Fee versus Quality

Mr. DeFraites, a former COFPAES Chairman, discusses the quality of the design product as it relates to an owner's professional selection and procurement procedure. Project quality, the level of professional services to be provided, and fee are all related to the procurement process. Bidding establishes an adversarial relationship between the owner and the design professional; it is expensive and time‐consuming. The innovative ability of the design professional is not evaluated in a bidding process. The qualification‐based selection process results in a compatible owner/design professional team truly representing the best interest of the owner. “Price‐as‐a‐factor” procurement procedures have all of the disadvantages of straight bidding plus considerable additional cost to the design professionals involved.