Decision Support System for Selection of Project Delivery Method in Transit

Abstract

A decision support system was developed to help transit agencies evaluate and choose the most appropriate project delivery method for their capital projects. The system considers the traditional design–bid–build, construction manager-at-risk, design–build, and design–build–operate–maintain delivery methods. A set of 24 pertinent issues that can affect the choice of project delivery method are identified and described. The described decision support system consists of two distinct tiers. The first tier is a qualitative assessment in which the decision maker evaluates the effectiveness of each delivery method for dealing with the relevant pertinent issues. This tier will help agencies determine if there is a dominant or obvious choice of project delivery method. If at the end of this stage a clear choice is not evident, the user will move to the second tier, where a weighted matrix is used to score competing alternatives. The system will also provide a structure for documenting the project delivery decision in the form of a project delivery decision report. A validation process for the system is described, and a brief example is provided to show the application of the decision support system.