All construction professionals such as civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, and architects have important roles in the construction process. Among these, architects are frequently appointed as a project manager (PM). The role of a PM will drive the success of the projects implementation. Therefore, the capability of an architect as a PM (ArPM) is critical in reducing challenges encountered. Accordingly, the identification of these challenges is an important task in selecting an appropriate ArPM. The aim of this study is to identify the most critical challenges faced by an ArPM for construction projects. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews with architects and professionals in the Malaysian construction industry. Because of the fuzziness and uncertainty of subjective responses, Fuzzy Set Ttheory is applied to identify critical challenges. A total of 65 questionnaires were distributed and 36 questionnaires were returned. The results revealed that the critical challenges faced by an ArPM are “poor planning,” “unfamiliar technology,” “unfamiliarity with green buildings and materials,” “inappropriate scheduling,” and “poor workmanship.” All critical challenges were then categorized into six main groups including technical, managerial, personal skills, contractual, psychological, and financial. 1. Introduction The construction industry inherently has many different problems and requirements [1]. The importance of taking measures to improve the performance of the construction industry at various levels of socioeconomic development has been recognized in many countries. While the construction industry everywhere faces problems and challenges, the complexities and difficulties are most critical in developing countries due to the general situation of socioeconomic issues, lack of resources, organizational weaknesses, and an inability to deal with critical situations. According to the Singapore Department of Building [2], there is evidence that the problem has become greater in extent and severity in recent years. In Malaysia for instance, building construction accounts for about 67.6% of overall construction work and is considered to be an essential element of the industry [3]. Due to existing limitations such as unavailability or lack of technical and/or financial resources, Malaysia faces some challenges in local projects. Moreover, external factors, for example, prohibition to engage in commercial activities, political pressure to suddenly increase the volume of mass projects, and complex or difficult land
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