Different alliance relationships for project design and execution
摘要
The IMEC research programme (International Programme on the Management of Construction projects) performed an extensive benchmarking study of some 60 large engineering projects around the world during the period from 1995 to 1999. The purpose of the study was to identify best practice within different areas of management of such projects. While much of the focus of the study was on the front-end phase of the projects, some aspects of project design and execution were also addressed. This paper explores the findings of the IMEC study in this respect, with an emphasis on different models for alliance relationships in the design and execution phases. A model consisting of four different configurations of the dynamics of project development and execution has been identified. Two of these are based on a traditional arms’ length relationship in the design and execution phases. These traditional relationships have been explored in numerous existing publications and are, therefore, not dealt with specifically in this paper. The two configurations displaying a relational approach in the design and execution phases, termed “partners in design and execution” and “relational development and execution”, are described in detail. Perhaps the most important finding from the study is that there is no one “best practice” or “best configuration” for managing projects—the best-suited approach is highly dependent on the project in question and its characteristics.