ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses change orders and claims. Effective management of change orders and claims is vitally important to controlling scope, cost, and schedule. Claims under many construction contracts are required to be based on rejected change order proposals. The chapter discusses certain particularly important provisions of the construction contract related to change orders. Then, it explains the contractor's burden of proof with respect to change order proposals, starting with requirements that all proposals must satisfy and then explaining the requirements for 12 of the most common types of change order proposals. The chapter next explains seven of the most common owner defenses to change order proposals. It also examines how to calculate the appropriate value of a change order that has merit. The chapter offers techniques for analyzing proposals, and briefly addresses claims and discusses the limited ways in which they may differ from change order proposals.
