Songer, A D and Molenaar, K R (1997) Project characteristics for successful public-sector design-build. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 123(1), pp. 34-40. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The use of design-build project procurement is rapidly increasing in the public sector. Documented design-build success and imminent changes in federal procurement law are indicators of continued large-scale growth in the public sector. Rapid growth, combined with a lack of long-term experience among many public agencies, necessitates continued investigation of the underlying principles of design-build. Understanding which project characteristics are critical for success is fundamental for improved public agency implementation. To this end, a comprehensive research study was conducted on public-sector selection of design-build. This paper discusses results from a survey of 88 public-sector design-build personnel and structured interviews of federal agency representatives. Five primary project characteristics are discussed: well-defined scope, shared understanding of scope, owner construction sophistication, adequate owner staffing, and established budget. These suggest selection of design-build as an appropriate delivery strategy for successful project completion. Additionally, this paper addresses public-sector criteria of success; these include: staying on budget, conforming to user's expectations, and staying on schedule.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | personnel, interview, survey, strategy, project procurement, agency, public sector, owner, investigation, implementation |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, contractual arrangements, management, sociology, administrative law |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Human Resources, Stakeholder Management, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here