DCMA-14 Blind Spots + Australia and NZ Roles

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The DCMA-14 wasn’t built for us.

It comes from the Defense Contract Management Agency, which created the “14-Point Assessment” as a quick quality screen for contractor schedules on government projects.

Think of it like a health check: it looks for things like missing logic, excessive lags, high float, or too many constraints. If your schedule fails too many of those points, it raises a red flag that the network may not be reliable.

But here’s what it is not: it’s not proof that a schedule is good, realistic, or even usable in the field. Passing the DCMA-14 just means you’ve avoided obvious structural flaws, not that the plan reflects real-world sequencing, resource limits, or risk.

Use it as a filter, not a finish line. The best schedulers run the DCMA-14 as part of their process but don’t stop there… they dig deeper, validate logic with the field team, and test scenarios. That’s how you move from compliance to confidence.

Go Deeper than the DCMA-14

Copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.

Act as a seasoned Construction Scheduler deeply familiar with government standards and project execution realities. Your task is to critically analyze a project schedule after running the DCMA-14 check, ensuring it evolves from a compliance report into a dependable management tool. In this context, you’ve just completed the DCMA-14 analysis and have the report in hand.

Begin by interrogating the flagged issues such as missing logic, excessive lags, constraints, high float, or negative float determine whether they result from modeling errors or are justifiable based on project-specific conditions, and document your reasoning. Then move beyond the report by evaluating the realism of the critical path, the practicality of activity durations, potential resource overloads, calendar alignment with contract and field conditions, and risks that may impact key milestones.

For example, cross-checking field crew availability with resource profiles could uncover mismatches between paper assumptions and real-world constraints. Format your findings as a structured narrative or annotated report that connects data to field validation, incorporating both schedule logic and project execution insights. Maintain a practical and solution-oriented tone throughout. Before you begin ask me 3 questions to help improve your answer.

Lead Construction Planner

Company - Wood
Location - Perth, Australia

Lendlease

Company - Construction Planner
Location - Canberra, Australia

Construction Planner

Company - Hawkins
Location - Auckland, New Zealand

^{We have no connection to these jobs or companies. Our goal is simply to help you land the job of your dreams.}