Project Scheduling Practices and Delivery Performance Among Construction Firms in Imo State, South East Nigeria

Project scheduling is a core project management discipline that determines resource timing, activity sequencing, and milestone achievement. This study investigates project scheduling practices and their relationship to delivery performance among construction firms in Imo State, South East Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design will survey 170 project managers, site engineers, and quantity surveyors from 25 registered construction firms in Owerri, Orlu, and Okigwe zones. A validated questionnaire will assess scheduling tool usage, critical path identification, baseline schedule adherence, and schedule update frequency. Delivery performance will be measured through schedule variance and on-time milestone achievement rates. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation will examine relationships. Recent evidence from South East Nigeria suggests widespread reliance on informal scheduling approaches and limited use of digital scheduling tools among mid-tier construction firms. This study will provide evidence to support adoption of structured scheduling methodologies and digital project management tools within Imo State's construction sector. Keywords: project scheduling, delivery performance, construction firms, Imo State, schedule management