An owner-side method for buying complex capital projects: three requirement domains, verified by one discipline of proof.
Created by David M. SheltonLicensed Architect · NCARBU.S. Copyright TX 7-383-292
Three P’s — Procedures, Program, Performance Criteria — carried by one Q.
01
What 3PQ is
3PQ is a structured method for owners who buy complex capital projects through design-build — a single contract for both design and construction. Rather than prescribing how a facility must be built, the owner defines what it must do, in prioritized and measurable terms, and holds the design-builder accountable to those terms through documented proof.
The name states the structure. Three requirement domains — each a P — define the project. A fourth discipline — Q — verifies that what was built matches what was required. Requirements are ranked as Required, Desired, or If Possible, so the design-builder solves to the owner’s true priorities within a firm fixed price.
The 3PQ Acquisition & Management System is an owner-side design-build procurement methodology for capital construction. It is unrelated to similarly named commercial software or configuration products.
02
The framework — three P’s and a Q
PDomain 1
Procedures
Who does what for whom?
The roles and responsibilities of owner and design-builder — the rules of the competition, the contract, and the design and construction procedures that govern the work.
PDomain 2
Program
How much do I want?
The project’s requirements in metrics and capacities — spaces, functions, adjacencies, equipment, and the vision and objectives behind them.
PDomain 3
Performance Criteria
What level of quality do I need?
Measurable specifications for structure, exterior, interior, services, and site — each defined by function, comfort, safety, durability, and operations.
QVerification
Quality
Now track and assure the results.
Substantiation: documented verification that the delivered work complies with the three requirement domains — before, during, and after construction.
03
Four phases, one accountable line
1
Project Definition
Capture and document the owner’s expectations, risks, budget and finance goals, operational needs, and a project scope and program brief.
2
Procurement Model Development
Analyze risk, budget, and operations; develop the detailed program and the performance criteria that will drive the solicitation.
3
RFQ / RFP Documentation — 3PQ
Author the solicitation: partnering procedures, program documents, performance specifications, and the evaluation and selection criteria.
4
Project Implementation
From pre-award through post-occupancy: contract development, compliance auditing, advisement and facilitation, commissioning, and substantiation.
04
Proven in practice
U.S. Department of Energy · NREL (now National Laboratory of the Rockies) · Golden, CO
Research Support Facility
DOE’s Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory was procured on the 3PQ Acquisition & Management System, Completed in 2011 as the nation’s largest net-zero-energy office building, it earned LEED® Platinum and was delivered on a firm fixed price and on schedule. Its net-zero data center received a 2011 GreenGov Presidential Award for Green Innovation from the White House. DOE’s published account documents the 3PQ Acquisition and Management System by name.
City of Liberty · Missouri
Liberty Wastewater Treatment Facility
An early performance-based design-build wastewater treatment facility in the United States, structured on 3PQ. Recognized with DBIA regional and national awards and EPA recognition for clean-water infrastructure.
Kansas State University · Olathe, KS
International Animal Health & Food Safety Institute
A $28 million facility delivered on budget with zero change orders — the quiet signature of a feasibility-closed procurement — and certified LEED Silver.
USACE · Army & Air National Guard
Federal & military design-build
3PQ has structured design-build procurements for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and for Army and Air National Guard facilities — among them the Arkansas Air National Guard A-10 maintenance facility for the 188th Fighter Wing at Fort Smith.
05
Measure your own RFP
The 3PQ RFP Analyzer tests any procurement document against the same structural conditions that produced the outcomes above — singular accountability, feasibility before competition, fixed price, prioritized scope, substantiation, and a credible feasibility gate. It reports where each is present and properly formed, and where it is not. Before issuance, while the document can still be strengthened.
It measures structure only — not budgets, timelines, or the merits of your decisions — and your document is deleted after analysis. Free, no account, results in minutes.
David M. Shelton is the author of the 3PQ Acquisition & Management System, a licensed architect and NCARB certificate holder, who has spent decades structuring how owners procure complex capital projects.
His work centers on a single question: why complex projects fail to meet their original price, schedule, and scope — and how an owner can structure a procurement so they don’t.
Shelton founded DesignSense, Inc. in 1999, authored 3PQ in 2000, and registered the system with the U.S. Copyright Office in 2011 (TX 7-383-292). It was developed and applied through DesignSense (1999–2015) and Joseph David Associates (2018–2026).
Career record
2000Founding member, DBIA Mid-America chapter
2000–2010Board member; Chair, Education & Research Committee
14 yearsDBIA Faculty Instructor — taught design-build to the Army National Guard, DOE / NREL (~15 staff completed 3PQ training), DoD, DoJ, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, County of Los Angeles, City of Las Vegas, and the Panama Canal Authority (2007)
NationalPresenter at DBIA, AIA, COAA, and SAME national conferences
FormerlyClass A Licensed Builder · DBIA Designated Design-Build Professional · AIA member