PMI Construction Professional

The contract is the project’s rulebook. You read the common pricing forms, learn how standard contract families allocate risk, and see how the terms shape behavior on site.

• Lump sum, unit price and cost-plus pricing
• Maximum-price and target-cost contracts
• Standard contract families and what they allocate
• General and special conditions
• Notices, time limits and payment terms
• Reading a contract for risk

You build A contract summary that highlights the risk, payment and notice clauses.

A contract has a life of its own, from first conversations to final accounts. You follow it through procurement, award, administration and close-out, and manage what each stage needs.

• Discovery and procurement strategy
• Tendering and bid evaluation
• Award, negotiation and mobilization
• Contract administration during the work
• Practical completion and final accounts
• Close-out, warranties and lessons

You build A contract life cycle plan with the actions and records for each stage.

Claims usually start as risks that no one owned. You identify risks in the contract and on the site, decide who should carry each, and adopt the practices that keep problems from becoming disputes.

• Identifying contract and site risks
• Fair allocation of risk between parties
• Indemnity, insurance and bonding
• Early warning and risk registers on site
• Documentation that protects your position
• Contractual risk review before signing

You build A contract risk register with owners and mitigation for one project.

Many failures sit between two packages rather than inside one. You define the interfaces between trades and contracts, assign responsibility for each, and coordinate them through design and construction.

• Identifying interfaces between packages and trades
• Interface registers and ownership
• Coordination of design and construction
• Resolving clashes and gaps in scope
• Managing several contractors on one site
• Interfaces with operations and handover

You build An interface register and coordination procedure for one project.

Changes are normal, and unmanaged ones become claims. You tell a change order from a claim, give timely notice, price and time the effect of a change, and spot areas prone to disagreement.

• Change orders versus claims
• Notice requirements and time bars
• Pricing a change
• Delay, disruption and extension of time
• Records and evidence that support a claim
• Claim-prone areas and how to manage them
• Handling a claim from the other side

You build A change order and a claim notice package built from a realistic scenario.

When negotiation fails, the method of resolution matters. You compare negotiation, mediation, expert determination, dispute boards, adjudication, arbitration and litigation, and choose among them.

• Negotiation techniques in construction disputes
• Mediation and conciliation
• Dispute boards and adjudication
• Arbitration and litigation compared
• Choosing a method by cost, time and relationship
• Preserving the relationship during a dispute

You build A dispute resolution strategy for a contract disagreement.

Communication failures cause more trouble than bad weather. You pick tools, set rhythms for meetings and reports, prevent breakdowns, and repair the relationship quickly when one occurs.

• Stakeholders on a construction project
• Choosing communication tools and channels
• Meetings, reports and site records
• Preventing communication breakdowns
• Responding to a breakdown
• Managing community and public concerns

You build A communication plan with a breakdown response protocol.

Scope should serve what the owner needs. You describe scope in terms of outcomes, test it with the owner and designers, and manage revisions that arise from the site or from the owner.

• From owner outcomes to scope statements
• Briefs, specifications and performance requirements
• Scope gaps and design development
• Revising scope and managing owner changes
• Scope baselines and change tracking
• Tying scope to cost and schedule

You build A scope definition built from owner outcomes, with a change-tracking approach.

Value engineering reduces cost without cutting what the owner needs. You apply structured value methods, compare options with cost-benefit analysis, and process the resulting change orders.

• The value engineering process
• Function analysis and idea generation
• Life-cycle cost and cost-benefit analysis
• Comparing options and recommending one
• Processing value engineering changes
• Sharing savings between parties

You build A value engineering study with cost-benefit analysis for one building element.

Large projects need decisions made at the right level. You put governance models and scope governance structures in place, set approval limits, and make accountability clear.

• Governance models for built-environment projects
• Approval limits and delegations
• Scope governance boards
• Reporting to owners and funders
• Compliance, safety and regulatory oversight
• Audit and assurance of project decisions

You build A governance structure with approval limits and reporting lines.

One project carries the course. You review its contract, plan its risks and interfaces, handle changes and a claim, and report to the owner, then reflect on what you would do earlier.

• Reviewing the contract and its risks
• Planning interfaces and stakeholders
• Handling changes and a claim
• Resolving a dispute
• Reporting to the owner and closing out

You build A contract management file for a realistic project, from risk review to close-out.