Which option relates to overlapping design and construction to accelerate project delivery?

• A. Costs of design approvals
• B. Cost-Influence curve
• C. Spearin doctrine
• D. Benefits of fast tracking

Answer: (D)

Overlapping design and construction to speed up delivery is known as fast-tracking. In this approach, construction begins before the full design is complete, allowing activities to run in parallel rather than in a strict sequence. This can dramatically shorten the project schedule, especially in design-build environments, but it requires strong coordination, clear risk-sharing, and robust management of design changes as the work progresses.

The other options don’t describe this scheduling strategy. Costs of design approvals focus on the financial implications of getting necessary approvals, not on how design and construction phases are sequenced. The Spearin doctrine deals with the liability once the design is relied upon and the contractor’s reliance on the adequacy of the design documents, not with accelerating delivery. The Cost-Influence curve looks at how early design decisions affect costs later, rather than the method of overlapping design and construction to shorten the timeline.