Fast-Tracking's Impact on Project Change

Abstract

Aggressive scheduling, or strong forms of fast-tracking, for construction projects is becoming increasingly common in project management because of tight schedules, tight budgets, and client desires to commence operations quickly. However, many industry observers believe that such scheduling may actually incur more changes, leading to delays and increased costs of change. In this study, three hypotheses are tested to better understand the impact of aggressive scheduling and to quantify the cost of changes resulting during the total construction and design phases. Using data from 108 construction projects, this study found that high levels of fast-tracking generally do not result in any more change than nonfast-tracked projects. This paper also presents a variety of graphical relationships, including curves for the amount of change and its timing during the project's schedule. The findings presented in this paper can help owners and contractors improve their management of change by anticipating the magnitude and timing of changes, and ultimately improve their project planning and outcomes.