A benefit measurement framework for an online contract change management system

The contract change management (CCM) system is an online collaboration tool, which supports the contract change management process of new engineering contract (NEC) contract. It is currently used in practice on a wide range of civil, power, and building projects in the UK. The aim of this study is first to identify the tangible and intangible benefits of the system through a user survey; then to develop a framework to measure these benefits. A questionnaire survey is conducted, which reveals that CCM can help project teams improve process effectiveness, reduce risk of process failures, and increase the compliance with NEC requirements. Subsequently, a spreadsheet tool is developed to allow CCM users to calculate the tangible cost savings as a result of using the system. For intangible benefits, a change management maturity model (CM3) is developed, which provides a measurement framework for assessing the improvement of a project team’s capability in dealing with contract changes.