Owner's Construction Manager study guide
Owner's Construction Manager · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Owner's Construction Manager credential is presented here as an independent study resource for construction professionals who represent the project owner's interests across planning, procurement, construction, and closeout. This page is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA), and it does not reproduce or reference any commercial question bank. The Owner's Construction Manager study guide has 6 sections and about 2,688 words.
01Project Delivery Methods
A delivery method allocates three things: design responsibility, construction risk, and the contractual relationship between owner and builder. The Owner's Construction Manager (CM) must be fluent in design-bid-build (DBB), design-build (DB), construction manager at risk (CMAR), and integrated project delivery (IPD), plus hybrid and multi-prime variants.
389 words, about 2 min02Pre-Project Planning and Programming
Pre-project planning converts a business need into a validated scope, budget, and schedule baseline before significant design money is spent. The candidate must know the sequence: needs assessment, feasibility, programming, then project definition and the basis of design.
348 words, about 2 min03Design and Construction Procurement
Procurement covers both design professional selection and construction contracting. The CM must know qualifications-based selection (QBS) for design, low-bid versus best-value for construction, and the mechanics of solicitation, evaluation, and award.
347 words, about 2 min04Construction Phase Management
The CM represents the owner during construction: administering the contract, controlling changes, monitoring quality and safety, and managing information and closeout. The candidate must distinguish the CM's authority from the designer's and the contractor's.
331 words, about 2 min05Project Controls
Project controls integrate scope, cost, schedule, risk, and reporting so the owner can make decisions early. The candidate must understand earned value management (EVM), variance analysis, forecasting, and the reporting cadence.
313 words, about 2 min06Cost and Schedule
Cost and schedule are one system. Candidates must know estimate classifications, contingency and escalation treatment, and critical path method (CPM) scheduling fundamentals.
960 words, about 5 min