Effects of selected practices on project cost performance

The purpose of this study is an investigation into the effects of selected construction industry practices on project cost performance. The practices addressed in the study include pre-project planning, project change management, team building, constructability, percent design complete at project authorization, project cost incentives, project compensation strategy, and project organization strategy. A literature review of the selected practices is provided. Quantitative analyses of the relationship between project cost growth and use of the various practices is provided. Regression and analysis of variance methods are used to identify and measure statistically significant relationships between project cost performance and practice use. The data utilized in the analysis is from the Construction Industry Institute Benchmarking and Metrics database. The study focuses on industrial projects constructed in the United States that were complete between 1994 and 1997.