Project Development and Optimization: Analysis and Recommendations

This report provides a comprehensive overview of project development and optimization. It begins with an introduction to the concepts and then explores the allocation of projects, emphasizing the importance of selecting the right contractors and subcontractors. The report then delves into various project delivery methods, including design-bid-build, construction manager, and design-build, outlining their advantages and disadvantages. Project management economics is discussed, focusing on its role in successful project implementation and resource allocation. The report also addresses the importance of economic analysis, risk management, and project management controls. Finally, the report explores project optimization techniques, such as resource levelling and smoothing, highlighting their benefits in terms of increased revenue, conflict resolution, and improved project delivery. The report concludes by emphasizing the necessity of project optimization in achieving project goals and objectives.

Running head: PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION
Project Development and Optimization
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
Allocation of project....................................................................................................................2
Project Delivery Method..............................................................................................................3
Project allocation and Project delivery method...........................................................................4
Advantages..............................................................................................................................4
Disadvantages..........................................................................................................................5
Project Management Economics.................................................................................................5
Project Optimization....................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Literature Review
Introduction
The project development and optimization are two related terms where the latter occurs
only if the former has occurred. There is a need of effective project development and
optimization to ensure effective construction and finding alternative options to achieve the
project performance (Kaiser, El Arbi and Ahlemann 2015). The project management plays a vital
role in the successful development of a project. Project management has various aspects which
plays different roles in different sectors of the project. The project delivery method, project
management economics and project optimization are the factors which is initially required to be
evaluated for construction of any project.
Allocation of project
The allocation of project is the important phase of the project development where
contractors and subcontractors are chosen based on the requirement of the project. A case study
on shopping centre in Norway shows the challenges faced by while handover to the contractors
(Firing, Lædre and Lohne 2016). The challenges related to this case study are short construction
period, lack of quality assurance and unexpected structural challenges and market share
fluctuations. These challenges show that there to allocation of project to the right contractor is
necessary for the effective development of the project. The case study also suggests potential
measures for the challenges. They are mutual agreement and delivery control, between contractor
and owner. The contractor is not the only individual who does the project; there are
subcontractors under the contractors who work. The relationship between contractors and
subcontractors is necessary to effectively contribute in construction. A case study in Hong Kong

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describing the impacts of relationship between contractors and subcontractors shows its effect in
construction (Tan, Xue and Cheung 2017). This study shows that positive relationship will
maintain collaborative/partnering relationship between contractors and subcontractors. The
project construction success depends on relationship between contractors and subcontractors.
The allocation of project for small projects such as building a shopping centre in a locality
requires an individual contractor (Sharkila et al. 2016). Small projects require low costs to be
involved and lesser risks. An individual contractor can handle all the tasks equally and
effectively.
Project Delivery Method
The project delivery method is a method that is used by an owner or agency to organize
and finance design for entities. This is done along with construction, operation and maintenance
for entities facility with legal agreements in consideration. There are three common project
delivery methods that are discussed as follows. They are design-bid-build, construction manager
and design-build (Fong, Avetisyan and Cui 2014). The design-bid-build method is defined as a
contract documents development between an owner and contractor consisting of a set of
blueprints and brief specification. Bids are done on this contract documents. The construction
manager method is described as contract documents that are partially completed and owner
proceed with the contractor. The bids are promoted as the contract documents get completed.
The design-build method is defined as a conceptual plan which is developed by the owner and
then promotes bids from joint ventures of contractors.
The project delivery methods nowadays have been making every industry more complex
as there are different approaches of different sectors. The extensive evaluation of contractors is
necessary to get their details. The previous experience and performance of contractor is

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important to evaluate them (Rigotti, Migliaccio and De Marco 2015). The project delivery
method has various advantages which will be discussed in the next section. The different types of
project delivery methods discussed above propose a definition for a project development
including effective management. The project delivery method selection should be considered as
an essential part and the selection criteria are discussed as below. The selection approaches for
project delivery method are decision-support system, analytical hierarchy process and
technology availability (Hosseini et al. 2016). The selection approach shows that appropriate
selection of project delivery method will contribute to project success. The project delivery
method guarantees successful delivery of project which is allocated to the particular contractor.
The design-build method is the most appropriate method for small projects such as building a
shopping centre. The design build method is appropriate for fixed budget and fixed completion
date of any construction.
Project allocation and Project delivery method
Advantages
The advantages of project allocation to individual contractor are as follows. The first and
most important benefit is saving money. The payment to different subcontractors is saved as the
owner has to give only to the individual contractor. The second benefit is freedom of staffing
according to business requirement (Fishman 2017). The staffing is done based on particular tasks
and the individual contractor is able to do it. The third benefit is eliminating the time and costs
related to training of subcontractors where they are specialized in their particular task. The
advantages of design-build method for project delivery method are as follows. The first and most
important benefit is budget management which manages the budget during the design phase of

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construction (Keen et al. 2015). The second advantage is faster project completion where
projects complete in a short time due to reduction in bid time.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of project allocation to individual contractor are as follows. The first
one is less control over workers under individual contractors. The subcontractors rely upon the
contractor’s decisions (Walker 2015). The inconsistency and lack of loyalty may lead during a
construction due to increased turnover in a short- scale project. The written agreement is made
according to which an owner has some restrictions. The disadvantages of design-build method
for project delivery method are as follows. The owner has less control over its design where the
owner has to sacrifice its control over the design (Wardani, Messner and Horman 2015). The
lack of competitive pricing is another disadvantage where contractors continuously bid and thus
price fluctuates.
Project Management Economics
The project management economics plays an integral part in the successful
implementation of the project. The project management economics comes into play when there is
assessment of sustainability of project investments. The economic analysis also helps in better
allocation of resources that lead to improved and enhanced incomes. The economic analysis also
helps in determining project’s fiscal impact to evaluate the scope for cost recovery of a project
development. The project management economics is associated with the objective to not only
benefit the individual’s development but also the improvement of locality also. The project
management evolution is done here to provide brief explanation of improving economic success
of different projects.

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The economic success depends on the different sizes and aspects of project construction.
The economic success depends on the following aspects that are related to a project development
(Cole 2017). The loopholes in project management and controls and they are poor organization,
inappropriate communication, improper performance management and limited talent acquisition.
The improper delivery methods and challenges in technological systems contribute to project
management and controls loopholes. The poor up-front planning and they are overly expectant
budgets, owners not questioning the contractor’s process and non-inclusion of operations and
maintenance. The improper risk management is also an aspect which should be considered. This
aspect includes late identification of errors, complex interfaces, delay in projects and transfer of
risks without collaboration in project development (Sharkila et al. 2016). However, the project
management economics can be successfully achieved through the following potential solutions.
The loopholes in project management and controls can be achieved through focusing on strong
theory and data. The owners are require to improve procedures and managing the time and
budget to meet the objectives of project success. The poor up-front planning can be achieved
through legacy of projects to include long-term benefits and development of worker’s skills. The
improper risk management can also be achieved through merging of delivery risks and profit
sharing. The owners required to define rules to force accountability upon contractors.
The economic factor is a driving factor for project development and optimization. The
economic analysis of project management requires several factors to consider before any
investment starts in the project development. The factors to consider are understanding of
problem to define the project outcome and then collecting of data. The evaluation of data is done
to find the best solutions and alternatives. These solutions and alternatives are then monitored to
determine the costs required for each and every phase of development (Martinelli and Milosevic

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2016). Hence, economic analysis if not done properly and appropriate understanding then it will
negatively impact the development of project.
Project Optimization
The project optimization is described as finding solution and alternatives other than
solutions with the minimum investment and high achievable performance. The project
optimization is a technique which is used in different phases of a project development (Gao
2017). The project optimization is necessary to use for effective implementation and completion
of project construction. The two tools of project optimization technique are resource levelling
and resource smoothing in project management. The resource levelling technique is used to
adjust and improve the project from beginning to end. The resource smoothing technique is used
to adjust and improve the activities of the different phase of the project management. The project
optimization technique is used for evaluating the performance of project development. The goals
and objectives of project management depend on how the organization or owner is able to
optimize the project construction. The optimization of Enterprise training system nowadays is
necessary due to lack of systematic and improper management. The optimization of enterprise
training system is done through learning and skill development which is applied in theoretical
management practice.
The benefits that project optimization in project management provide are as follows. The
increased revenue benefit which helps to assess the utilized resource pool development of
project. This can have maximum effect on balancing workload (Sánchez 2015). The conflict
resolution benefit that has a significant effect on increased revenue to improve skills, experience
and desirable knowledge. This can positively affect the efficiency of the project management.
The improvement in project delivery is the major benefit which helps to reduce costs and

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maximize margins of project management. The improvement in resource management process is
necessary in identification of shortage of skills and training requirements for project
development. The administration costs is reduced which provides another benefit to project
management. The reduced administration costs also improve the earning potential for owners or
organizations. The possible solution for reducing administration cost is achieved through using
integrated resource management software that provides control, opportunity and visibility to the
owner or organization. Therefore, project optimization is a necessary part in project development
to efficiently achieve the project goals and objective.

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References
Cole, C., 2017. Project Management Evolution to Improve Economic Success of Infrastructure
Projects. In Proceedings of the International Conference Theory and Applications in the
Knowledge Economy (pp. 483-497).
Firing, M., Lædre, O. and Lohne, J., 2016. Main challenges found in the handover of a shopping
centre in Norway. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 226, pp.100-107.
Fishman, S., 2017. Consultant & independent contractor agreements. Nolo.
Fong, C.K., Avetisyan, H.G. and Cui, Q., 2014. Understanding the Sustainable Outcome of
Project Delivery Methods in the Built Environment. Organization, Technology & Management
in Construction, 6(3).
Gao, L., 2017. Optimization of Enterprise Training System from the Perspective of Project
Management. DEStech Transactions on Social Science, Education and Human Science, (icsste).
Hosseini, A., Lædre, O., Andersen, B., Torp, O., Olsson, N. and Lohne, J., 2016. Selection
criteria for delivery methods for infrastructure projects. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 226, pp.260-268.
Kaiser, M.G., El Arbi, F. and Ahlemann, F., 2015. Successful project portfolio management
beyond project selection techniques: Understanding the role of structural
alignment. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.126-139.
Keen, D.J., Edinger, L., Wiener, K. and Salcedo, E., 2015. Current Practices to Set and Monitor
DBE Goals on Design-Build Projects and Other Alternative Project Delivery Methods(No.
Project 20-05 (Topic 45-03)).
Martinelli, R.J. and Milosevic, D.Z., 2016. Project management toolbox: tools and techniques for
the practicing project manager. John Wiley & Sons.

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Rigotti, E., Migliaccio, G.C. and De Marco, A., 2015. Comparing Performance of Construction
Projects Delivered through Different Delivery Methods.
Sánchez, M.A., 2015. Integrating sustainability issues into project management. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 96, pp.319-330.
Sharkila, N., Shukri, M., Kong, S.K. and Yong, Y.K., 2016. The Significant Risks In Small Scale
Construction Projects. INTI Journal Special Edition–Built Environment, pp.30-34.
Tan, Y., Xue, B. and Cheung, Y.T., 2017. Relationships between main contractors and
subcontractors and their impacts on main contractor competitiveness: an empirical study in Hong
Kong. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 143(7), p.05017007.
Walker, A., 2015. Project management in construction. John Wiley & Sons.
Wardani, M., Messner, J. and Horman, M., 2015. Methods for design-build projects', Journal of
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