PDRI: Project Definition Rating Index -- Small Infrastructure Projects

Welcome to the PDRI: Project Definition Rating Index – Small Infrastructure Projects. CII Research Team (RT) 314a, PDRI–Small Infrastructure Projects, developed this resource to address a critical industry need. With this publication, CII has filled a gap in its Front End Planning body of knowledge. This document and the Excel-based tool will help project teams develop scope definition on small infrastructure projects, whether they involve new construction, renovation/revamp, or both. This book complements Implementation Resource (IR) 268-2, PDRI–Infrastructure Projects, which was developed specifically to assess the scope definition of large, complex infrastructure projects. Two other PDRI tools also focus on large, complex projects: IR155-2, PDRI–Building Projects, and IR113-2, PDRI–Industrial Projects. One other PDRI tool focuses on small projects: IR314-2, PDRI–Small Industrial Projects. (Note that at publication, no small-project PDRI version exists for the building sector.)

Past work by CII, published in 1991 and 2003, described the difficulty of defining the term “small project.” The RT-314a research investigation defined small projects as those generally valued at less than $20 million (U.S. dollars) in expenditure, with construction durations of between six and 12 months, and of less overall complexity than large projects, based on several indicators; yet these projects annually comprise more than half of all completed projects by number in most organizations’ portfolios.

In addition to producing this publication, the team created a macro-enabled spreadsheet to help project teams assess their projects. This Excel-based file is available as a download.