Why interface management matters

Studies of megaproject performance consistently find that a large share of cost and schedule overruns originate at interfaces — the handoffs between contractors, disciplines and systems — rather than within any single scope of work.

The common threads

• Problems at interfaces tend to surface late, when they are most expensive to resolve.
• Poor communication across organisational boundaries is a leading root cause of rework.
• Projects with a formal, transparent interface process report fewer surprises during construction and commissioning.

The takeaway

Managing interfaces deliberately — with clear ownership, an agreed workflow and visible reporting — is one of the highest-leverage things a project can do. A shared system makes that practical at scale.

See how our interface management system puts this into practice, or start with the procedure template.