Assessment of Evolution and Sensitivity in Construction Projects

Fast-tracking through activity overlapping allows for shortening the total project duration at the expense of an increased likelihood of rework. Activity overlapping allows downstream successor construction activities to start with incomplete information from their upstream predecessor design activities. The nature of information evolution and the strength of dependency between these activities determine the likelihood and amount of potential rework. This paper uses constructs of evolution and sensitivity to characterize the nature and consequences of preliminary (i.e., partial and incomplete) information exchange between upstream and downstream activities, which influence the amount of rework in the downstream activity as a result of a change in upstream information. The paper illustrates the constructs of upstream evolution and downstream sensitivity: what is their influence on the maturity of the information exchanged throughout an overlapped process and how are they assessed in construction projects? The conclusion provides an explanation of the applicability and importance of these constructs in determining the optimal overlapping strategy in fast-track environments.