Justification letter for project delay: Sample letter and template

Justification letter for project delay

Justification letter for project delay

The nature of projects is that they have a start and an end date, and a bunch of stuff in between. And that bunch of stuff in between is often complicated, messy, and based on a number of variables - some of which the project parties are in control of and others which they are not.

Because of this, a lot of projects are unfortunately delivered late.

Some projects are delivered late for valid and excusable reasons, while some projects are delivered late because of poor execution or coordination.

What's true of all project delays is that they can have a big impact on project delivery, and can often snowball into other delays and project issues.

One of the forcing function involved in delivering projects on time is that companies most often tie their own estimates and forecasts to what they have scheduled for the project.

So when a company delivers late, they often go over-budget and pay the price. In circumstances where a minor delay results in other delays which cause serious issues for the project, a company can be held responsible for some or all of this.

And this is where justification letters for project delay and general conversation around project delays come in.

They enable parties to justify delays and shift the responsibility off themselves - for things which were outside of their control.

Justifying project delays

So outside of writing an actual letter to justify a delay, what does a good and 'just' justification for project delay actually look like?

There are actually a number of very valid reasons for project delays which are outside of a contractor or subcontractors control.

Asset owners and contractors work together to work some buffer into the plans and schedules so that these delays don't wreak havoc on the plan - but a series of justified delays and issues or a major one can have a profound impact on the project.

Some of the most common reasons captured in a justification letter for project delay include:

This is not an exhaustive list of justifiable project delays. I'm sure there have been many justification letters for project delays which feature valid reasons outside of these.

But you can probably see the common theme running through these delays. They are all largely or completely outside of the control of the contractor or subcontractor. They are delays which were not expected, and which were justifiable in the eyes of other project parties.

Which leads us to communicating these delays through justification letters and forms.

Justification letter for project delay template

So before we look at a more traditional justification letter for project delay, let's look at how many construction and project-related companies manage their project delays more effectively - and provide good reasons.

In construction, project delays are accepted and granted as extension of time approvals.

The document below is what one of these physical extension of times looks like.

You'll see that this document resembles what a great justification letter for project delay should look like.

It provides some instructions to the completer, which outlines that supporting documents or 'proof' must be attached.

It then jumps into sections for details regarding the justification letter, including who it's to and who it's from.

Once all of this good stuff is out of the way, the delay letter dives into the causes and reasons for the delay. Outside of identifying the underlying cause of the delay, the document also features sections for when the delay arose, the number of days claimed and the new date for phase or practical completion.

What's also great beyond being able to add all of these justification details is that this form allows for a response from the contractor or asset owner.

Instead of sending letters back and forth or emailing back and forth, two parties can collaborate on this document and come to an agreement as to whether the justification letter for project delay should be approved or denied - and why.