DBIA Project Delivery Method Selection 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which factor most strongly favors selecting design-build over design-bid-build when an owner has a fixed opening date?
- Overlapping design and construction phases reduces overall schedule (Correct answer)
- Design-build always produces lower construction costs
- Design-bid-build allows more competitive bidding
- Design-build eliminates all permitting requirements
Correct answer: Overlapping design and construction phases reduces overall schedule
Design-build enables concurrent design and construction, compressing the schedule compared to sequential design-bid-build delivery.
Question 2: An owner wants maximum control over material specifications and design details throughout construction. Which delivery method best supports this goal?
- Design-build with a fixed-price contract
- Construction manager at-risk
- Design-bid-build (Correct answer)
- Public-private partnership
Correct answer: Design-bid-build
Design-bid-build gives owners direct contractual authority over the designer, allowing ongoing specification changes without renegotiating a single entity's contract.
Question 3: Under the DBIA framework, what term describes the situation where a single entity holds contractual responsibility for both design and construction?
- Single-point accountability (Correct answer)
- Integrated project delivery
- Bridging method
- Progressive design-build
Correct answer: Single-point accountability
Single-point accountability means the design-builder is the sole party contractually responsible to the owner for both design defects and construction defects.
Question 4: A municipality needs a water treatment plant but lacks the internal expertise to develop detailed technical requirements. Which project delivery approach is most appropriate?
- Lump-sum design-bid-build with full construction documents
- Performance-based design-build specifying outcomes rather than prescriptive design (Correct answer)
- CM at-risk with guaranteed maximum price
- Multiple prime contracting
Correct answer: Performance-based design-build specifying outcomes rather than prescriptive design
Performance-based design-build lets owners define what the facility must accomplish, allowing the design-builder to innovate on how to achieve those outcomes.
Question 5: Which procurement characteristic distinguishes qualifications-based selection (QBS) from low-bid selection in design-build?
- QBS awards based on the team's experience and technical approach before price negotiation (Correct answer)
- QBS always results in a lower project cost
- Low-bid selection is prohibited on public design-build projects
- QBS requires federal funding to be used
Correct answer: QBS awards based on the team's experience and technical approach before price negotiation
QBS evaluates a firm's qualifications, past performance, and technical approach first, with price negotiated after the best-qualified team is identified.
Question 6: When comparing risk allocation, how does design-build differ from design-bid-build regarding design errors discovered during construction?
- In design-build, the owner absorbs design error costs as a change order
- In design-build, the design-builder bears the cost of correcting design errors without additional owner payment (Correct answer)
- In design-bid-build, the contractor absorbs all design error costs
- Both methods place design error risk entirely on the insurer
Correct answer: In design-build, the design-builder bears the cost of correcting design errors without additional owner payment
Because the design-builder holds both contracts, design errors are the design-builder's responsibility to correct at no added cost to the owner.
Question 7: An owner selects a project delivery method early in planning. Which DBIA-recognized benefit makes design-build particularly valuable when the project scope is not fully defined?
- Design-build requires a fully defined scope before any design work begins
- The design-builder can begin construction documents immediately without owner input
- Progressive design-build allows scope to be refined collaboratively as design advances (Correct answer)
- Design-bid-build is preferred when scope is uncertain because it fixes costs early
Correct answer: Progressive design-build allows scope to be refined collaboratively as design advances
Progressive design-build is structured so the owner and design-builder refine scope and price incrementally, making it well-suited to projects with evolving requirements.
DBIA Project Delivery Method Selection 2
Which factor most strongly favors selecting design-build over design-bid-build when an owner has a fixed opening date?