Programme narrative

A programme is a tool that can be used to divide works into a series of activities, each with a duration and logic links to preceding and succeeding activities. The programme may be depicted as a Gantt chart, line of balance diagram, pure logic diagram, time-scaled logic diagram or time-chainage diagram.

Within the NEC Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), the ‘accepted programme’, is accepted by the project manager and should be a practicable and realistic representation of when the contractor intends to carry out each part of the works, identifying the resource they intend to use.

The programme narrative is a written explanation of the assumptions underlying the accepted programme (or the updated programme), its key resources, sequencing restraints, critical path, risks, exclusions, exceptions, and execution strategy.

Ref The Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol, 2nd edition, published in February 2017 by the Society of Construction Law (UK).

NB The CIOB Planning Protocol 2021 (CIOB PP21), a technical information sheet published by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) in February 2021, defines programme narrative as: ‘an accompanying written narrative to a submitted programme which describes the characteristics of a programme and areas of non-conformance with stress tests.’

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Accepted programme.
• Activity schedule.
• Contractor's master programme.
• Early warning notice.
• Key dates.
• NEC contract change management systems.
• NEC early contractor involvement.
• NEC3.
• Programme for building design and construction.
• Programme.
• Progress in construction.
• Short period programme.
• Stress test.
• Tender works programme.
• Time Risk Allowance TRA.
• Works information.