The benefits of the team building process have been examined for many years by several organizations. The Army Corp of Engineers, Project Management Institute, and Construction Industry Institute studies provided the foundation for this research. Cost growth and schedule growth are two areas that were suspected to be improved by the use of team building. A thorough statistical and graphical analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of the team building process on cost growth and schedule growth. The project phases and demographic slices were examined for both the contractors and owners. The analysis of the relationship between the team building process and reduction of cost growth and schedule growth provides overwhelming support for implementing the process on construction projects. Although results of particular projects are not always supportive, the overall trends indicate that both budget overruns and schedule extensions can be reduced by the use of a team building process. Particular project categories have been identified as very susceptible to the positive influences of the team building process. Early implementation appears to be crucial in maximizing the benefits of the team building process. / Master of Science

Cost overrun is prevalent in the construction industry. Usually, an owner sets a budget at the preliminary phase of a project which changes over time. Past studies are focused on analyzing the cost growth of design-bid-build projects during construction. Limited efforts have been made to analyze details of projects delivered with the Construction Manager General Contractor (CM/GC) method. This study tracks and analyzes the construction cost variation of a project from the conceptual phase to the design completion phase. The analysis is presented with a case study of a new stadium construction project. It identifies that the changes in the scope and design of the project due to the change in available budget were a major reason for variation in the cost estimates over time. Further, this study identifies a) trades with the highest variation in subcontractors’ bids, b) trades that were most overestimated, and c) trades that were most underestimated. The findings of this study is expected to aid owners, designers, and contractors of future projects in improving the preparation, planning, and estimating of future projects; reducing cost variation within trades; and optimizing the amount of contingency required to ensure the successful completion of similar projects.