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SUMMARY
A Guidebook for the Evaluation of
Project Delivery Methods
Objective
Various project delivery methods are available to the developers of public projects in the
United States. While the traditional design-bid-build delivery method remains the most com-
mon method, there is considerable interest on the part of transportation agencies in alterna-
tive methods of project delivery and the potential of these alternative methods to save money
and time.
The objective of this guidebook is to assist transit agencies in evaluating and selecting the
most appropriate project delivery method for their projects and in documenting this decision
in a Project Delivery Decision Report. The guidebook is based on the fundamental premise that
there is no one best delivery method for all projects, but that a project delivery method should
be selected on the basis of each project's unique characteristics. This selection should be made
by considering the benefits and disadvantages of competing delivery methods for the project
under consideration.
The project delivery method is the process by which a construction project is comprehen-
sively designed and constructed for an owner--including project scope definition; organiza-
tion of designers, constructors, and various consultants; sequencing of design and construction
operations; execution of design and construction; and closeout and start-up. With the rapid
changes in procurement laws, public agencies now share the ability of their private-sector coun-
terparts to acquire construction services via alternative project delivery methods, such as con-
struction management, design-build, and other hybrid systems. In some instances, methods
such as design-build may include operations and maintenance as well as multiyear warrantees
in the contract.
The research approach in developing the project delivery method selection framework was
to synthesize relevant literature on project delivery methods and previous work in developing
decision support systems for project delivery selection. In addition, face-to-face structured
interviews were conducted with several transit agencies to learn how each project delivery
method had been implemented in actual transit projects. The authors traveled to five selected
project sites, interviewed project directors, and collected data on nine major transit projects.
On the basis of this research (i.e., review of the literature, interviews with project directors, and
data collection on nine major transit projects) and discussions among the research team and
TCRP Project G-08 panel, the researchers identified a set of pertinent issues. These pertinent
issues are issues that were found to have profound effect on the choice of project delivery
1
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2 A Guidebook for the Evaluation of Project Delivery Methods
method. Once the authors identified the pertinent issues, these issues were grouped into the
following categories: project-level issues, agency-level issues, public policy/regulatory issues,
lifecycle issues, and other issues. The issues were also used to develop the project delivery
method selection framework.
Selection System Framework
A three-tiered project delivery selection system was developed that consists of the following:
Tier 1--Analytical Delivery Decision Approach
Tier 2--Weighted-Matrix Delivery Decision Approach
Tier 3--Optimal Risk-Based Approach
The Tier 1--Analytical Delivery Decision Approach provides a framework for agencies and
their project delivery teams to define project goals and examine the advantages and disadvan-
tages of each delivery method within the context of these goals. The aim of this approach is to
help agencies to understand project delivery method attributes and to determine if their specific
project goals align with the attributes of a particular delivery method. The Tier 1 approach also
provides a "go/no go" review to determine whether one or more project delivery methods should
be excluded from the examination.
At the completion of the Tier 1 approach, the agency may not have a single, clear, and logical
choice for a project delivery method. If this is the case, the agency then moves on to the Tier 2
approach with the best delivery method options from Tier 1 and creates a more detailed analysis
to select the final project delivery method. The Tier 1 approach is designed to provide a simple
and straightforward selection process. It is anticipated that users will find that the Tier 1 analysis
is sufficient for most transit projects.
The Tier 2--Weighted-Matrix Delivery Decision Approach provides a means for an agency
to further examine delivery methods and document a project delivery decision for an individual
project. The Tier 2 approach involves prioritizing project objectives and selecting the delivery
method that best aligns with these objectives. In the Tier 2 approach, the user concentrates on a
few key parameters affecting the choice of project delivery method, assigns appropriate weights
to each parameter, and calculates a score for each competing delivery method. The process of
selecting each parameter and assigning the proper weight is described in detail in this guide.
The Tier 3--Optimal Risk-Based Approach leverages current, risk-based, cost-estimating
methods that have emerged in transit and highway agencies in the past few years. It is expected
that the Tier 3 approach will generally be used only when the completion of the Tier 1 and Tier 2
approaches does not yield a project delivery decision and when a formal risk management
process for the project is already in place. It is important to note that using the Tier 3 approach
(especially the quantitative analysis) requires considerably greater effort than the effort involved
in implementing either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 approaches.
It is recommended that transit agencies use industry professionals from outside the agency to
facilitate the implementation of the Tier 3 approach. These professionals should have a thorough
understanding of and experience with the type of project the agency is evaluating, the various
project delivery methods the agency is considering, and the potential risks associated with the
type of project and various project delivery methods under consideration. The use of outside
professionals helps to ensure that the appropriate expertise and experience is incorporated into
the process. Facilitation of the process by outside professionals helps also to foster that the selec-
tion of the most appropriate project delivery method is objective, thereby minimizing the like-
lihood of a predetermined outcome.
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Summary 3
The selection system framework also provides the means to document a project delivery
decision in the form of a Project Delivery Decision Report. Regardless of how many tiers of
the selection system framework an agency uses to select a project delivery method, the selection
system framework forces decision-makers to document their logic as they proceed through the
process. The Project Delivery Decision Report will provide a transparent and defensible docu-
mentation of the decision process. This documentation is extremely important when explaining
a project delivery decision to project stakeholders, particularly if an alternative delivery method
is selected. Furthermore, this documentation can be consulted by agencies when they have to
make project delivery decisions in the future. The Project Delivery Decision Report format was
created to provide agencies with a rigorous documentation format while allowing for maximum
flexibility in the choice of delivery method.
This guidebook is meant to be a comprehensive resource for transit agencies embarking on
the process of project delivery selection, providing concrete guidance on how to select the most
appropriate delivery method for a project and how to document the final project delivery deci-
sion in a concise and consistent format.
