DBIA Test
Project Delivery System How team members are organized, establishes when parties engage, determines
roles of parties, and determines sequence of design, procurement, and construction
(db, cmar, dbb)
Procurement Method how team members are selected (QBS, best value, low price, sole source)
contracting approach how team members are paid (fp, gmp, cost reimbursement, target price, unit price)
Design-Bid-Build (DBB) linear, sequential process, A/E selected on qualifications, GC selected on low price,
design is fully completed without input from GC, A/E acting in owner's interests, with
a historically strong bond, process is well-established and understood
construction manager at risk similar org structure to DBB, construction manager selected by QBS or best value,
contractor provides precon services, negotiated gmp contracting approach, open
book estimating process, potential to fast track project, construction cost determined
before design completed, potential issues over what is reasonably inferable from
gmp design documents
Design-Build The owner contracts with one entity (a person or firm) to provide both design and
construction services, designer and contractor have a direct contractual
relationship, selected by QBS or best value, wide spectrum of contracting
approaches and organizational structures, single point responsibility, owner does
not manage designer, owner exposure to claims is significantly reduced
engineer procure construct (epc) similar to design build, in industrial and power generation sectors, systems and
performance testing are central to scope, contractor will typically perform
engineering with its in-house staff, owner has need for single point responsibility,
contracts include plant and process performance guarantees, contract items include
performance and schedule liquidated damages and limitations of liability
Multiple Prime Contracting owner contracts with multiple trade contractors, attributes are typically similar to
dbb, owner's ability to schedule and coordinate the work
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) multi-party agreement - all parties equal, QBS procurement and target pricing
contract approach, private sector use (limited at this time), key: owner's ability to
accept risk
public-private partnership (p3) Instead of government building and maintaining major infrastructure (such as
highway, water treatment plant), build and maintenance is outsourced to a private
company. Opposed by public sector unions. this is not considered a delivery system
but its underlying approaches are delivery systems and typically use DB. multiple
procurement and contracting approaches
shift left intense efforts to establish scope early in the process; drives early team formation
to include key trade subcontractors; can enable big decisions to be made early,
affect project outcomes at lowest cost, establish a need for co-location and
collaboration, and compress time during concurrent design and construction
traditional design build typically two-phase best value procurement with lump sum contract; owner defines
project requirements and scope of prescriptive work; use of performance-based
technical requirements with limited prescriptive specifications
progressive design build design and price are progressively developed after the design-builder is under
contract; final project cost and schedule commitment is not established as part of
the selection process; two phases: preliminary services and final design and
construction services
, DBIA Test
criteria documents describe the end result
bridging documents prescribes how to achieve the end result
design bid build paradigm prior to bidding, owner undertakes a process to design the project and all of its
details to 100% complete plans and specs. the owner is therefore responsible for
success or failure of details of the design, and warrants the sufficiency of design to
the contractor. the owner is therefore liable to the contractor for any gaps between
plans and specifications and owner's requirements for project performance
design details responsibility the owner should define its performance requirements and award the contract on
the basis of preliminary design; this makes the design-builder responsible for
completing the design in accordance with the owner's performance requirements.
that also causes the design-builder to warrant the sufficiency of the design to meet
the owner's criteria and the sufficiency of the design to subcontractors/suppliers that
have no design responsibility
uniformat subdivides project by functional elements, focuses on systems and assemblies,
useful for preliminary information and early design phases, aligns with BIM models
and conceptual estimating
masterformat subdivides work by results/trades, focuses on building materials, products, and
activities, useful for detailed information during final design and construction
phases, and aligns with detailed estimating
functional requirement a specific business need or behavior as seen by an external user of the system;
describe what functions/operations the end product must perform/accommodate;
examples: regulatory, permitting, economic, and others that define functions and
operational capability. "Build an office building on my existing lot to provide office
space for 1,000 workers"
performance requirement describes what product(s) components must do/achieve with a measurement
metric; challenges: developing objective and definable standards to validate
performance, tendency to drift to prescriptive specs; examples: uniformat C10,
interior construction. "Provide durable, paintable interior walls between the offices
with STC 35 (min)"
prescriptive requirement describes in terms of exactly how the product and/or its components must be built;
cookbook approach; developed by the design builder but used by owners in the
RFP/bridging documents for operability or maintenance needs and conditions of
permits or third parties; examples: uniformat C10, partitions. "Install gypsum
wallboard on 3-5/8" metal studs at 16" on center with XX acoustical insulation per
YY standards."
shortlisting takes the best of "qualified" teams; a key to design-build success; not the same as
prequalifying or pass/fail; keeping this small increases interest among the best
teams and minimizes procurement costs for everyone including the owner
competitive procurement process owners define their goals and selection criteria, one or 2 phase process if
shortlisting is applicable, price is not a factor in selection, award to most qualified
proposer, negotiate to a fair and reasonable price
QBS typical criteria qualifications, experience and past performance of design build team, qualifications
of key personnel, capacity of design build team to perform work, team experience in
working together, deisgn-builder's project management plan, project-specific ideas
demonstrating team's ability to innovate and think outside of the box
Project Delivery System How team members are organized, establishes when parties engage, determines
roles of parties, and determines sequence of design, procurement, and construction
(db, cmar, dbb)
Procurement Method how team members are selected (QBS, best value, low price, sole source)
contracting approach how team members are paid (fp, gmp, cost reimbursement, target price, unit price)
Design-Bid-Build (DBB) linear, sequential process, A/E selected on qualifications, GC selected on low price,
design is fully completed without input from GC, A/E acting in owner's interests, with
a historically strong bond, process is well-established and understood
construction manager at risk similar org structure to DBB, construction manager selected by QBS or best value,
contractor provides precon services, negotiated gmp contracting approach, open
book estimating process, potential to fast track project, construction cost determined
before design completed, potential issues over what is reasonably inferable from
gmp design documents
Design-Build The owner contracts with one entity (a person or firm) to provide both design and
construction services, designer and contractor have a direct contractual
relationship, selected by QBS or best value, wide spectrum of contracting
approaches and organizational structures, single point responsibility, owner does
not manage designer, owner exposure to claims is significantly reduced
engineer procure construct (epc) similar to design build, in industrial and power generation sectors, systems and
performance testing are central to scope, contractor will typically perform
engineering with its in-house staff, owner has need for single point responsibility,
contracts include plant and process performance guarantees, contract items include
performance and schedule liquidated damages and limitations of liability
Multiple Prime Contracting owner contracts with multiple trade contractors, attributes are typically similar to
dbb, owner's ability to schedule and coordinate the work
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) multi-party agreement - all parties equal, QBS procurement and target pricing
contract approach, private sector use (limited at this time), key: owner's ability to
accept risk
public-private partnership (p3) Instead of government building and maintaining major infrastructure (such as
highway, water treatment plant), build and maintenance is outsourced to a private
company. Opposed by public sector unions. this is not considered a delivery system
but its underlying approaches are delivery systems and typically use DB. multiple
procurement and contracting approaches
shift left intense efforts to establish scope early in the process; drives early team formation
to include key trade subcontractors; can enable big decisions to be made early,
affect project outcomes at lowest cost, establish a need for co-location and
collaboration, and compress time during concurrent design and construction
traditional design build typically two-phase best value procurement with lump sum contract; owner defines
project requirements and scope of prescriptive work; use of performance-based
technical requirements with limited prescriptive specifications
progressive design build design and price are progressively developed after the design-builder is under
contract; final project cost and schedule commitment is not established as part of
the selection process; two phases: preliminary services and final design and
construction services
, DBIA Test
criteria documents describe the end result
bridging documents prescribes how to achieve the end result
design bid build paradigm prior to bidding, owner undertakes a process to design the project and all of its
details to 100% complete plans and specs. the owner is therefore responsible for
success or failure of details of the design, and warrants the sufficiency of design to
the contractor. the owner is therefore liable to the contractor for any gaps between
plans and specifications and owner's requirements for project performance
design details responsibility the owner should define its performance requirements and award the contract on
the basis of preliminary design; this makes the design-builder responsible for
completing the design in accordance with the owner's performance requirements.
that also causes the design-builder to warrant the sufficiency of the design to meet
the owner's criteria and the sufficiency of the design to subcontractors/suppliers that
have no design responsibility
uniformat subdivides project by functional elements, focuses on systems and assemblies,
useful for preliminary information and early design phases, aligns with BIM models
and conceptual estimating
masterformat subdivides work by results/trades, focuses on building materials, products, and
activities, useful for detailed information during final design and construction
phases, and aligns with detailed estimating
functional requirement a specific business need or behavior as seen by an external user of the system;
describe what functions/operations the end product must perform/accommodate;
examples: regulatory, permitting, economic, and others that define functions and
operational capability. "Build an office building on my existing lot to provide office
space for 1,000 workers"
performance requirement describes what product(s) components must do/achieve with a measurement
metric; challenges: developing objective and definable standards to validate
performance, tendency to drift to prescriptive specs; examples: uniformat C10,
interior construction. "Provide durable, paintable interior walls between the offices
with STC 35 (min)"
prescriptive requirement describes in terms of exactly how the product and/or its components must be built;
cookbook approach; developed by the design builder but used by owners in the
RFP/bridging documents for operability or maintenance needs and conditions of
permits or third parties; examples: uniformat C10, partitions. "Install gypsum
wallboard on 3-5/8" metal studs at 16" on center with XX acoustical insulation per
YY standards."
shortlisting takes the best of "qualified" teams; a key to design-build success; not the same as
prequalifying or pass/fail; keeping this small increases interest among the best
teams and minimizes procurement costs for everyone including the owner
competitive procurement process owners define their goals and selection criteria, one or 2 phase process if
shortlisting is applicable, price is not a factor in selection, award to most qualified
proposer, negotiate to a fair and reasonable price
QBS typical criteria qualifications, experience and past performance of design build team, qualifications
of key personnel, capacity of design build team to perform work, team experience in
working together, deisgn-builder's project management plan, project-specific ideas
demonstrating team's ability to innovate and think outside of the box
