PROJECT PLANNING – Managerial Challenges(Part 3)
Project Initiation – Contractor
This post is the third in a series of discussions regarding managerial challenges in project management situations. In this series, we focus heavily on the managerial aspects of program / project planning and management. This post addresses the starting point or initiation of the project. Part 2 discussed Project Initiation in general. This post [Part 3] addresses considerations that are unique to contractors.
Owners often view contractors as a homogenous group or homogenous within the contractor’s own organization. This perception is not correct, at least for contractors of any size or diversity.
Why does the same contractor behave differently on one job relative to another? Why does a contractor bid differently relative to past practices or experiences? Why is the contractor’s price so high on this bid when it was so low on another bid? We expected the contractor to be competitive and they are not. Another scenario, we expected the contractor to not be competitive; but, they have the best proposal and bid. There are many potential reasons. The answer may reside in the project initiation process.