Impact of bureaucracy on project change - A framework for evaluation

Changes in construction projects represent risks for all project stakeholders, but without uniform and reliable metrics to record and compare, changes are subject to opinions and cannot be easily analyzed. This paper proposes a framework for the evaluation of the impacts of an environment on project change. Bureaucratic and Less-Bureaucratic environments are used as case studies for the application of this framework. The impact of the environment on project change is calculated based on 1) Dominant metrics and KPI; 2) Clear classifications of the sources of change; and 3) Sound analyses regarding the recorded outcomes. This paper illustrated the difference between these two environments by comparing their rates of change and suggested areas of improvement. The four (4) metrics to quantify change were: 1) Cost; 2) Schedule; 3) Client satisfaction or quality rates; and 4) Quantities of types of changes; and the four (4) metrics to classify the source of change were: 1) Client; 2) Contractor; 3) Designer; and 4) Unforeseen. The results indicated that there was a greater percentage differential between schedule delays versus cost impacts of the two environments. Additionally, the client was the greatest source of change, specifically schedule changes in Less-Bureaucratic environments.