Identifying team selection and alignment factors by delivery method for transportation projects

One critical antecedent to project success is team alignment. Industry professionals should focus on practices that can improve project team selection, team building, and identifying challenges to the team and project, hence improving alignment. This paper provides a summary of key findings of a national study of transportation projects, identifying current practices of industry professionals for the selection and alignment of project teams for transportation projects. Current team selection practices, the most beneficial team alignment practices, and the greatest challenges to team alignment are identified in the study. These practices are also analyzed and reported by project delivery method, and the results presented in this paper add to the body of knowledge by identifying current alignment practices, successful practices, and challenges specific to each delivery method. Among the findings are that overall project teams are selected primarily based on project experience and ability to meet schedule, regardless of the project delivery method chosen. Successful teams with good alignment were found to be characterized by having established expectations, team trust, honesty within the team, shared values, and good communication. No notable differences were found among delivery methods, demonstrating that the principles of team alignment are not dependent on the project delivery method. Challenges that cause adversarial relationships in the team include issues of constructability, schedule availability, and project complexity. The study also identified transportation-specific alignment challenges such as public involvement. The greatest challenges specific to each delivery method include team coordination for construction manager at risk (CMAR) projects, constructability procedures for design-bid-build projects, and environmental impacts for design-build projects.