Otherwise, construction may be well underway before it is discovered there aren't enough funds to complete the project. Often, a project may never become a reality if it is deemed over budget during the predesign phase. Once preliminary budget determinations have been made that the project will work, the design phase begins. Here, the project parameters get clearly defined, the detail questions get answered, and construction documents are developed for bidding. If the project is determined to be over budget during the design phase, adjustments can be made-certain materials or systems can be changed to lower costs.
Value engineering becomes a valuable tool for lowering costs during the design phase.
For this reason, effective communication between those parties is critical so that the owner is clear on how changing certain materials or systems will impact the final cost of the project. Factored into those costs at this phase are aesthetics, space planning, efficiency of systems to be used, energy savings, life cycle expectations, expected maintenance and repair costs, and impacts on the end user. How effective communications are become quite clear in later phases of the project. Once a project is bid, the construction phase begins, and the successful contractor becomes involved in the budget. At this phase, the quality of the construction documents becomes apparent.