For decades, quantity surveyors and project control specialists have played a central role in helping infrastructure projects understand where they stand, largely through spreadsheets and manual work forms.
While these approaches continue to serve the industry well; the scale, pace and complexity of projects continues to grow, and the limits of static, point-in-time reporting is becoming more apparent.
Across large infrastructure portfolios, cost, schedule and risk information flows from multiple sources, often on different cycles, for different audiences. In that context, a renewed focus on real time, interactive reporting, is transforming the way projects are governed and delivered.
This evolution is not about replacing what already works. Many organisations have invested significantly in governance frameworks and reporting disciplines, and continue to refine them.
Advances in data efficiency and integration are continually supporting those systems to operate more effectively at scale, enabling information to be brought together with greater consistency and user confidence across complex programs.
Drawing on its work across major infrastructure programs, WT sees that challenges rarely stem from a lack of data. More often, they arise from how information is required to move across cost, schedule and risk perspectives, as programs grow in complexity and oversight expectations evolve.
“Information flows from every direction – management, contractors, surveillance and delivery teams,” says Kristian Lojszczyk, Associate Director, Portfolio and Program Advisory at WT.
“Without a consistent cut‑off or structure, it becomes hard to track trends, spot emerging risks or ensure that what is reported genuinely reflects what is happening on the ground.”
Sitting across the full lifecycle, from feasibility through to delivery, WT’s work spans traditional quantity surveying, project controls, and portfolio-level reporting. This vantage point provides clear visibility of how reporting narratives interact over time, particularly as governance requirements and scrutiny evolve.
In practice, this involves project teams bringing information together in more integrated, online reporting environments, so governance discussions are grounded in a consistent and trusted view of a program’s progress.
“On major infrastructure projects or capital works programs, misalignment between cost, schedule and risk creates competing versions of the truth. Executives can be left navigating multiple narratives, which undermine confidence in the entire reporting framework. Harmonising those narratives is critical, not just for clarity, but for confidence in the decisions being made,” Sian McKenna, National Director at WT and Victorian Infrastructure Lead says.
“The purpose of reporting is not just a retrospective about past performance, it’s using integrated data to identify emerging issues and support timely, informed decisions.”
From early feasibility and business case stages through to delivery, WT provides cost management and commercial advisory support to keep projects on time and on budget.
Its Portfolio and Program Advisory practice designs governance and reporting frameworks so executives have a single, coherent view of cost, schedule and risk across complex programs, improving efficiency and allowing project teams to spend less time reconciling spreadsheets and more time actively managing risk.
“Every client – whether they’re a government agency, a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) or a private developer – has its own governance and reporting requirements. There’s no one size fits all solution. We start from a strong baseline, then by working closely with each client, tailor a reporting framework that aligns with their internal structures and supports their decision making, to ensure it actually works for them,” McKenna says.
“Good governance creates confidence. Delivery teams and executives want clear, reliable information they can trust, and that’s exactly what integrated reporting should deliver.”
The starting point is always a clear understanding of the reporting audiences, the information they need, how often they need to see it, as well as the required level of detail and assurance. That high‑level governance view sets the foundation for how data, reports and interfaces are structured.
WT works collaboratively to tailor the metrics, visualisations and drill‑down capabilities to how each organisation thinks and makes decisions.
Some stakeholders may require high‑level headlines and trend views; whilst others need the ability to interrogate detailed cost, risk or schedule drivers, or to move seamlessly between macro capital‑program views and micro project‑level insights.
“The platform lets us tell the story of a project over time. You can zoom out for the big picture or drill right down into the detail, depending on the requirements of the reporting audience,” Lojszczyk says.
Crucially, these digital solutions are designed to be dynamic over the life of a project or program. In early stages they support feasibility, business case development and baseline definition; in delivery they shift toward more intensive trend analysis, risk monitoring and contract administration.
As the project matures and the questions from boards and executives evolve, the reporting and visualisation layer evolves with them. WT also works closely with clients to ensure a smooth adoption and transition for all stakeholders.
“One‑size‑fits‑all reporting doesn’t work. Every stakeholder has different needs, so we continuously tailor how the information is presented while keeping the underlying data consistent,” Lojszczyk says.
And this is just the start of WT’s journey. Looking ahead, the firm is exploring how artificial intelligence can be responsibly overlaid on these foundations, with a strong emphasis on data structure, integrity and security.
But for McKenna and Lojszczyk, the fundamental shift is moving reporting beyond governance compliance into a true decision- making environment. “It’s about how we leverage digital tools to stay ahead of the curve, while being able to continue to inspire confidence and support the industry,” McKenna says.
A version of this article first appeared in: Roads & Infrastructure Magazine, May 2026 edition
