Under CSI’s project delivery and contract administration framework, once the owner–contractor agreement is executed, the contract documents can only be modified through specific instruments defined in the Conditions of the Contract (General and Supplementary Conditions). These recognized formal modifications include:
Change Orders – Written instruments signed by owner, contractor, and usually the architect/engineer (A/E) that change the contract sum, contract time, or both, and possibly scope.
Construction Change Directives (CCD) (sometimes called Work Change Directives) – Written orders issued typically by the owner or A/E directing a change in the work before agreement has been reached on an adjustment in contract sum or time. They are later converted into a change order once costs/time are agreed.
Minor changes in the work – Often issued by the A/E as field orders or supplemental instructions, used for small changes that do not affect contract time or sum.
Different standard forms use different names (“Architect’s Supplemental Instructions,” “Field Order,” “Work Change Directive”), but CSI’s CDT content treats these as the recognized post-execution modification mechanisms to the contract documents.
Now, look at the choices:
Addendum is used to modify the bidding documents before the owner–contractor agreement is signed, not after.
Requests for Information (RFIs) are used to clarify contract documents, not to modify them; an RFI alone does not change the contract.
Option A is the only one that contains the combination of change order and construction change directive, plus a commonly used term (field order) for a minor change in the work. These three together align with the CSI-recognized instruments for modifying the contract documents after execution.
Why the other options are incorrect:
B. Field order, construction change directive, and request for information – Missing a change order, which is the primary and most formal method of modification. An RFI is not a modification instrument.
C. Addendum, change order, and request for information – Addendum is pre-contract; RFI is not a modification instrument; only the change order is correct here.
D. Supplemental instructions, work change directive, and addendum – While “supplemental instructions” and “work change directive” can be instruments of modification, combining them with addendum (pre-contract) means this set does not correctly describe modifications after execution.
Therefore, A. Change order, construction change directive, and field order best matches the CSI-defined post-execution modification tools.
