DBIA Project Delivery Method Selection 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which legal framework issue most commonly affects public owners' ability to use design-build delivery?
- Federal law prohibits design-build on all federally funded projects
- Many states require enabling legislation before public agencies can procure design-build contracts (Correct answer)
- Design-build is banned in right-to-work states
- Public owners must use design-build if the project exceeds $50 million
Correct answer: Many states require enabling legislation before public agencies can procure design-build contracts
Most states require specific statutory authority before public agencies can deviate from the traditional low-bid design-bid-build process and use design-build.
Question 2: An owner is considering design-build but is concerned about losing competitive pricing on subcontracted work. Which contract provision best addresses this concern?
- Requiring the design-builder to bid all subcontracts publicly and share bid results with the owner (Correct answer)
- Prohibiting the design-builder from self-performing any work
- Using a lump-sum contract with no transparency provisions
- Requiring the owner's approval of all change orders over $5,000
Correct answer: Requiring the design-builder to bid all subcontracts publicly and share bid results with the owner
Open-book subcontract bidding requirements give the owner visibility into how the design-builder procures work, maintaining price competition at the subcontract level.
Question 3: How does the selection of design-build affect the owner's exposure to the Spearin doctrine compared to design-bid-build?
- Design-build increases owner exposure because the owner provides more detailed specifications
- In design-build, the Spearin doctrine typically does not apply because the design-builder owns the design, not the owner (Correct answer)
- The Spearin doctrine applies equally regardless of delivery method
- Design-build eliminates all owner liability under federal procurement law
Correct answer: In design-build, the Spearin doctrine typically does not apply because the design-builder owns the design, not the owner
The Spearin doctrine holds owners responsible for defective owner-furnished plans; in design-build the design-builder creates the plans, so this implied warranty shifts away from the owner.
Question 4: Which scenario best illustrates a situation where a public owner should NOT use design-build?
- The project has a very tight completion deadline
- The owner needs to make numerous design changes throughout construction due to evolving operational needs (Correct answer)
- The owner lacks in-house design expertise
- The project requires innovative technical solutions
Correct answer: The owner needs to make numerous design changes throughout construction due to evolving operational needs
Frequent owner-driven design changes during construction are costly under design-build because each change requires renegotiating with the single design-build entity.
Question 5: What is the significance of 'price to be determined later' in a progressive design-build contract?
- It means the design-builder can charge any amount at project completion
- The owner and design-builder agree on GMP or fixed price only after design reaches sufficient definition, reducing pricing risk for both parties (Correct answer)
- It allows the owner to cancel without paying anything to the design-builder
- It means subcontractors set prices unilaterally during construction
Correct answer: The owner and design-builder agree on GMP or fixed price only after design reaches sufficient definition, reducing pricing risk for both parties
Progressive design-build defers final pricing until enough design detail exists to price accurately, reducing the risk premiums that design-builders add when pricing with incomplete information.
Question 6: Which factor in the DBIA Project Delivery Selection Matrix most directly relates to the owner's organizational capacity?
- Owner's experience and staffing to manage the chosen delivery method (Correct answer)
- The contractor's bonding capacity
- The local labor market conditions
- The availability of federal grant funding
Correct answer: Owner's experience and staffing to manage the chosen delivery method
An owner's internal capacity—staff expertise, time availability, and project management experience—directly determines which delivery methods it can effectively oversee.
Question 7: A design-build contract requires the design-builder to meet a specific energy use intensity (EUI) target after occupancy. What type of specification is this?
- Prescriptive specification
- Performance specification (Correct answer)
- Proprietary specification
- Reference standard specification
Correct answer: Performance specification
A performance specification defines a measurable outcome (EUI target) rather than prescribing how to achieve it, giving the design-builder flexibility to innovate.
DBIA Project Delivery Method Selection 5
Which legal framework issue most commonly affects public owners' ability to use design-build delivery?