Automated prediction tool for design-build projects

The 1990s have experienced unprecedented growth in the use of design-build in the U.S. Documented design-build success and recent changes in federal procurement law indicate a continuation of large-scale growth. The rapid inclusion of design-build as a public sector procurement method spawns a variety of issues that must be addressed. One issue is proper project selection. As new agencies experiment with design-build, appropriate project selection is a primary consideration affecting successful delivery. To date, there is no systematic or formalized method for selecting projects that are appropriate for design-build. Developing and disseminating a fundamental understanding of public sector design-build projects is the subject of an ongoing study at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The study's objective is to develop a web-based selection tool that assists early procurement decisions. This paper reports on data collected from over 100 public sector design-build projects and describes the interactive selection tool.