Firmly established in construction, and the go-to approach in the industry for decades, if not centuries, DBB, also known as design-tender, is clearly defined. Its advantages and disadvantages are also well understood. The DBB method insists on transparency of costs upfront–which is not to say that ballooning change orders will not add to the bottom line later–and has made it a favorite in public contracts that are subject to rigorous oversight.
The construction industry too has dozens upon dozens of subspecialties, each of whom like to stay in their lane, a process that DBB accommodates. The traditional DBB method has worked well for years but is seeing competition from a more nimble approach, the
design-build project delivery method. Design-build compresses the project lifecycle and time by encouraging overlap between the design and construction phases: construction can begin even when the design team is ironing out certain aspects of the design.
Despite design-build’s growing popularity, the traditional design-bid-build approach continues to occupy key segments of the construction industry.