A professional Construction Manager (CM) acts as an extension of staff to the Owner and manages the entire project with pre-planning, design, construction, engineering and management expertise that can assure the best possible project outcome no matter what type of project delivery method used.

The written document prepared by the CM, which clearly identifies the roles, responsibilities and authority of the project team and the procedures to be followed during construction.

A graphic, tabular or narrative representation or depiction of the time of construction of the project, showing activities and duration of activities in sequential order.

The function of implementing the terms and conditions of a contract, based upon established systems, policies, and procedures.

The organization or individual who undertakes responsibility for the performance of the work, in accordance with plans, specifications and contract documents, providing and controlling the labor, material and equipment to accomplish the work.

The documents which provide the basis for the contract entered into between parties. They typically include the bid documents updated to reflect the agreement between the owner and the contractor(s).

The function of limiting the cost of the construction project to the established budget based upon owner-approved procedures and authority.

The act of managing all or partial costs of a planning, design, and construction process to remain within the budget.

All costs attributed to the construction of the project, including the cost of contracts with the Contractor(s), constructing support items, general condition items, all purchased labor, material and fixed equipment.

A schedule representing important events along the path to project completion. All milestones may not be equally significant. The most significant are termed `major milestones` and usually represent the completion of a group of activities.