Dr. Pestana's research interest lie the area of project management, including lean management and risk management and the integration of human factors with virtual design and simulation. Her research interests focuses on the enhancement of the performance of production systems and products in different stages of their life-cycle and supply chain in the AEC industry. The main methods used are based on lean thinking and lean management, as well as on risk-based optimization and management techniques. Current research address multi-criteria risk-based decision methodologies to identify and validate improvements to processes and on-site operations in the AEC industry.