ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 begins with a thumbnail sketch of what an optimal project should be. This is followed by a contrasting reminder of the cost, schedule, and quality problems that have plagued megaprojects in the construction industry. A brief discussion of what a large project is, and how the student will fit into it, completes setting the stage. Those topics set up the background for a discussion of the important challenges that the AEC industry must address. The authors give their commitment to address each of those challenges. The authors then summarize a brief history and the current status of construction management practice, which point out the need for more emphasis on the people-side of project execution. Dr. DarConte’s and Dr. Griffis’ research into what makes “mission-critical-cannot-fail projects” successful is then briefly summarized, and the six fundamental propositions of that work are presented. The chapter ends with a conceptual-level explanation of the book’s main message: how the application of these six propositions and other construction management principles can build high-performance teams and lead to stakeholder alignment and project success.
