Forensic Project Management: An Exploratory Examination of the Causal Behavior of Design-Induced Rework

The determination as to why projects fail to meet planned schedule, cost, and quality parameters is a leitmotiv within the construction, engineering, and project management literature. Yet, the interrelatedness and behavior of key factors that influence these project performance indicators, particularly regarding design-error-induced rework, have received limited academic examination. Design-induced rework has been reported to contribute more than 70% of the total amount of rework experienced in construction and engineering projects. To address this situation, a forensic management approach to determining how and why rework occurred in a commercial construction project is undertaken. Using findings from this case study along with knowledge from the literature, a systemic causal model for design-error-induced rework is developed. Underlying behavioral dynamics that contributed to design errors (principally related to the management of the design documentation process) were modeled and simulated using system dynamics. The results of such an analysis yield insights about architectural and engineering professionalspsila decision-making and work practices that can influence the occurrence of design errors. The mitigation of design-induced errors would significantly reduce the amount of rework that architectural and engineering firms experience. This would bring with it greater profitability for such firms and improved project performance parameters (schedule, cost, and quality).