Program & Project Management

The construction management plan, project organization, procedures manual, funding, design professional selection, contract documents, procurement, information management and program management across pre-design, design, procurement, construction and post-construction.

5 minutes 5 Questions

In the Certified Construction Manager (CCM) framework, Program & Project Management is one of the core functional areas defined by the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA). It establishes the foundation for how a Construction Manager (CM) plans, organizes, directs, and controls a c…

Concepts covered
Pre-Design Project Conference and Owner ObjectivesConstruction Management Plan Purpose and ContentProject Procedures ManualCommunity Impact and Public RelationsSite Use Planning and MobilizationProgram Controls and StandardizationFast-Track and Phased ConstructionDesign Errors, Omissions and Document CoordinationBidder Qualification and Pre-Award MeetingsContract Document Set and Forms of AgreementProgram Governance and Owner ReportingPreconstruction Conference and Site CoordinationDesign Services Scope, Extra Services and FeesProject Meetings and CoordinationBidding Climate and Bidder OutreachManagement Information Systems and Status ReportingActivation, Occupancy and Operational TestsMultiple Prime Contract CoordinationDesign Professional Selection CriteriaDesign Document Review and Constructibility InputMeasurable Project ObjectivesProject Organization and the Responsibility MatrixCapital Program ManagementSupporting the Owner's Project Funding
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CMAA CCM - Program & Project Management Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Program & Project Management

Question 1

A municipal library will be built under a construction manager at-risk agreement. The owner plans to accept a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) amendment priced from the 60% construction documents, while the architect finishes the design. The owner asks the agency construction manager what the GMP amendment must contain so that, when the documents are complete, the team can tell normal design completion apart from true scope changes. What should the construction manager recommend?

Correct Answer: Attach a dated list of the priced drawings and specifications with stated assumptions

A GMP priced from incomplete documents must identify exactly which drawings and specifications, by number and date, were priced, along with the clarifications and assumptions behind the price. This baseline lets the team compare the final documents against it and separate reasonably inferable design development from genuine scope changes.
Attaching the final construction documents is impossible when the GMP is set at 60% and leaves no baseline for comparison. A contingency that absorbs all owner-requested additions confuses the CM's contingency with owner changes and hides scope growth. Citing the set only by title is too vague, and treating all later detailing as owner changes ignores normal design completion.
Key concept: GMP basis documents, assumptions and clarifications.

Question 2

During pre-design for a water treatment plant, a newly assigned member of the owner's staff asks the construction manager for one document. It should state the project's objectives, scope, budget and schedule goals, team organization, and the overall management approach through design, procurement and construction. Which document should the construction manager provide?

Correct Answer: The Construction Management Plan

The Construction Management Plan is the single strategic document that defines the project's objectives, scope, budget and schedule goals, team organization and responsibilities, and the management approach for every phase from design through procurement and construction.
The Project Procedures Manual is wrong because it covers detailed day-to-day procedures and forms, such as submittals, RFIs and change orders, rather than overall goals and strategy. The program feasibility study is wrong because it judges whether a project should go forward, not how it will be managed. The project specifications are wrong because they describe technical construction requirements for the contractor.
Key concept: the CM Plan as the master strategic roadmap for the project.

Question 3

A construction manager is program manager for a port's capital program to rehabilitate four wharf berths. Each berth has its own project team and risk register. Each team rates deteriorated pile conditions below its own action threshold and carries a small contingency for it. All four berths share the same pile type, the same survey method and the same pool of marine contractors. What should the program manager do BEST?

Correct Answer: Treat the pile risk as one program exposure and plan a joint response

Because all four berths share the same pile type, survey method and contractor pool, the pile risk is correlated, so the program manager should combine it into one program-level exposure and plan a joint response, such as a common investigation, shared contingency and coordinated contractor strategy.
Raising each berth's contingency still treats the risk in silos and ignores that the berths could all be hit at once. Accepting each team's rating hides an exposure that can exceed the program threshold when the berths are combined. Shifting the risk through a unit-price pile item does not transfer quantity risk, since the owner still pays for added piles.
Key concept: aggregating correlated risks across projects at the program level.

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