Construction Management Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Study Guide

As a project progresses, the ability to implement changes in a cost-effective manner generally decreases while the costs committed to the project increase. This phenomenon occurs due to several factors inherent in construction and project management.

In the early stages of a project, changes can often be made with relative ease and minimal financial implications. This is because fewer resources have been allocated, and the project design is still flexible. However, as the project moves along and more commitments are made—such as labor contracts, materials purchased, and completed work—the cost of implementing changes rises significantly. This is due to the fact that altering plans, schedules, or designs usually requires reworking parts of the project that are already underway, which often leads to increased costs.

Specific factors contribute to this decreasing flexibility and increasing cost commitment:

1. **Resource Allocation**: As a project develops, specific resources are dedicated to ongoing tasks, making it more complex and expensive to divert those resources to accommodate new changes.

2. **Contractual Obligations**: Contracts with subcontractors and suppliers become more binding as the project is executed, limiting the project's ability to adapt without incurring penalties or additional costs.

3. **Time Sensitivity**: The project timeline becomes tighter as deadlines approach, making it