Web-based application for managing change orders in construction projects

A change order is an order from an employer authorizing a variation. Success in managing change orders results in uninterrupted construction operations and an agreed final project cost as well as duration. One of the methods to manage change orders is to establish good communication and cooperation among project team members. Success of this method can be enhanced by developing and utilizing a web-based change order management system that supports documentation practice, communication and integration between different team members in the change order workflow. This paper discusses our web-based project management system, change order management system (COMS), to manage change orders using the Internet. In order to show COMS' potential benefits, a test case was conducted for comparing the COMS with the conventional practice of change order management.