ASTM E2204-11a

This guide reduces the time and effort to communicate the findings of project impact studies and improves the quality of communication between those who measure economic impacts and those who evaluate and interpret them.

Following the guide assures the user that relevant economic information on the project is included in a summary format that is understandable to both the preparer and user.

Since the standard guide provides a consistent approach to reporting the economic impacts of projects, it facilitates the comparison of economic studies across projects and over time.

The guide focuses on projects in construction and building-related research. It applies to government as well as private projects. And while the examples treat building-related projects, the guide is applicable to non-building-related projects as well.

Building-sector users of this guide include building owners and managers, private-sector construction companies, research groups in building and construction industry trade associations, parties to public-sector construction projects, and government laboratories conducting building-related research.

Use the guide to summarize the results of economic impact studies that use Practices E917 (Life-Cycle Costs), E964 (Benefit-to-Cost and Savings-to-Investment Ratios), E1057 (Internal Rate of Return and Adjusted Internal Rate of Return), E1074 (Net Benefits and Net Savings), E1121 (Payback), E1699 (Value Analysis), and E1765 (Analytical Hierarchy Process for Multiattribute Decision Analysis).

Use this guide in conjunction with Guide E1369 to summarize the results of economic impact studies involving natural or man-made hazards, or both, that occur infrequently but have significant consequences.

Use the guide to summarize the impacts of projects that affect exclusively initial costs, benefits, or savings, as well as projects that affect life-cycle costs, benefits, or savings.

Note 1—Examples of projects dealing exclusively with initial costs, benefits, or savings include design modifications or innovative construction practices that reduce labor or material costs, reduce construction duration, or increase construction productivity, but leave future costs, benefits, or savings unchanged.

Use the guide to summarize the impacts of projects that affect parties that are internal to the organization preparing the summary as well as projects that affect not only the organization preparing the summary but also groups external to the organization.

Note 2—Projects whose impacts are internal only correspond to situations where the organization preparing the summary bears all of the costs and receives all of the benefits or savings, or both, from the project. Examples include, but are not limited to, the use of innovative construction practices or alternative building materials, components, or systems that reduce initial costs or future costs, or both, to the building owner.

Note 3—Projects with a public-sector component frequently have impacts that reach beyond the organization preparing the summary. Examples include, but are not limited to, building-related research conducted by government laboratories, projects aimed at mitigating the consequences of natural or man-made hazards, or both, that have the potential to cause collateral damage, and highway and bridge constructions that affect traffic patterns.

There is no limitation to the use of the guide in facilitating communication between project analysts and project managers and other decision makers. Substantial benefits from using the guide, however, are likely to come from its application in a large institution, such as a federal agency, where many projects are competing for funding, and a systematic presentation of results that can be compared across projects and agencies is needed to allocate efficiently scarce funds.