The human-tech front-end engineering design equation: assessing socio-technical dynamics in large-scale project outcomes

This paper examines the impact of front-end engineering design (FEED)’s maturity and accuracy in relation to project performance. It aims to understand the efficacy of FEED processes and how they influence metrics such as cost predictability, change orders, and others in large industrial projects. Data were collected from 128 respondents representing 57 organizations to establish the assessment mechanism. Data were analyzed from 33 completed, large industrial projects valued at $8.83 billion, and the assessment method was tested on 11 in-progress projects worth over $5 billion. Using a novel, two-dimensional method, FEED maturity and accuracy were objectively measured in terms of their combined impact on project performance. Projects with both high FEED maturity and accuracy measured at the end of front-planning demonstrated a 24% positive difference in cost predictability in relation to the approved budget, compared to those with lower level of maturity and accuracy at the same point. Significant performance differences were also found in terms of change orders, financial performance, and customer satisfaction between projects with high and low FEED maturity and accuracy levels. FEED maturity and accuracy were shown to be positively correlated, illustrating for the first time the importance of socio-technical interaction.