The Design/Build method is very attractive to owners and contractors for a number of reasons:

1. Singular Responsibility – Since a single entity is responsible for both design and construction, there is a single point of responsibility for quality, cost, and schedule adherence. This improves risk management for the project. The design/build contractor is expected to produce an end product that fulfills aesthetic and functional objectives, and also meets budget and schedule constraints.
2. Quality – With the traditional “competitive bid” process, there is pressure to be the lowest bidder to secure the contract. Sometimes quality slips, and typically corners are cut so that the low bidder can find a way to make a reasonable profit and the end product suffers.
3. Cost Savings – When a design/build contractor is designing, he does so with the final product in focus. He is familiar with the specific materials needed, and the labor costs involved with installing them. Keeping in mind techniques, methods, code issues, and potential shortcuts can add tremendous value to the project. Design/build also allows the owner to get early and accurate pricing information. Large change order costs are not an issue, since a guaranteed maximum price can be determined early on in the design phase.
4. Time Savings – This is one of the main attractions of the design/build approach to owners. Because design and construction are overlapped, total project time can be significantly reduced. Design/build is ideal for “fast track” projects. The resulting time savings translates into lower costs and earlier utilization of the completed facility.
5. Reduced Administrative Burden – The owner is not required to invest time and money coordinating and arbitrating between designer and builder. Instead of having several contractors and consultants, an owner has just one entity to deal with. This permits ease of use for the owner throughout the design/build process and decreases time and frustration.

The traditional Design/Bid/Build Process falls short for the following reasons:

1. The Design rarely fits the budget due to the fact that most designers and architects do not estimate and perform work and because every project is unique, they cannot give a more accurate estimate based on the design they are creating. The very nature of architects is to create grandeur and status with the design, which is good, but not if you cannot afford to build it.
2. Added cost of this process in both time and money. An owner hires an architect to do the drawings for an agreed cost. The drawings are developed, but the architect cannot guarantee the project cost. If the project is over budget, after bidding, you will have to pay for new drawings, then invite the same contractors to re-bid or find new contractors.
3. Encourages under-bidding of projects because of the time invested in the bid, the contractor bids strictly by the drawing as to be the successful bidder. Any discrepancy or omission in the drawings will be brought up after the contract has been signed. Since the design was the responsibility of the owner, these items will be Change Orders. This is also true of items that are not specified exactly, such as cabinets, which come in many grades of quality.
4. Adversarial relationships develop between the architect, engineer, contractor and owner. All parties are frustrated with their inability to bring the project in on budget and blame is assigned.