This recommended practice for schedule update review is intended to provide a guideline, not to establish a standard. As a recommended practice of AACE International, this document provides guidelines for the project scheduler to create a professional schedule update or assess the reasonableness of changes to be made in a schedule due to a change of project status and progress. This recommended practice is associated with the total cost management (TCM) progress and performance measurement, and change management processes on construction projects.

This recommended practice provides guidelines to assist construction entities submitting the schedule updates (the contractor) and the entity reviewing the schedule submittal (the owner or client) to respond to the submittal in a fair and reasonable manner. The use of the term “owner” also includes the work performed by their agents such as construction management. Also included is the recommended process to be followed by the schedule reviewer (reviewer.) Overall these three participants are responsible for the complete, accurate, and timely submittal, review and approval of the project schedule status update in order to benefit the project as a whole.

A schedule update occurs when a contractor assesses the status of the project that they are currently working on, enters that status into a previously prepared schedule, and then submits (shares) this updated schedule with the owner of the project.

Schedule updates are an important aspect of timely project completion and this is a major reason that most construction contracts for large projects require them. They are a vital medium of communication from the contractor to the owner about project status, completed work to date and forecasts for project completion.

The schedule update should be a reflection of the contractor’s intent to reach project completion. Because of this, it is created and updated by the contractor. The owner indicates their willingness to use the schedule update as a means of communication and negotiation by accepting the schedule update. There are alternative methods of managing a schedule update, but the process should honor this basic procedure. Acceptance first requires reaching agreement on the project status.

Reaching agreement on the status of the project schedule is often difficult, frequently requiring negotiation and perseverance. The successful completion of this process is the hallmark of a good scheduler using the correct process. Failure to arrive at a quick, accurate, and timely agreement of project status can cause confusion, uncertainty, and potential loss of time and/or money on many projects. A lack of timely agreement on the project schedule status could result in contractor acceleration, cost overruns, late project delivery, and disputes that frequently last well past project completion.

Assessment of the impacts of trends, deviations, changes, etc. on project schedules usually cannot be made without agreement on schedule status. If the participants agree that the schedule update submittal meets the specified standards and represents the current status and forecast using logic for the project as of the status date for the schedule update, it is understood that both the contractor and owner are in agreement on approval of the schedule submittal.