T ECHNICAL A RTICLE

early identification of project requirements

and decisions that would significantly
The Effect of Early Freezing of affect the project delivery time. Such
methods would direct the attention to
Scope on Project Schedule selected issues and details that could be
postponed to be addressed at later dates.
Early identification and proper
Dr. Neil N. Eldin, PE handling of such tasks under normal
practice could favorably impact the project
ABSTRACT: With the objective of finding means to reduce project delivery time, a number of delivery time.
schedule improvement methods (SIM) were examined to determine their effectiveness in sched- MEFS can be viewed as a means to get
ule reduction. The researcher focused on means that lead to reduction of project delivery time all parties involved in the scoping of a
without increasing project overall cost. As a result, all the cost-time trade-off methods (e.g., over-
project to identify time-sensitive issues in
time, multiple-shifts, more costly crew mix, etc.) were excluded. Among the promising SIMs
were methods used to achieve early freezing of project scope. Three case studies were examined
the early development phases. It is a means
to determine the implementation highlights, success factors and implementation barriers. The by which input from key stakeholders (i.e.,
case studies verified that measurable schedule reduction could be realized by early freezing of engineering disciplines, operation /
project scope. The data suggested that reduction up to 20 percent of the project delivery time maintenance staff, owners, etc.) is obtained
compared to historical data could be realized. In addition, implementation of methods for early in the conceptual phase and monitored in
freezing of project scope resulted in net cost savings for the documented projects. Success fac- the detailed design phase to ensure
tors, implementation barriers, and lessons learned were grouped under management, employ- compliance with the approved scope and
ees, and process issues. These issues were further ranked according to their apparent frequency the identified decision points' deadlines.
in the case studies. Although the limited number of case studies did not allow the determina-
Designers should obtain input from
tion of statistical significance, such ranking provides a framework to which future data could be
added for more comprehensive conclusions.
owners, suppliers, constructors, and
operation and maintenance personnel
KEY WORDS: Project, schedule, scope prior to finalizing their designs. It is crucial
that all involved parties prioritize their key
requirements and identify their critical
he identification of methods implementation highlights, challenges,

T capable of reducing project delivery

time has been the goal of many
researchers and American companies [2, 3,
4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11].
Researchers identified a number of
techniques that seemed to have the highest
payoff potential [1]. These included
methods that are used for early
identification of key design parameters to
achieve early freezing of project scope.
The objective of early freezing of
scope is to eliminate the uncertainties
associated with design and procurement of
major items so that various engineering
disciplines are able to proceed with
detailed design and material procurement
as soon as funding approval is obtained.
Items viewed as having measurable
influence on project costs and duration
should be identified prior to enforcing a
scope freeze. As an example from the
process industry, a major pump is defined
by type, performance, material, and
operating parameters. Once the scope was
frozen for the pump, detail design of its
foundation, connecting piping, power/fuel
system, and other auxiliary systems could
start.
This article describes some of the
methods used for achieving early freezing
of project scope. The article presents the
Table 1—Nature of Business of Companies Associated with Case Studies
and success factors observed in three case
studies. Although the number of cases was
not enough for determining statistical
interfaces with others.
A comprehensive examination of the
prioritized requirements would result in
distinguishing critical design parameters
significance, a process for the assessment of
that must be finalized early from those that
the critical issues is presented just as a
can be postponed without adversely
framework to which data could be added in
impacting progress.
the future for more comprehensive
Decisions must be finalized early on
conclusions.
the critical ones. Deadlines for obtaining
final decisions on the identified critical
METHODS FOR EARLY
issues and parameters must be established
FREEZING OF SCOPE
early with the concurrence of all affected
parties. In other words, MEFS contrasts
Continuing modifications to project
the traditional design process in which
scope beyond the final authorization of
decisions made by a discipline are
funds would inevitably result in prolonging
controlled only by that discipline. In
the project duration and hence increasing
MEFS approach, priorities and schedules
final project costs. Freezing of scope at the
are developed by all disciplines,
earliest appropriate time is essential to
concurrently.
allow efficient completion of detailed
In the investigated case studies, the
design and material procurement and
approaches to MEFS varied between
eliminate inefficiencies inherent in
formal and informal procedures. On the
redesign and rework.
formal side, one company's practice was to
As a schedule reduction approach,
use preprinted forms and scheduled
methods of early freezing of scope (MEFS)
sessions to identify the critical issues and
are defined as any systematic approach to
Case Study # Specialty Type
•1 Eng.-Construction Designer
•2 Pulp and Paper Contractor
•3 Utility Owner

12 Cost Engineering Vol. 47/No. 2 FEBRUARY 2005

interfaces early in the project development
cycle.
Another company adopted quality
function deployment (QFD) as a formal
procedure for identifying requirements,
translating requirements to design
parameters, prioritizing such parameters
and identifying the critical interfaces that
needed early decisions or commitments.
Full discussion of QFD method and
implementation steps could be found in
reference [6].
Case-1
A pharmaceutical R&D facility with 1.1
million sq. ft. of usable space of office,
commercial, and industrial areas. The
facility is built on over 200 acres site.
The project contract price was $260
million and involved 150 bid packages.
The project delivery time was 46
months, of which 20 months were the
design phase.
Table 2—Scope Summary of Case Studies
Case-1
1. Over 20% reduction of project
delivery time. Project was placed
online 8 months sooner than similar
fast track projects.
2. The timesavings resulted in unit
prices 15 % below company's
historical performance.
3. Construction had fewer incidents of
rework and fewer number of change
orders.
4. Customers' satisfaction improved,
which resulted in increased number
of negotiated contracts and
development of formal partnering
with major customers.
Table 3—Results and Pay-off
Case-1 Case-2
1. Owner requested a more accurate 1. Learning the QFD process and 1. Top management demand of
project budget.
2. Project profitability was sensitive to
capital cost and hence to the scope
attempted. 2. A department manager who believed
Table 4—Drivers for Implementation
On the informal side, one company
established a less structured procedure for
identifying critical issues and their
appropriate deadlines. The procedure
involved preparing a monthly milestone
schedule showing critical decision points
as identified by the project manager. The
milestone schedule was used as a reminder
to all disciplines of setting deadlines for
their critical decision points. This
company advocated that a more formal
approach was not justified, as all its projects
Case-2
The project involved the
development of a new product that
required new technology, new process,
new mill, and new training operators. The
project delivery time was 18 months and
the contract price was $100 million.
Case-2
1. The mill was completed one month
ahead of schedule and met planned
production during the start-up phase.
2. The mill was completed 5% under
budget.
3. The time reduction resulted in early
destaffing of 4 months ahead of
schedule, which typically starts 12
months after construction
completion.
4. As a result of excellent quality records,
90% acceptance on lot audit was
achieved in the first month (increased
to 99% by 7 month), which resulted in
saving the cost of 12 auditing
personnel.
Case-3
realizing its benefits encouraged a improved capital utilization.
young product developer to pursue its 2. A forced downsizing required
application. reduction of project delivery time to
improved processes efficiency.
in empowering up-coming promising
staff and decided to support the ideas
of a young product developer.
Cost Engineering Vol. 47/No. 2 FEBRUARY 2005
were similar in nature and short in
duration (less than $100,000 and 3-month
duration).
CASE STUDIES
Three case studies were documented
in which MEFS was the primary means to
reduce project delivery time. The case
studies involved:
Case-3
A number of capital improvement
projects for the power industry. Average
cost was $100 K each. These were short
projects (1-3 months) in which the focus
was on plant outage and impact on
related projects.
Case-3
1. Early freeze of scope (up to 18
months before construction)
resulted in early establishment of
fiscal year budget and project funds.
2. Working off a well-defined early
scope enhanced the utilization of
the limited capital resources.
3. Reductions of up to 7 days in a 60-
day outage (12%). Reduction of
outage durations due to early scope
definition, thus allowing early
completion of engineering and
long-lead materials procurement.
4. Outage reduction allowed higher
power availability (in lieu of
purchasing power).
5. Better power generation planning
due to well-defined outage scope
and duration.
13
 • installation of a research and RESULTS AND PAYOFFS were interested in achieving more efficient
development facility; work processes for personal job satisfaction,
• a new paper mill; and Measurable schedule reduction was individuals who were interested in
• the refurbishment of an existing utility achieved on the three case studies as a enhancing their skills by applying new
plant. result of implementing MEFS. Up to a 20 tools, and top management that was
percent reduction of project delivery time interested in shortening project delivery
The nature of the business associated compared to historical performance was time to maintain its reputable stature in
with each case study is shown in Table 1 realized. In addition, other payoffs the market. Table 4 summarizes the
and the scope of each case study is included reduction in cost of audit and MEFS implementation drivers as stated by
summarized in Table 2. Throughout this maintenance of control budget, reduction the projects' personnel.
article, data is provided in a tabular format of rework, improved customer relationship,
to facilitate presentation and comparison and improved product performance. Table SUCCESS FACTORS
among the case studies. Because of space 3 summarizes the payoffs as stated by the
limitations, only a data summary is project personnel. It was found that the use of graphic
provided. A complete listing of the raw communication/design tools such as 3-D
data including preprinted interview forms IMPLEMENTATION DRIVERS computer aided design and drafting (3-D
for each case study can be found in CADD) contributed to good
reference [1]. Details of the The implementation of MEFS was communication with the end-users. The 3-
implementation of driven in some cases by top management's D CADD gave the users the ability to see
mandates and in others by employees' and understand the project details, as they
initiatives. That included individuals who were conceived/developed by the design

Employee Related Issues Management Related Issues Process Related Issues

1. Technical skills of individuals.
2. Interpersonal skills.
3. High personal commitment to team
success.
4. High trust between owner,
contractor and designer staff.
1. Lack of continuity of project 1.
personnel (moving staff in the
middle of the project).
Success Factor
1. Visible support for achievers.
2. Willingness to accept the results of
risk taken by the staff.
3. Investment in Training.
4. Development of high trusting
/empowerment environment among
management and project teams.
5. Top management's visible/direct
support of project teams' decisions.
Implementation Barriers
Lack of budget.
1. Use of the latest technologies (3-D
CADD, walk-through computer
models, operations simulation
techniques, etc.
2. Involvement of end-users.
3. Process continuity.
1. Exploring alternatives and VE
efforts could turn into open-ended,
time-consuming exercise unless it is
controlled.
2. Misconception of the optimum
degree of end-user involvement
3. Lack of process understanding
4. Under-developed procurement
strategy and construction schedule
5. Inability to determine cost-benefit
ratio for MEFS.

Lessons Learned
1. A sponsor/ champion is a must for 1. Visible, strong support is a must 1. Proper involvement of end-users
every major task 2. Set demanding, but achievable goals 2. Early invitation of ideas from all
2. Cultivating team spirit is essential 3. Owners/proponents must drive/lead parties involved
the MEFS implementation 3. Maintaining system flexibility in
handling valid exceptional changes
4. Focusing attention on process not
participants
5. Training is the first step

Table 5—Description of Common Issues

14 Cost Engineering Vol. 47/No. 2 FEBRUARY 2005

 Issue Case-1 Case-2 Case-3 Frequency Weight (%)
Employee Related
1. Technical skills of individuals YES YES 2 40%
2. Interpersonal skills YES 1 20%
3. High personal commitment to team YES 1 20%
success
4. High trust between owner, contractor YES 1 20%
and designer staff
Management Related
1. Visible support for achievers YES YES YES 3 44%
2. Willingness to accept the results of risk YES 1 14%
taken by the staff
3. Investment in Training YES 1 14%
4. Development of high trusting YES 1 14%
/empowerment environment among
management and project teams
5. Top management's visible/direct support YES 1 14%
of project teams' decisions

Process Related

Issue Case-1 Case-2 Case-3 Frequency Weight (%)

1. Use of the latest technologies (3-D CAD, YES 1 33%

walk-through computer models, operations
simulation techniques, etc.
2. Involvement of end-users YES 1 33%
3. Process continuity YES 1 33%

Table 6—Significance of Common Issues in Success Factors

and execution teams. Good visual
communication of plans through 3-D
models eliminated misunderstanding of
deliverables and contributed to earlier
elimination of some uncertainties. In
addition, the use of work breakdown
structures (WBS) to divide a project into its
smaller components seemed to contribute
to a quicker and more concise definition of
systems. It was also apparent to the staff in
charge of the case studies that MEFS
demands higher level of flexibility in
rotating, staffing and de-staffing project
resources to cope with the short-term needs
for dedicated resources necessary to meet
certain decision points' deadlines and
permit certain components/systems to be
developed concurrently in shorter than
normal durations. The projects' staff also
emphasized the criticality of close
management of interfaces between various
components and disciplines.
IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS
Implementation of MEFS can be
hampered by a number of issues. Although
the involvement of end-users is important,
they often had difficulties separating needs
from wants. This problem added time to
the process of freezing project scope and
led to a strained working environment
within the project team. Engagement in
team-building efforts early in the project
seemed to help minimize this problem.
Exploring alternatives while involving from the case studies:
a large multi-discipline team that included
the designers, owner representatives, 1. It appeared that owners were the best
customers, and the contractor created
open-ended, time-consuming exercises. It
appeared that the process of assessing
alternatives could have been made more
efficient by involving only a smaller group
encompassing the primary discipline(s)
instead of attempting the evaluation in
open session format. Also, the lack of
intermediate checkpoints and absolute
completion dates for identified milestones
and decision points seemed to cause
problems.
Overlooking the inclusion of
constructability reviews, project turnover
plan and value engineering issues prior to
freezing the scope resulted in unnecessary
late design modifications and rework
efforts.
LESSONS LEARNED
The following lessons were extracted
group to drive the efforts of early
freezing of project scope, and the
efforts of resisting changes after a scope
freeze. Owners' representatives must
understand the benefits of early
freezing of scope, be committed to the
overall project objectives and stop
pursuing minor incremental
improvements beyond the scope
freeze point. Attempting a scope freeze
with no commitment from the owner

Cost Engineering Vol. 47/No. 2 FEBRUARY 2005 15

 Issue
1. Lack of continuity of project personnel
(moving staff in the middle of the
project)
1. Lack of budget
1. Exploring alternatives and VE efforts
could turn into open-ended, time-
consuming exercise unless it is
controlled.
2. Misconception of the optimum degree
of end-user involvement.
3. Lack of process understanding.
4. Under-developed procurement strategy
and construction schedule.
5. Inability to determine cost-benefit ratio
for MEFS
Table 7—Significance of Common Issues in Implementation Barriers
organization would result in disruption
of engineering, design, procurement,
and construction activities and
ultimately in longer overall project
duration.
2. Achieving buy-in from all stakeholders
is essential prior to freezing scope in
order to ensure collective support of
the down stream decisions and to avoid
single-ownership attitudes. The use of
a structured approach to project
planning, involving all stakeholders,
can facilitate this process.
3. A formal structured process for review
of key documents must be established
and enforced to support timely
review/approval process.
4. It was recommended that executive
management must be involved in the
approval of key project deliverables
prior to freezing the scope. In
addition, management must show
support of the project team in resisting
changes and scope additions
advocated after the scope has been
frozen.
5. It was recommended that the approval
of a set of agreed upon key documents
would establish the baseline from
which changes are measured.
6. Provisions must be made for
exceptional late changes. A structured
16 Cost Engineering Vol. 47/No. 2 FEBRUARY 2005
Case-1 Case-2 Case-3
Employee Related
YES
Management Related
YES
Process Related
YES YES YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
process must be adhered to when
dealing with such exceptions.
7. Early freezing of scope was valid
regardless of projects' type or size.
Emphasis on early, thorough planning
returned high dividends.
COMMON ISSUES
Examination of the detailed success
factors, implementation barriers and
lessons learned suggested that they could
be viewed as employee, management, or
process related issues. Further
examination of these issues suggested that
each group (employee, management, or
process) can be summarized under more
generalized description such as that shown
in Table 5. Consolidation of the data in
this manner facilitated the observation of
the common issues among the case studies.
In an attempt to quantify the
significance (weight) of each of the
common issues shown in Tables 5, the
frequency of each issue was determined.
Tables 6 through 8 show the frequency
and weight of each issue describing success
factors, implementation barriers and
lessons learned. The weight shown in
these tables is calculated as the weighted
frequency of each issue.
Frequency Weight (%)
1 100%
1 100%
3 42%
1 14%
1 14%
1 14%
1 14%
In other words, the weight is the ratio
of frequency of an issue (i.e., number of
times appeared in the case studies) to the
total frequency (i.e., the summation of the
number of issues times their frequencies).
he case studies suggested that
T conceptual development and
preliminary engineering needed to
be completed prior to freezing of project
scope.
Project definition should progress to
the point of obtaining funds authorization
(identification of project packages and
preparation of semi-definitive cost
estimates) before freezing scope.
Evaluation of alternatives, value
engineering, constructability input and
safety reviews should be completed prior to
freezing of the scope. All design concepts
and project definition documents required
to solidify the scope of work should be
reviewed and approved by representatives
of the end-user prior to development of the
authorization estimate and freezing of the
scope.
Deliverables required to be completed
prior to freezing of project scope vary by
industry and project type. Each company
should prepare a list of typical deliverables
that once approved they serve as the
baseline from which changes are
 Issue Case-1 Case-2 Case-3 Frequency Weight (%)
Employee Related
1. A sponsor/ champion is a must for every YES 1 50%
major task.
2. Cultivating team spirit is essential. YES 1 50%

Management Related
1. Visible, strong support is a must YES YES 2 40%
2. Set demanding, but achievable goals YES YES 2 40%
3. Owners/proponents must drive/lead the YES 1 20%
MEFS implementation

Process Related
1. Proper involvement of end-users YES YES YES 3 42%
2. Early invitation of ideas from all parties YES 1 14%
involved. YES 1 14%
3. Maintaining system flexibility in YES 1 14%
handling valid exceptional changes. YES 1 14%
4. Focusing attention on process not
participants.
5. Training is the first step

Table 8—Significance of Lessons Learned

measured. In addition, each company ACKNOWLEDGEMENT International Journal of Cost

should determine the specific steps in the
appropriate approval cycles required to
accurately define the project and to freeze
the scope of work.
Capital processes within individual
companies may not support the
completion of these deliverables prior to
completing funding authorization. In such
cases, the scope should not be frozen until
the deliverables have been completely
determined. In addition, an effective scope
change control process must be in place to
handle changes beyond the scope freeze
point that are deemed crucial to the project
success. Owners are the best group to
enforce early freezing of scope.
The above conclusions are based on
the case studies examined in this study. A
literature search did not result in data to
add to that presented in this article.
Because of the small number of cases
examined, this work should be viewed as
an early attempt to understand the effect of
early freezing of project scope on the
project delivery time. It is hoped that more
data will be added in the future to allow a
more comprehensive conclusions. ◆
This study was funded by the
construction Industry Institute (CII),
Project 41-11. The author is indebted to 5.
the Schedule Reduction Reviewers' Panel
for their invaluable contributions to the
success of this investigation.
REFERENCES
1. Eldin, N.N., An Investigation of
Schedule Reduction Techniques for the
Engineering and Construction
Industry, Construction Industry
Institute, Report 41-11, (Sept. 1996):
pp. 143.
2. Eldin, N.N., Concurrent Engineering:
A Schedule Reduction Tool, American
Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE-
Journal of Construction Engineering
and Management, Vol. 123, No. 3,
(Sept. 1997): pp. 354-362.
3. Eldin, N.N., Constructability Impact
on Project Schedule, Journal of
Construction Management and
Economics, Vol. 17, No. 6, (Sept.
1999): pp. 711-720.
4. Eldin, N.N., Key Issues in
Implementing Cycle Time Analysis as
A Schedule Reduction Tool, American
Association of Cost Engineers, The
Estimating and Project
Management, Vol. 41 No. 5, (April
1999): pp. 25-33.
Eldin, N.N. and A. E. Senouci, A
Dynamic Programming Approach To
Scheduling of Non-serial Linear
Projects with Single Loop Structure,
Journal of Advances in Engineering
Software Vol. 31, No. 10, (2000): pp.
803-814.
6. Eldin, N., A promising Planning Tool:
QFD, The International Journal of
Cost Estimating and Project
Management, Vol. 44 No. 3, (March
2002):pp. 28-37.
7. Karim, A. and H. Adeli. OO
Information Model for Construction
Project Management, Journal of
Construction Engineering and
Management, ASCE, Vol. 125, No. 5,
(1999): pp. 361-367
8. Karim, A. and H. Adeli. CONSCOM:
An OO Construction Scheduling and
Change Management System, Journal
of Construction Engineering and
Management, ASCE, Vol. 125, No. 5,
(1999): pp. 368-376.
9. Karim, A. and H. Adeli. A New
Generation Software for Construction
Scheduling and Management,
Engineering, Construction and

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 Architectural Management, Vol. 6,
No. 4, (1999): pp. 380-390.
10. Senouci, A. E. and N.N. Eldin. A
Dynamic Programming Approach To
Scheduling of Nonserial Linear
Projects, American Society of Civil
Engineers, ASCE-Journal of
Computing in Civil Engineering,
Vol. 10, No. 2, (1996): pp. 106-114.
11. Soh C.K., K.W. Phang, and W.P.
Wong. An Integrated Intelligent System
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ICE Journal of Civil Engineering,
97(4), papers no 10067, (1993): pp
156-162, UK.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Neil N. Eldin, PE, has over 30 years of
professional experience involving teaching,
research, professional service and industrial
experience in the construction engineering
and management field. During his 15
years in academia he taught the more
challenging engineering and management
courses. He received The-Teacher-of-The-
Year Award in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002. the graduate program at Texas A&M
He has impressive research records of over University and a faculty senator.
$1.5 million of funded research He can be contacted by e-mail at
documented in 50+ publications included neldin@archone.tamu.edu.
30+ refereed journal papers. His research
interest includes cost-schedule integration, Technical Articles - Each month, Cost
environmental assessment of construction Engineering journal publishes one or more peer-
reviewed technical articles. These articles go
materials, solid waste as construction through a blind peer review evaluation prior to
materials, expert systems, neural networks, publication. Experts in the subject area judge the
and robotic applications in construction. technical accuracy of the articles. They advise the
Dr. Eldin enjoyed 15 years in the authors on the strengths and weaknesses of their
submissions and what changes can be made to
construction industry and served recently improve the article.
as a project manger on power generation
projects totaling over $250 million. His
experience involved engineering design,
procurement, and construction. His years
in the industry necessitated his work in:
North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
This unique exposure to multi-cultures
enriched his life at professional and
personal level.
Dr. Eldin is a licensed Professional
Engineer (PE), CPC and OSHA trainer.
He has served actively in many professional
organizations: ASCE, AACE International,
CII, and CSI. Dr. Eldin is the director of

Proposed AACE International Constitution and Bylaws Amendment

Mechanics of Conducting Elections
Recommendation
The AACE International Board of Directors recommends
a vote “for” the following changes to the Association’s
Constitution and Bylaws.
Background
The current AACE International Constitution and Bylaws
provisions for the Election of Officers and Directors calls for
the use of “sealed letter ballots.” As technology advances, more
efficient ways of conducting elections become available.
Recognizing that the continued use of sealed letter ballots
is cumbersome, slow, and requires considerable staff time and
expense, the board is recommending adoption of an amend-
ment removing the requirement for use of “sealed letter bal-
lots” and authorizing instead for the Board of Directors to be
given authority to approve alternate means of conducting
Association elections.
Approval of This Proposed Amendment Would:
• Remove the word “letter” from ARTICLE XI—AMEND-
MENTS, Section 1. “The Constitution and Bylaws may be
amended by letter ballot as prescribed in the Bylaws.”
• Remove the wording “shall be mailed” from ARTICLE
II—NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS
AND DIRECTORS, Section 3, and replace it with, “Shall
be distributed”
• Section 5—Amends the wording from “Election of
Officers and Directors shall be by sealed letter ballot” to
“Election of Officers and Directors shall be by ballot as
prescribed by the Board of Directors.”
• Section 7—Removes the word “unopened.” The section
currently reads, “Three months prior to the Annual
Meeting, the Vice President-Administration shall deliver to
the tellers, unopened, all ballots received.” If amended, it
will read: “No later than three months prior to the Annual
Meeting, the Vice President-Administration shall deliver to
the tellers, all ballots received.”
• ARTICLE XI—PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS,
• Section 5—removes the words, “shall mail” and changes
these to, “shall distribute.”
• Section 6—removes the words, “are mailed” and changes
to, “are sent.”

18 Cost Engineering Vol. 47/No. 2 FEBRUARY 2005