Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning

In this article, we go beyond the proverbial appreciation that context matters and provide a deep exploration of how and why it can help make sense of cost deviations in large-scale transport projects (>$500 million). Using abductive inference in combination with a multiple case study approach, the criteria of planning, funding, scope, contract, challenges/issues, and benefits are used to understand and interpret the context and meaning of project cost performance. By comparing two light rail transit systems and conducting an in-depth examination of a road project, this article examines the differences between procurement approaches and worldviews and how they can introduce bias into a project's cost performance outlook. The contributions of this research are threefold as it provides an avenue for a new line of inquiry to help better understand causal inferences, thus contributing to the development of a plausible theory of project cost performance; highlights the ambiguity associated with cost performance assessment and calls for the use of standardized definitions and terminologies so that evidence-based decision surrounding risk and uncertainty can be enacted; and suggests that by engaging in a collaborative benchmarking process of project completion data, the context and meaning of a project's performance can be documented.

Automated summary

This article explores the background and significance of understanding cost deviations in large-scale transport projects. By comparing two light rail transit systems and a road project, it examines the impact of procurement approaches and worldviews on project cost performance. The research highlights the uncertainty associated with cost assessment and calls for the use of standardized definitions and terminologies.