DBIA EXAM AND STUDY GUIDE NEWEST 2026 TEST
BANK| DESIGN-BUILD INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
CERTIFICATION EXAM PREP WITH COMPLETE 650 REAL
EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS/
ALREADY GRADED A+
How team members are organized, establishes when parties engage,
determines roles of parties, and determines sequence of design,
procurement, and construction (db, cmar, dbb) ......ANSWER......Project
Delivery system
How team members are selected (QBS, best value, low price, sole
source) ......ANSWER......Procurement Method
How team members are paid (FP, gmp, cost reimbursement, target
price, unit price) ......ANSWER......Contracting approach
linear, sequential process, A/E selected on qualifications, GC selected on
low price, design is fully completed without input from GC, A/E acting in
owner's interests, with a historically strong bond, process is well-
established and understood ......ANSWER......Design-Bid-Build
Similar structure to DBB, construction manager selected by QBS or best
value, contractor provides precon services, negotiated gmp contracting
approach, open book estimating process, potential to fast track project,
pg. 1
,construction cost determined before design completed, potential issues
over what is reasonably inferable from gmp design documents.
......ANSWER......CM@Risk
Owner contracts with one entity to provide both design and
construction services, designer and contractor have a direct contractual
relationship ......ANSWER......Design-Build
How is Design-Builder selected ......ANSWER......Qualification-Based or
best value
similar to design build, in industrial and power generation sectors,
systems and performance testing are central to scope, contractor will
typically perform engineering with its in-house staff, owner has need for
single point responsibility, contracts include plant and process
performance guarantees, contract items include performance and
schedule liquidated damages and limitations of liability
......ANSWER......Engineer Procure Construct
owner contracts with multiple trade contractors, attributes are typically
similar to DBB, owner's ability to schedule and coordinate the work
......ANSWER......Multiple Prime Contract
multi-party agreement - all parties equal, QBS procurement and target
pricing contract approach, private sector use (limited at this time), key:
owner's ability to accept risk ......ANSWER......Integrated Project
Delivery
pg. 2
,instead of government building and maintaining major infrastructure
(such as highway, water treatment plant), build and maintenance is
outsourced to a private company. Opposed by public sector unions. this
is not considered a delivery system but its underlying approaches are
delivery systems and typically use DB. multiple procurement and
contracting approaches ......ANSWER......Public-Private-Partnership
Intense efforts to establish scope early in the process; drives early team
formation to include key trade subcontractors; can enable big decisions
to be made early, affect project outcomes at lower cost, establish a
need for location and collaboration, and compress times during
concurrent design and construction ......ANSWER......shift left
Typically two-phase best value procurement with lump sum contract;
owner defines project requirements and scope of prescriptive work; use
of performance-based technical requirements with limited perspective
specifications ......ANSWER......traditional design build
design and procurement are progressively developed after the design-
builder is under contract; final project cost and schedule commitment is
not established as part of the selection process; two phases;
preliminary services and final design and construction services
......ANSWER......Progressive design build
What documents describe the end result ......ANSWER......Criteria
documents
pg. 3
, Prescribes how to achieve the end result ......ANSWER......Bridging
Documents
Prior to bidding, owner undertakes a process to design the project and
all of its details to 100% complete plans and specs. The owner is
therefore responsible for success or failure of details of the design, and
warrants the sufficiency of design to the contractor. The owner is
therefore liable to the contractor for any gaps between plans and specs
and owner's requirements for project performance
......ANSWER......Design bid build paradigm
The owner should define its performance requirements and award the
contract on the basis of preliminary design; this makes the design-
builder responsible for completing the design in accordance with the
owner's performance requirements. That also causes the design-builder
to warrant the sufficiency of the design to meet the owner's criteria and
the sufficiency of the design to subcontractors/suppliers that have no
design responsibility ......ANSWER......Design details responsibility
subdivides project by functional elements, focuses on systems and
assemblies, useful for preliminary information and early design phases,
aligns with BIM models and conceptual estimating
......ANSWER......Uniformat
subdivides work by results/trades, focuses on building materials,
products, and activities, useful for detailed information during final
pg. 4
BANK| DESIGN-BUILD INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
CERTIFICATION EXAM PREP WITH COMPLETE 650 REAL
EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS/
ALREADY GRADED A+
How team members are organized, establishes when parties engage,
determines roles of parties, and determines sequence of design,
procurement, and construction (db, cmar, dbb) ......ANSWER......Project
Delivery system
How team members are selected (QBS, best value, low price, sole
source) ......ANSWER......Procurement Method
How team members are paid (FP, gmp, cost reimbursement, target
price, unit price) ......ANSWER......Contracting approach
linear, sequential process, A/E selected on qualifications, GC selected on
low price, design is fully completed without input from GC, A/E acting in
owner's interests, with a historically strong bond, process is well-
established and understood ......ANSWER......Design-Bid-Build
Similar structure to DBB, construction manager selected by QBS or best
value, contractor provides precon services, negotiated gmp contracting
approach, open book estimating process, potential to fast track project,
pg. 1
,construction cost determined before design completed, potential issues
over what is reasonably inferable from gmp design documents.
......ANSWER......CM@Risk
Owner contracts with one entity to provide both design and
construction services, designer and contractor have a direct contractual
relationship ......ANSWER......Design-Build
How is Design-Builder selected ......ANSWER......Qualification-Based or
best value
similar to design build, in industrial and power generation sectors,
systems and performance testing are central to scope, contractor will
typically perform engineering with its in-house staff, owner has need for
single point responsibility, contracts include plant and process
performance guarantees, contract items include performance and
schedule liquidated damages and limitations of liability
......ANSWER......Engineer Procure Construct
owner contracts with multiple trade contractors, attributes are typically
similar to DBB, owner's ability to schedule and coordinate the work
......ANSWER......Multiple Prime Contract
multi-party agreement - all parties equal, QBS procurement and target
pricing contract approach, private sector use (limited at this time), key:
owner's ability to accept risk ......ANSWER......Integrated Project
Delivery
pg. 2
,instead of government building and maintaining major infrastructure
(such as highway, water treatment plant), build and maintenance is
outsourced to a private company. Opposed by public sector unions. this
is not considered a delivery system but its underlying approaches are
delivery systems and typically use DB. multiple procurement and
contracting approaches ......ANSWER......Public-Private-Partnership
Intense efforts to establish scope early in the process; drives early team
formation to include key trade subcontractors; can enable big decisions
to be made early, affect project outcomes at lower cost, establish a
need for location and collaboration, and compress times during
concurrent design and construction ......ANSWER......shift left
Typically two-phase best value procurement with lump sum contract;
owner defines project requirements and scope of prescriptive work; use
of performance-based technical requirements with limited perspective
specifications ......ANSWER......traditional design build
design and procurement are progressively developed after the design-
builder is under contract; final project cost and schedule commitment is
not established as part of the selection process; two phases;
preliminary services and final design and construction services
......ANSWER......Progressive design build
What documents describe the end result ......ANSWER......Criteria
documents
pg. 3
, Prescribes how to achieve the end result ......ANSWER......Bridging
Documents
Prior to bidding, owner undertakes a process to design the project and
all of its details to 100% complete plans and specs. The owner is
therefore responsible for success or failure of details of the design, and
warrants the sufficiency of design to the contractor. The owner is
therefore liable to the contractor for any gaps between plans and specs
and owner's requirements for project performance
......ANSWER......Design bid build paradigm
The owner should define its performance requirements and award the
contract on the basis of preliminary design; this makes the design-
builder responsible for completing the design in accordance with the
owner's performance requirements. That also causes the design-builder
to warrant the sufficiency of the design to meet the owner's criteria and
the sufficiency of the design to subcontractors/suppliers that have no
design responsibility ......ANSWER......Design details responsibility
subdivides project by functional elements, focuses on systems and
assemblies, useful for preliminary information and early design phases,
aligns with BIM models and conceptual estimating
......ANSWER......Uniformat
subdivides work by results/trades, focuses on building materials,
products, and activities, useful for detailed information during final
pg. 4
