The Eighth Edition of CPM in Construction Management is now published. See CPMinConstructionManagement.com for more details. The original (and still senior) author suggested for our Preface that we answer the question “Why are we writing, and why do our readers need an 8th edition? After our first seven editions, what more may be said about CPM planning and scheduling for the construction and other time-centric industries?”
A few short excerpts from the Preface and Chapters may help answer that question:
In its earliest days, limited computing power required many work-arounds and dumbing down of the mathematics behind solving critical path method network logic. Only the “priests” of CPM could understand how to elicit the necessary information from the project team, modify to stay within the limitations of the software, navigate the software, and finally interpret the results. …
Some of the priests became enamored of their computers and forgot to consider the needs of their parishioners. Project managers in the field did not find useful these reports that were run by “computer specialists” from headquarters and preferred the use of their “old-fashioned” bar charts. …
The advent of the personal computer untethered project managers from the priests and computer specialists at headquarters. A plethora of software startups provided products that were simple to use and eminently suitable to the needs of parishioners—or end users—the line managers in charge of projects. In the heat of competition these software products were honed to provide maximum support at minimum effort to managers in responsible charge of bringing a project in within budget and on time. …
A few software solutions moved to the forefront and prospered. … All had the need to grow enough to support continued development to harness the growing power of micro-computers. And so those who could not maintain market share faded into the night. The best added capabilities requiring some special training without encumbering the average user of the basic system.
But a funny thing happened on the way to market dominance—the market and average user changed. …
Our frontrunner software product developers were not unaware of this burgeoning market. Attendance at the Primavera User Conference swelled from some 250 to approaching 2500, starting with one information technology (IT) track to eventually having only a few construction track sessions at an IT show. Development resources of all major players were devoted to new features desired by this new “average” user—one who is versed in a software code writer vocabulary and not one based on experience in construction, … [leading] many project managers to leave the preparation of the official schedule to the professionals, while returning to field-prepared bar charts for actually running the project. …
A perfect storm ensued in the late 2000s. Previously independent software product providers were acquired by IT companies, exacerbating the shift of product development of, by, and for IT users. A worldwide recession decimated the construction industry and further quieted the voice of those requiring continued support for time-centric scheduling. The continuing shift to the “cloud” or reverting independent and personal computers to being mere terminals further divorced construction professionals from “their” software and even from their data. Indeed, we had turned 180 degrees back to the state of affairs of the 1960s and 1970s.
[We] are writing and our readers need an 8th edition because our industry is reviving and our demands to meet our needs are starting to be heard. … A plethora of new software products have been introduced (or reintroduced) with renewed emphasis on time-centric construction functionality. The major players are also rediscovering the construction market, and all are embracing how more powerful computers may be used to further support the construction industry.
Chapters both old and new discuss RISK in greater detail. The Sample Specification has been totally rewritten to be more to start the discussion than as a cut and paste fait accompli. As noted in the introductory paragraphs,
One of our goals with this 8th edition is to consider the current state of computer hardware and software and upgrade the methods used by the industry to utilize the additional power not available in the 1950s or even in the 2000s. … Therefore the authors are introducing several possibly controversial concepts to this sample CPM specification. The first relates to format and layout: we want the CPM specification to relate to preparation and submittal of the CPM submittal and not to dabble in additional instructions best included in the section on payments, coordination, or change management. …
[W]hile the 7th edition and earlier editions discussed the concept of risk, and even the first edition instructed, “If you need a 12-month completion, set your CPM goal at about 11 months, and so forth,” until very recently software … calculate this necessary contingency or factor of safety has been extremely expensive. Today there are a host of CPM products and add-on products that will calculate the probability of a specific project completing on-time and projecting a 50, 80, or 90 percent … probable completion date. Stated crudely, one should shoot to where the duck is flying and not at where it appears in the sky. And so this sample specification requires use of built-in or added risk software to require the contractor to prepare a CPM not just to meet the contract deadline, but to have an 80 percent probability of success.
Other major and possibly controversial changes include follow through to separate cost and schedule, including a “cost loaded CPM” which does not total the contract value then to be pivoted to an Excel “Schedule of Values” with additional line items for non-performance costs such as overheads and risk premiums (profits). See, as a sampling, our August posting Why the Scheduling Specification is in a State of Disrepair, our November 2013 posting Oranges, Apples and Pairs, and our July 2013 posting, Thoughts on Separating Cost and Schedule, Risk Assessments and What Can be Admitted in Court for more on these issues.
I am certain these and others issues will be discussed and debated at Construction CPM Conference 2016 to be held in New Orleans, January 31st through February 3rd in the midst of Mardi Gras. Jim and I will be there to join the discussion and to sign books. See ConstructionCPM.com for more information. Perhaps you can join us.
