector. This research has developed a methodology which enables project stakeholders to streamline the tender analysis procedure allowing tenders to be dealt with effectively and efficiently whilst also creating a transparent and auditable decision making process. A robust support tool has been developed which aids the multi objective decision making process by provoking rational discussion with respect to; the construction industry's key performance indicators (KPI's), the client's attitude to risk and provides a transparent audit trail of the decisions taken. The underlying rationale for the support tool is based on a combination of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), multi utility attribute theory (MAUT) and whole life costing (WLC). The methodology has been developed into user friendly software and the paper demonstrates the practical utility of the tool in operation.