ABSTRACT
The steps differ slightly depending on the procurement method (lump sum or designbuild contracts) and the level of detail. The simplest classification is the three-stage cycle of pre-construction, implementation and post-construction activities, compared to the eight-stage cycle above. The stages will also differ depending on the type of project; for instance, not all project outputs are leased or commercially invested. The phases should not be viewed as rigidly compartmentalized or in a linear gated fashion where one phase must be completed before another phase starts. Many activities overlap and can be executed concurrently. Decisions are also only boundedly rational because of imperfect information (Simon, 1957), and may occur incrementally (Lindblom, 1960). In public projects, extensive bargaining among stakeholders often takes place, bringing in additional complexities and sub-stages as well as raising the probability of implementation failure (Pressman and Wildavsky, 1973). However, for conceptual clarity, having distinct process phases is useful. Further, projects should not be naively managed from baseline plans, which tend to be static. What is more important is process, which is the focus of this chapter.
