(4th Place) Team 4B – Hot Topical Reading [Video]

The construction industry fluctuates constantly due to changes in the market for materials, labour, sentiment, and the overall economy. How can we ensure we pay the right amount and plan for the right work? Professionals must understand the market mood and react accordingly to the ever-changing environment. We aim to track the industry live, keeping up to date with trends and information in the world of construction.

Pain Points Addressed:

View the state of the construction industry live in an easily digestible format.
Incorporate both quantitative data from market information and qualitative data from news and social media.
Transition from a descriptive to a predictive market understanding to prepare for future changes.
Analyze contradictory information from news sites and social media to determine prominent public sentiment using sentiment analysis and machine learning.
Pull live data from various websites and sources to inform insights.
Display clear thermometers for different aspects of the industry based on historical data.

Personas:

Construction Project Professional: Needs to quickly understand the state of the industry to make informed decisions and stay updated with relevant changes.

Context:
For this challenge, we want teams to use publicly available data, news, and social media content to create a central report providing insights into the state of the construction industry. While incorporating data from factual sources such as material pricing and labour costs, teams should focus on natural language processing from news sites and social media platforms. By analyzing public discourse, teams can create metrics and readings of the industry’s current state, similar to the doomsday clock or stock market thermometers.

The presentation should also provide qualitative content on relevant news and mood, enabling construction professionals to quickly glimpse current affairs. This information will be collected live from websites and APIs and shared in reports or newsletters with varying frequencies, such as monthly, quarterly, or weekly roundups.

The team should explore what information can be gained from social media platforms, considering the relevance of public discourse and summarizing discussions while accounting for bias.

Output:
Teams should treat this challenge as relatively open-ended, focusing on aspects and insights based on their best judgment.

Key inclusions should be:

Thermometers show clear roundups of the industry’s state.
Relevant news points.
Important information and machine-generated explanations.
Clear indications of the reliability of insights, including information on news bias relevant to sources.
Benefits:
Staying up to date with industry changes requires significant engagement, especially for professionals not typically focused on construction news. While many Project Data Professionals are engaged with new technologies and changes, other project professionals may not be as informed.

By providing an easily accessible live view of the industry and relevant changes, even the most disconnected professionals can quickly engage in current affairs. This solution could significantly improve clarity and transparency, giving confidence to decision-makers and stakeholders.

Watch now to discover how our Construction Industry Thermometer can transform your market understanding and keep you informed with real-time insights!