American Society of Civil Engineers Ten Commandments of Better Contracting: A Practical Guide to Adding Value to an Enterprise Through More Effective SMART Contracting

Ten Commandments of Better Contracting provides a fresh look at management of supply chains with a particular focus on contracting for construction and related goods and services. With the objective of getting more out of contracts, this book draws on recent research, extensive professional and practical experience, and even trial and error in testing contracting innovations. The book explores issues, such as games played, proven solutions to common problems, the importance of business relationships, trust, and other issues not typically addressed in books on this topic. In readable style, every chapter focuses on real-world problems and offers suggestions that help improve the performance of next and future contracts. The book outlines ten basic rules (""commandments"") for improving contract performance. The author illustrates these different techniques with cartoons, icons, and case studies. Each of the first 10 chapters addresses one of these commandments. The closing chapter presents a successful contracting strategy that applies these commandments in a cohesive approach. This proven strategy has yielded better results than industry norms when intelligently applied. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the contracting environment including basic legal principles; Chapters 2 and 3 address contract strategies; Chapters 4 through 7 focus on contract award; Chapters 8 and 9 address contract administration issues; and Chapter 10 focuses on dispute resolution.