Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 3: Research Overview (2020)

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40 C H A P T E R 8 8.1 Introduction This chapter presents how the guidebooks were developed and tested. These guidebooks were created to help state transportation agencies better administer the construction admin- istration phase of D-B and CM-GC highway projects. With agency employees as the intended audience, it was important for the success of these guidebooks to be reviewed and critiqued by professionals familiar with general transportation agency contract administration practices and, specifically, with ACMs. Through several rounds of submissions and feedback, the guide- books developed into comprehensive and navigable documents that will prove beneficial to agency employees at all levels. 8.2 Guidebook Structure and Layout When developing these guidebooks, it was important for the research team to include all of the gathered information and present it in a way that would be most useful to the readers. The intended audience for these guidebooks is agency employees who are involved in the contract administration and execution of D-B and CM-GC construction projects. Not only will these guidebooks be useful for organizational-level employees who are looking to improve their ACM programs but also for project-level employees looking to more effectively deliver their projects. To most effectively organize the guidebooks, the research team determined that chapters should be organized by key project phase and that each chapter should be able to stand alone. This design ensures that users at a given point in project development or administration who are looking for specific topics or information do not need to read the entire guidebook. Readers should be able to quickly navigate to the desired chapter and find the relevant content. After several iterations and rounds of feedback, the following outlines were agreed upon for each guidebook. NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 1: Design–Build Delivery • Chapter 1: Introduction • Chapter 2: Overarching Contract Administration Strategies • Chapter 3: Pre-Award Phase Administration • Chapter 4: Alignment Phase Administration • Chapter 5: Design Phase Administration • Chapter 6: Construction Phase Administration Guidebook Development and Testing

Guidebook Development and Testing 41 • Chapter 7: Closeout Phase Administration • Chapter 8: Guidebook Implementation • References and Bibliography • Glossary • Appendix A: Contract Administration Tools • Appendix B: Case Studies NCHRP Research Report 939: Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods, Volume 2: Construction Manager–General Contractor Delivery • Chapter 1: Introduction • Chapter 2: Overarching Contract Administration Strategies • Chapter 3: Pre-Award Phase Administration • Chapter 4: Alignment Phase Administration • Chapter 5: Design Phase Administration • Chapter 6: Preconstruction Phase Administration • Chapter 7: Construction Phase Administration • Chapter 8: Closeout Phase Administration • Chapter 9: Guidebook Implementation • References and Bibliography • Glossary • Appendix A: Contract Administration Tools • Appendix B: Case Studies Multiple reviews by members of the research team, consultant team, peer review team, and NCHRP project panel helped verify that these outlines most clearly presented the guidebook topics in an organizational structure that promoted easy navigation and readability. The outlines for each guidebook are identical, with the only exception being the addition of the “Preconstruction Phase Administration” chapter in the CM-GC guidebook. This phase is unique to CM-GC projects. Introduction Chapter The first chapter for each of these guidebooks is an introduction, meant for the readers who want to learn more about the content and organization of the guidebooks. The introductory chapter includes the following topics: • Overview, • Design–Build and Construction Manager–General Contractor Background, • Industry Need for a Guidebook, • Key Guidebook Terms, • Guidebook Development, • Overview of Post-Award Phases and Tools, and • Reader’s Guide. Reading this chapter is not necessary for readers to understand all of the guidebooks’ content, but it provides a clear understanding of what they can expect to find. Overarching Contract Administration Strategies Chapter This chapter introduces overarching strategies to aid successful D-B and CM-GC contract administration. Five overarching CM-GC strategies and five overarching D-B strategies were

42 Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods identified after a comprehensive examination of all the tools, an analysis of agency ACM man- uals, and an analysis of themes from the case studies. Four of these strategies are consistent between both D-B and CM-GC contract administration. However, two strategies are unique to either D-B or CM-GC. The overarching strategies are: Alignment Strategy (Both)—Establish clear project goals and create productive relationships within the agency and between the agency and CM-GC or D-B team members. Scope Strategy (Both)—Ensure that the project scope and responsibilities are understood and agreed upon by all parties. Design Quality Strategy (D-B)—Ensure design quality through active par- ticipation in design reviews and accurate implementation of the RFQ–RFP requirements. Preconstruction Services Quality Strategy (CM-GC)—Ensure quality of preconstruction services through active participation in design reviews and verifying competitive pricing of estimates. Construction Quality Strategy (Both)—Promote quality during construction, and enforce the requirements of the D-B or CM-GC contract. Construction Efficiency Strategy (Both)—Implement a system that increases efficiency during construction and aligns with roles and contractual responsibilities. These strategies were identified to assist at both the program and project levels. At the ACM program level, agencies are encouraged to use these strategies to guide the development of policies and practices. At the project level, the strategies will help guide successful implemen- tation of the existing tools, the creation or addition of new contract administration tools, and, ultimately, the successful administration of D-B and CM-GC projects. Phase Administration Chapters Process modeling for these guidebooks (discussed in Chapter 4) revealed that contract admin- istration processes vary from agency to agency, and even within agencies. However, key pro- cesses were found on all D-B and CM-GC projects across agencies. The five phases identified for D-B projects included the following: • Pre-Award Phase, • Alignment Phase, • Design Phase, • Construction Phase, and • Closeout Phase.

Guidebook Development and Testing 43 The six phases identified for CM-GC projects included the following: • Pre-Award Phase, • Alignment Phase, • Design Phase, • Preconstruction Services Phase, • Construction Phase, and • Closeout Phase. The guidebook chapters that follow are organized by project administration phases. The chapters discuss the activities and processes that agencies conducted during each of the phases and identify which contract administration tools can be used during these phases. Although the guidebooks are specifically targeted towards post-award contract administration, the research team felt it was important to include a pre-award phase administration chapter. The team deter- mined that although tools may be executed during post-award phases, it is important that they are initiated in the pre-award phase to ensure that their requirements are clearly described in the RFP and associated documents. Guidebook Implementation Chapter The implementation chapter discusses implementation goals at the organization and project levels of agencies. The organizational-level goals focus on introducing and embedding new D-B or CM-GC contract administration tasks and processes into the organization. The project-level goals focus on introducing and embedding new tasks and processes into a D-B or CM-GC project. The implementation goals were developed through information gathered during the case study interviews and feedback provided by the research team’s group of peer reviewers and consultants. A summary of these implementation goals is shown in Table 8.1. The research from this project suggests that establishing and achieving these implementation goals will assist in improving an agency’s execution of D-B and CM-GC projects. References and Bibliography This section follows the main text and provides key sources that are cited in the guidebooks for the readers to explore in more detail. Agency Level Implementation Focus Implementation Goals Organization Strategies 1. Commit to long-term implementation. 2. Assign roles and responsibilities. 3. Assess and adjust current strategy. 4. Communicate agency direction for D-B contract administration. 5. Train organizational team members. 6. Develop a method to measure and evaluate performance. Project Tools 1. Assess existing tools. 2. Identify appropriate tools based on project characteristics. 3. Train project team members. 4. Test new tools. 5. Evaluate the performance of tools. Table 8.1. Implementation goals.

44 Guidebooks for Post-Award Contract Administration for Highway Projects Delivered Using Alternative Contracting Methods Glossary This section provides key terms as found in the literature, state DOT manuals, and case studies. Appendix A: Contract Administration Tools The tools discussed throughout the guidebooks are fully described—with their correspond- ing examples—in Appendix A. Each tool description is organized according to the format listed here: • Tool number and name – The number is for quick identification of the tool in this guidebook, and the name is intended to reveal the nature of the tool. • Brief description – This includes one or two sentences to give the reader a quick overview of what to expect in the remaining description. • What is it? – This contains an expanded description of the tool. • Why use it? – This explains the purpose of the tool and lists its potential benefits. This section also dis- cusses the contract administration strategies that the tool addresses. ALIGNMENT SCOPE DESIGN QUALITY CONSTRUCTION QUALITY CONSTRUCTION EFFICIENCY • When to use it? – This section has a table indicating in what contract administration phase(s) the tool could be used. The table also summarizes guidance from up to 16 experts—including industry, academic, and agency leaders and practitioners—who reviewed each tool. These D-B experts provided feedback regarding whether the tool is considered useful (i.e., recom- mended, considered case by case, or not recommended) for various D-B project sizes (<$10 million, $10 million–$50 million, or >$50 million) and complexities (non-complex, moderately complex, or complex). Note that “recommended” does not mean required. Agencies should use their own discretion on whether a tool is appropriate for a particular project. • How to use it? – This provides information about how to implement the tool successfully in the project. • Synthesis of examples – This summarizes tips and implementation guidance found when analyzing the case study project examples. This section is included when applicable. • Examples – The examples are real projects that have used the tools. Examples include text and tables that show how an agency used the tool on a recent project. Sometimes multiple examples are provided to show alternative ways of implementing a tool. This variety is intended to encourage readers to adapt the basic tool to meet their own agency and project needs. • References – This provides a list of written and online resources where the reader can find more infor- mation about the tool. Since some of these tools are relatively new, in some instances there may not be many resources beyond this guidebook.

Guidebook Development and Testing 45 The previous guidebook chapters introduced the tools and their benefits. But as tools are discussed, readers should reference the corresponding name and number in Appendix A to gain the most complete understanding of how, when, and why to implement these tools. Appendix B: Case Studies This appendix lists the case studies upon which the guidebook format was based and where the tools were found. It provides basic information and project characteristics. 8.3 Guidebook Testing The research team completed the testing of the guidebooks by sending drafts and conducting interviews with knowledgeable state transportation agencies identified during the case study phase. These interviews focused on discussing sections of the guidebooks with state transporta- tion agency teams. Asking each agency to review a subset of the guidebook sections was intended to generate in-depth feedback and reduce the required work for agency participants. The follow- ing agencies participated in testing the guidebooks: • Colorado Department of Transportation • Arizona Department of Transportation • California Department of Transportation • Minnesota Department of Transportation The guidebooks were sent to the agency team members 1 to 2 weeks prior to the sched- uled testing interview to allow adequate time to review the content. Specifically, agency team members were asked to focus on the clarity and readability, quality of the content, and the navigability of the documents. Agency members were asked to use the guidebooks as if they were preparing to implement the tools and strategies being presented on an upcoming or current project. This allowed the research team to understand how easy it was for individuals to learn the details necessary to implement the new information and to find the content they were looking for. These interviews confirmed that the content in the guidebooks was useful for agency team members. The feedback also led to an improved format, which helped the research team create a clearer presentation of the information, thus increasing the reader’s ability to easily navigate the documents. The final point of validation was through the NCHRP project panel members’ review. At several stages throughout the development of the guidebooks, drafts were submitted to the NCHRP project panel members for review. The panel carefully reviewed and commented on the drafts as they were submitted. The research team responded to all of the panel member’s comments through several iterations of the guidebooks, which led to the improved final drafts. 8.4 Summary This chapter described how the guidebooks were developed and how the testing process helped create the final drafts. Agency and panel members identified in the early stages that the content was important and necessary, but identifying the best way to present the content took several iterations. These reviews and cycles of feedback resulted in comprehensive guidebooks that are easy to read and navigate. The research team believes that the guidebooks will provide information to improve the contract administration for D-B and CM-GC highway construction projects.