Telling the Story: Building a Compelling Claim Narrative

Series: A Tale of Two Claims | Part 4 of 5

In Post 1, Post 2, and Post 3 of A Tale of Two Claims, we explored how documentation, daily field reporting, and structured cost tracking impacted the fates of two nearly identical projects: Project West and Project East.

Now, in Part 4, we arrive at the moment of truth … the formal claim narrative.

All the data in the world will not save a claim presented as a tangle of spreadsheets, schedule updates, and unconnected PDFs. A well-crafted narrative ties everything together. It shows the reader what happened, why it matters, and what the contract says about it. Your story is your opening argument.

Project West: A Story Without a Spine
The tension in the room was thick.

Paul sat with his legal team to review the draft REA he had prepared. The attorney skimmed the executive summary. It read more like an invoice than an explanation: labor overages here, idle equipment there, and a Gantt chart showing some delay in trenching.

“Where’s the actual story?” the attorney asked. “You’ve got the costs, but what’s the cause? Where’s the notice? The timeline? The contract clause?”

Paul hesitated.

“It’s all in the attachments,” he said, weakly.

But it wasn’t. The daily reports did not paint a picture. No formal or constructive notice was identified. The schedule updates were unclear. The cost data lacked context. The narrative did not demonstrate the cause and effect between the problems that occurred and the requested damages and never connected the pieces into a cohesive claim.

Without a structured, cause-and-effect narrative backed by documentation and tied to the contract, the reviewers at the agency flagged the claim:

• Unclear basis for entitlement
• Missing causal link between events and costs
• No timeline of events or formal notices
• Lack of correlation with schedule delays

The result was a denial and a suggestion to pursue a formal claim only if further evidence could be provided.

Project East: A Story That Moved the Needle
On the other side of the country, Maria sat with her project controls lead and their external claims consultant. Together, they reviewed their REA before submitting to the agency. The difference was night and day.

Their claim narrative began with a simple but powerful structure:

• A date-stamped timeline of the obstruction event
• Referenced field reports with clear activity codes
• A cause-and-effect description showing how the event led to the increased costs that occurred
• CPM analysis showing the critical path impact
• Cost logs coded to the disruption
• Contract clauses (FAR 52.236-2, 52.243-4) establishing entitlement
• Evidence of timely notice and mitigation efforts

Each section walked the reader through what happened, why Maria’s team was entitled to relief, and how they supported it.

By the time the Contracting Officer reached the appendix, they had already highlighted three paragraphs in the narrative as justification to negotiate. The decision came back two weeks later:

“Recommended for partial settlement; additional substantiation requested on subcontractor costs only.”

Why the Claim Narrative Is the Glue
Think of your claim like a courtroom case. The documentation is the evidence. The cost and schedule models are your experts. But the narrative is your argument. It makes essential connections:

• Cause and effect
• Contract terms to entitlement
• Costs to specific disruptions
• Field events to mitigation efforts

Just as important, it builds credibility. Reviewers are not looking for theatrics. They are looking for structure, professionalism, and a demonstration that the contractor understands the process.

What to Include in a Strong Narrative

• Timeline of Events – From disruption to resolution attempts
• Contractual Basis – What clause gives entitlement? FAR? State specs? Prime contract?
• Cause-Effect Linkage – How do costs and delays tie to the event?
• Evidence – Point to specific reports, photos, RFIs, or schedule fragnets
• Mitigation – Show effort to minimize cost and time impact
• Tone – Be factual, professional, and focused. Avoid finger pointing or hyperbole.

Owners and Government Reviewers: Reading Between the Lines
For Contracting Officers, Contracting Officer’s Representatives, state agency engineers, or private owners, the narrative matters just as much. It helps you accomplish essential tasks:

• Understand whether the claimed work was extra or part of base scope.
• Validate that the contractor followed notification procedures.
• Assess whether delay was excusable, compensable, or neither.
• Get ahead of potential litigation by resolving legitimate claims early.

A poorly written narrative does not just waste time. It creates risk.

How Expert Consultants Can Help
In complex claims, even skilled project managers may struggle to translate field disruption into a coherent, contract-backed claim. That is where outside support can play a quiet but critical role:

• Structuring the narrative based on factual, reviewed evidence
• Drafting language that aligns with industry and legal expectations
• Linking each cost and delay to a documented cause
• Coaching teams on how to integrate schedule, cost, and correspondence records into the narrative

In Maria’s case, the REA was accepted not because she told a better story. It was accepted because the story she told was clear, contractually sound, and backed by data.

Coming Next: “Resolution or Ruin – The Final Outcome of Two Claims”
In Part 5, we will follow these two projects to their conclusions. For Paul, the result is litigation and sunk legal fees. For Maria, the result is a negotiated settlement and an agency recommendation for future awards.

The claim story does not end with submission. It ends with resolution. And everything that comes before determines how that ending is written.

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