Do Longer Projects Have Larger Cost Deviation Than Shorter Construction Projects?

Construction cost and delivery time have been used as mutually inclusive measurement for project success in construction industry. In relation to this, several researchers showed a correlation between cost deviation and deviation on delivery time. However, very limited research discussed about the relationship between total construction time and cost deviation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze two specific types of construction projects (roads and buildings) and test if there is a correlation between cost performance and the length of construction time. In other words, respond to the proposition that longer projects have large cost deviation. Further, the research discusses managerial implications by referring what it really matters in cost performance in either of longer or shorter projects. To do this, the research considers various size public road construction projects and building constructions with different project completion time. It uses quantitative research method. The result showed that longer project do not necessarily have higher cost deviation. Unlike the building construction, road construction showed negative correlation between cost and construction time. However, few longer projects showed relatively large cost deviation as compared to smaller projects. This paper also wants to do practical discussions by comparing the attributes of shorter versus the longer projects.