A support tool for assessing the impact of design changes during built environment projects

Design changes, during the detailed design phase of built environment projects, can have a detrimental effect on a project´s duration and/or cost and as such need to be managed effectively. Accurate impact assessments are required to make informed decisions of whether or not design changes should be implemented. However, change management best practices give little guidance about how to carry out impact assessments. Interviews within the case study company (Arup) identified a tendency to rely heavily on the personal experience of engineering and project management practitioners when making impact assessments. This research is concerned with mitigating the risks associated with practitioners making judgments disproportionate to the true impact of a design change. A software support tool facilitating practitioners in making better informed impact assessments is proposed as a solution. The support tool incorporates design management and planning techniques and has been refined through a process of workshops with industry practitioners.