Extracts from:

Mastering the Business of Architecture (2004)

Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
(English version)

Volume 2 section 2
Volume 3A sections 1 to 4
Vol 2 - Sec 2 - Detailed Task Checklist

The Scope of Services

This section is comprised almost solely of a master list of services which an architect
might typically offer his or her clients. The master task list is to be used in conjunction
with the Work Breakdown Structure which was detailed in Volume 1, Section 5 and
Volume 2, Section 2. In fact, the task list is an integral part of the WBS, since the
individual tasks form the detail at the lower levels of the breakdown structure.

Together, the WBS, which organizes the work, and the task list, which details precisely
what will be done, form the Scope of Services which you will provide to your client. This
Scope of Services is a specific listing of what the client can expect to receive in exchange
for their money. It will be the basis of your discussions regarding fees and the terms of
your contract. It will also be your guideline and checklist throughout the project to ensure
you are completing the necessary work while not succumbing to the insidious “scope
creep.” Lastly, it will form the basis of your project management system accounting and
tracking system.

Without a detailed Task List you are planning and executing in the dark. Don’t scrimp on
the amount of time you spend developing the task list. When you are preparing a task list:

1. Start from scratch with a new WBS each time. Don’t depend on a pre-printed list
or modified list from a previous project.

2. Keep it simple. Remember the “six year-old” and don’t exceed seven to ten items
at any level in the WBS.

3. List everything that impacts your schedule whether it falls under your contract or
not. You will identify “what’s included” and “who does what” during
negotiations and discussions.

4. Always include project management because no project can be effectively

completed without being managed.

No assumptions
The checklists in this section are intended to help you prepare for any project as you
define and specify:

1. What services are included.

2. What services are not included.
3. What services might be optionally available.
4. What services will be provided at “no charge.”
5. What deliverables the client can expect.
6. What services are to be provided by others.

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
While some of these items may seem questionable, each of the five are equally important
because the most common mistake in preparing a scope of work is to omit assumptions.
Invariably, at some point in the project, the discussion becomes, “I assumed that would
be included in the price.” Or, “I assumed you knew we would have to charge you for
that.”

By defining these items, you save yourself and your client the embarrassment of
assumption and you save both of you considerable legal fees.

A valuable lesson or an affront to professionalism?

You will notice that Item 3 refers to services which are “optionally available.” For
decades architects have been offering their clients “Basic Services” and “Additional
Services” or “extras.” While perhaps accurate, the semantics of these categories have
been hurting the profession’s marketing for a long time. It’s time to learn a lesson from
another industry.

When you go out to purchase an automobile, the dealer offers you a car which includes
“standard equipment.” Notice they don’t refer to it as “basic” equipment. This is because
no one wants just plain “basic.” In fact, the “base model” has come to be seen as
something less than desirable.

The dealer also will offer you equipment that is “optionally available.” This includes
things like a more powerful engine, special handling packages, a higher quality stereo,
etc. Never will the dealer refer to these as “additional” or “extra.” Why? Because he or
she knows you don’t want to pay for “additional” or “extra.” You do, however, like the
idea of some of this “optionally available equipment.”

This is pure semantics and pure human psychology. And it hurts our professional pride to
think we can learn something from the car dealers. However, when it comes to selling
your services, human psychology still applies! Your clients would much rather pay for
“options” than “extras” or “additions.”

Organization of the Detailed Task Checklist

Finally, as you go through the checklist, do not think of these tasks as connected with
pre-defined phases of work. While there are obviously some that most often apply to one
or another phase, you will get into trouble by immediately assuming or assigning them to
traditional phase breakdowns. For example, the use of CAD on a project means that, even
while you are preparing schematic designs, you are already contributing to the
development of the contract documents.

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
In the example of the fast-track shopping center project given in the last chapter,
drawings and specifications occur in many phases of the work.

Instead, think in terms of components of the work. For example:

• To help the client obtain funding, what tasks need to be completed?

• To fully document your research findings, what tasks will be necessary?
• To apply for a rezoning, what steps must you go through?
• To prepare a schematic design, what needs to be done?

The list has been organized into general categories of architectural work which resemble
the traditional phase breakdowns. But don’t hesitate to mix and match!

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
1. Tasks Generally Associated with Planning and Evaluation

These tasks most often precede the design of a project for construction. They establish
the parameters, objectives and expectations of the project and prepare the background
information and conditions in which a project may be designed and built.

In these tasks the consultant provides services which analyze the owner’s information,
requirements and budget. This establishes the criteria necessary for a design project.

These tasks are not always associated with a construction project, however. It’s frequent
that a client may engage an architect to study or survey conditions, analyze and/or make
recommendations regarding actions the client might take with regard to facilities or real
estate without then moving on to design and construction.

Project initiation
Discuss and refine client requirements
Project brief
Schedule
Budget
Confirm client’s space needs and other program requirements
Provide advice and options on how to proceed
Establish scope of work
Scope of work of prime consultant
Other subconsultants that may be required

Obtain client-supplied information

Site ownership and status
Site occupancy
Existing conditions
Surveys
Legal: easements, encroachments, rights-of-way, etc.

Existing facilities surveys

Site visit and initial appraisal
Utilities: off- and on-site
Measured drawings
Photography
Adjacent building and/or property condition survey
Environmental studies and reports
Soils investigation and report
Mapping

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Analyze client requirements
Functional
Budget
Schedule

Feasibility studies
Economic
Functional
Regulatory
Alternatives
Construction
Life-cycle analysis
Public meetings
User meetings
Research
Report preparation
Report presentation

Energy studies and reports

Data collection
Research
Analysis
Report preparation
Report presentation

Site analysis and selection

Site visits
Data collection
Research
Analysis
Report preparation
Report presentation

Programming
Research
User surveys and meetings
Data collection
Analysis of space and volume requirements
Specific fit programming
Prepare facility program report
Report presentation
Review and coordinate with client’s budget and brief

Site development planning

Master planning

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Detailed site utilization studies
Geotechnical investigations
Research
Data collection
User surveys and meetings
Analysis
Report preparation
Report presentation

Schematics
Space plans
Flow diagrams
Client review and feedback

Client budget review

Data collection
Research
Quantity take-offs
Title search
Site acquisition
Real estate fees
Legal fees
Survey
Environmental audit
Environmental remediation
Financing
Property taxes, levies, etc.
Demolition
Renovation
Construction
Marketing
Operation and maintenance
Consultant coordination
Report preparation including associated implications
Report presentation

Marketing studies
Data collection
Research
User surveys and meetings
Analysis
Report preparation
Report presentation

Project financing

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Research
Grant applications
Documentation
Meetings
Negotiations

Zoning and permitting

Research
Documentation
Applications and submittals
Reviews
Meetings
Negotiations
Official Plan amendment
Zoning
Committee of Adjustment
Site plan control agreement
Demolition permit
Construction permit(s)
Municipal fees
Department/Ministry of Labour

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
2. Tasks Generally Associated with Preliminary Design

Tasks in this category take the criteria and information established in the planning and
evaluation process and begins the preliminary designs of the facility to be built. The
consultant and the owner should establish, before the work begins, the number of design
alternatives to be prepared.

Schematic design documents illustrate the general scope, scale and massing of the project
elements in conceptual format. They should show the proposed site layout, building plan
form and appearance of the project with respect to the topography, adjacent use and
utility connections. They should also illustrate the general approach to structural,
mechanical, electrical and other major systems to be used.

The schematic design phase should also establish a preliminary construction budget and
schedule. Owners should understand, however, that designs at this stage are preliminary
and the accuracy of estimates cannot be guaranteed.

Prepare schematic design documents

Site plan
Principal floor plans
Vertical sections
Elevations
General descriptive views

Visualizations
Physical study models
Artist renderings
Computer visualizations

Permitting
Research applicable regulations, codes and by-laws
Meet with, and present designs to appropriate user or community groups who
have
influence with permitting agencies
Meet with appropriate permitting authorities to review schematic designs
Incorporate comments into design revisions

Calculations
Calculate areas and volumes
Analyze plan efficiency
Determine applicable net-to-gross ratios

Costing
Perform preliminary cost estimate

Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Obtain cost estimates from each consultant
Prepare written preliminary cost estimate including contingency
Compare with client budget

Review
Submit schematic design documents to client including drawings, visualizations,
project brief, calculations and cost estimates
Incorporate client revisions
Obtain client’s written approval to proceed to design development

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
3. Tasks Generally Associated with Design Development

Based on the schematic design option which the client has selected, the consultant now
moves forward to refine and further develop the design by determining more precise
aspects of planning, materials and construction.

Design development documents illustrate planning, appearance and construction in more

precise format. Siting, planning, materials and dimensions are defined and building
systems such as structural, mechanical, electrical and other major systems are developed
in detail.

The design development phase should also establish a more detailed construction budget
and schedule. Owners should understand, however, that designs at this stage are still
subject to change and the accuracy of estimates cannot be guaranteed.

Detailed design
Review program to ensure compliance through this stage
Continue development of conceptual design documents
Provide consultants with pertinent program data and functional space
requirements
Confer with consultants to determine major systems to be used
Analysis and recommendation of comparative systems
Determine building system space and location requirements
Update project brief to include system and equipment descriptions
Research and identify potential architectural materials, finishes, equipment and
furnishings to be used

Prepare design development documents

Prepare site plan indicating building location and site improvements
Principal floor plans
Typical floor plans
All elevations
Critical sections
Typical construction details
Schedules
Equipment layouts

Visualizations
Physical study models
Artist renderings
Computer visualizations
Design, construction and testing of prototypes

Develop preliminary specifications

Establish criteria and quality standards for materials, systems and equipment

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Identify potential materials, systems and equipment
Investigate availability of preferred materials, systems and equipment
Identify and investigate availability of alternate materials, systems and equipment
Prepare preliminary specification
Architectural
Structural
Mechanical
Electrical
Civil

Permitting
Review schematic design documents against all applicable codes and regulations
Meet with appropriate permitting authorities to review designs
Make and/or negotiate where required, applications for approvals under building
acts, regulations or other statutory requirements
Incorporate comments into design revisions
Planning Dept.
Building Dept.
Fire Marshal
Ministry of Labour
Health
Public Utilities
Traffic
Airport Authority
Conservation Authority
Regional Authorities
Environment
Other

Consultants
Prepare layouts and drawings as required to illustrate and describe respective
aspect
of work
Structural
Investigate and confirm a review of applicable legislation
Continued development of specific structural system
Final structural design criteria
Foundation design criteria
Preliminary sizing of major structural components
Critical coordination and clearances
Outline specification or materials list
Mechanical
Continued development of specific mechanical systems
Develop outline specifications and material lists
Select fuel source for mechanical systems

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Contact utility companies and public authorities on all services and
obtain written approval for all service connections
Establish approximate equipment sizes and capacities
Preliminary equipment layouts and space allocations
Required chases and clearances
Acoustical and vibration control
Visual impact of equipment
Energy conservation requirements
Electrical
Continued development of specific electrical systems
Develop outline specifications and material lists
Contact utility companies and public authorities on all services and
obtain written approval for all service connections
Establish criteria for lighting, electrical and communication
systems
Establish approximate component sizes and capacities
Preliminary equipment layouts and space allocations
Required chases and clearances
Energy conservation requirements
Continue development and expansion of schematic design documents and
development of outline specifications and materials lists to establish final scope
and preliminary details for on- and off-site work of:
Civil engineering
Landscape design
Interior design
Other specialty consultants

Coordinate the work of consultants providing designs for major building systems
Where specialty consultants have significant input over the construction value,
coordinate the provision of preliminary designs for these systems or components
Develop and forward to consultants, or alternatively obtain from consultants list
of
specialized systems and requirements such as
Cable TV
Clock
Closed circuit TV
Compressed air
Electronic systems
Communication systems
Energy management systems
Gas and medical gas
Intercom
Lighting
Lightning protection
Oxygen

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Pneumatic tube
Remote control operations
Security
Steam
Telephone
Vacuum
Voice communication
Other
Investigate all applicable public and utility regulations
Review architectural and structural schematic drawings to establish adequate
provision for conventional and specialized systems
Prepare estimates of facility operating costs with recommendations

Calculations
Define actual occupancy loads for each area
Area calculations (gross and net)
Volume calculations

Costing
Perform detailed cost estimates
Architectural
Structural
Mechanical
Electrical
Civil
Confer with contractor for review of cost estimates
Compare cost estimates with client budget
Have client confirm type of construction contract required

Review
Submit design development documents to client including drawings,
visualizations,
specifications, calculations and cost estimates
Incorporate client revisions
Obtain client’s written approval to proceed to contract documents
Verify, where applicable, that other approval-giving or funding agencies have
given
authorization to proceed

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
4. Tasks Generally Associated with Contract Documentation

During contract or construction documentation, the architect and consultants prepare the
details working drawings and specifications which are used to obtain the appropriate
permits, prepare final cost estimates and construction bids and construct the facility. The
drawings consist of site plans, building plans, elevations, sections and construction
details. Written specifications detail the requirements of manufacture, installation,
design, performance criteria and workmanship of materials and equipment.

On traditional design, bid, build projects, the contract documents are prepared in their
entirety prior to letting them out for construction bids. On fast-track and design-build
projects, the construction documents are most often prepared in stages, allowing the
contractor to begin site work and foundations prior to the completion of the final contract
documents.

Of course, contract documentation activities only occur on projects which lead to

construction.

Working drawings
Develop drawing plan and sheet index
Establish information to appear on each drawing sheet
Set up CADD layers
Establish drawing scales
Establish drawing format
Metric
Imperial
Establish drawing check set review schedule with client, consultants and
authorities
to mandatory and/or office policy
Prepare final working drawings for architectural and all consulting disciplines
Site plan
Foundation plan
Principal floor plans
Typical floor plans
Elevations
Sections
Construction details
Equipment layouts
Structural grid
Base building
Dimensions
Notations
Material hatching
Addenda

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Specifications
Prepare and assemble specifications concurrently with preparation of drawings
Notice to bidders
Advertisement or invitation to bid
Instructions to bidders
Bid form
Construction contract
General Conditions
Divisions 1-17
Supplementary Conditions
Cash allowances
Other
Submit to, and assist client with review of General and Supplementary Conditions
and specific contract requirements
Determine acceptable alternatives to specified materials, equipment or systems
Prepare testing and quality control program and budgets

Schedules
Prepare written and tabular schedules for construction elements including
Hardware
Room finish
Equipment
Furniture
Other

Quality Control
Check completed documents for coordination, compliance with program,
accuracy
and cross-coordination with consultants work.
Architectural
Structural
Mechanical
Electrical
Other
Have consultants carry out required coordination
Revise documents as required after check and have consultants do same
Verify all revisions
Affix Architect’s seal and signature on documents
Ensure consultants seal and sign documents

Calculations
Prepare final calculations of net and gross area and volume

Contracting
Assist client in selection of testing agencies

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Determine if testing costs are to be included in construction contract
Obtain client’s instructions on insurance and bonding
Obtain client’s instructions regarding construction agreements and bidding
procedures
Obtain client’s requirements for phased occupancy or other special requirements
Determine items or work to be furnished by the client, or not to be included in the
construction contract
Review with client schedule for delivery and installation of client-furnished
materials and equipment
Determine bidding procedures including time, date and place of bid delivery
Review list of potential contractors with client
Obtain and review qualification statements, if required, from interested bidders
Obtain assistance from consultants if separate prime contracts are to be awarded
Annotate issuance of documents for intended purposes, e.g. bid, building permit,
construction, etc.

Permitting
Review design development documents for compliance with all applicable codes
and regulations
Meet with appropriate permitting authorities to review detailed design
Obtain client’s instruction on application and payment of necessary permits
including:
Building Department
Ministry of Labour
Health
Public Utilities
Traffic
Airport Authority
Conservation Authority
Regional Authorities
Environment
Other
Assist client in filing documents for approvals and permits

Costing
Perform detailed cost estimates for construction
Obtain from each consultant further update of estimated construction cost
Confer with contractor for review of cost estimates
Compare cost estimates with client budget
Review and confirm project construction budget with client

Review
Submit drawings, specifications, estimate of construction cost and area
calculations
to client for review

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Revise where required
Verify all revisions
Obtain client’s written approval
Obtain client’s written authorization to proceed to bidding or negotiation

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
5. Tasks Generally Associated with Construction Procurement

After the construction documents are complete and approved by the owner, the consultant
can then assist and advise the owner in obtaining competitive bids or negotiated
proposals and in awarding the construction contract.

Identify bidders
Publish advertisements for open bidding
Publish separate advertisements if separate prime bids are to be awarded
Research bidders for invited bidding
Obtain and review qualification statements from interested bidders
Notify selected invited bidders

Direct selection
Assist client in direct selection of contractor(s)
Assist client in contract negotiation

Distribution of bidding and proposal documents

Determine number of sets of bid documents required
Arrange for printing/reproduction of bid documents
Prepare bid packages
Distribute documents to bidders and obtain deposits
Issue documents to local construction association plan rooms
Obtain satisfactory return of documents from bidders who withdraw
Obtain satisfactory return of documents from disqualified bidders
Return deposit to bidders who satisfactorily return documents
Repair and reassemble returned documents for use during construction

Bid inquiries and addenda

Hold pre-bid conference
Arrange and conduct site tour
Record all bid document inquiries
Receive and respond to questions from bidders
Clarify or interpret bidding documents
Review and advise on alternates or substitutions proposed by bidders
Prepare and issue supplementary information or addenda as necessary
Drawings
Specifications
Instructions
Change in bidding schedule or procedure
Ensure bidders have sufficient time to review addenda prior to bid closing

Bidding
Organize and run bid opening
Receive all bid packages submitted up to bid deadline

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Return all bid packages submitted following bid deadline

Bid and proposal evaluation

Open and tabulate all legitimate bids as per procedures established with client
Analyze all bids including alternates and substitutions
Obtain assistance of consultants as necessary
Prepare report of bidding results and analysis
Analyze alternates or substitutions proposed by bidders
Advise client on selection of alternatives and separate prices
Review bids and analysis with client
Assist client with selection of successful bidder
Notify unsuccessful bidders and obtain return of bid documents
Return deposit to unsuccessful bidders who satisfactorily return documents

Contract negotiation and award

Notify successful bidder of acceptance and basis of acceptance
Assist client to issue letter of intent
Assist client with contract negotiation with successful bidder or pre-selected
contractor
Request and receive submission of post bid information
Performance bond
Labour and material bond
Insurance certificates
Worker’s Compensation
Other
Assist client in preparation of construction contract
Assist client with preparation and coordination of separate prime contracts
Provide client written reminder of client’s obligations under Contract
Insurance
Permit(s)
Occupancy
Access
Assist client and contractor in execution of construction contract

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
6. Tasks Generally Associated with Contract Administration

As the project is under construction, the consultant can administer the construction
contract between the owner and the contractor. In this capacity the consultant is the
owner’s professional advisor in interpreting the contract documents and advises the
owner on contractor performance. While the consultant is not responsible for the
contractor’s performance, he or she will generally review the progress and quality of
construction.

Document management
Obtain all bonds and insurance policies required by contract documents from
contractor
Forward bonds and insurance policies to owner
Advise client to file copies of property insurance policies with contractor
Have client purchase special hazard insurance as part of property insurance policy
at
contractor’s written request and expense
Provide contractor with required copies of contract documents

Permits
Remind contractor to obtain and pay for all permits required by contract
documents
Assist client with applications for gas, water, electricity, telephone and other
services as required

Schedules
Obtain and review contractor’s construction schedule
Obtain and review contractor’s schedule of shop drawings and samples
Obtain and review contractor’s schedule of values
Obtain and review contractor’s updated progress schedule
Advise client of potential revisions to date of substantial performance (if
required)
Prepare colour selections and schedules
Obtain client approval for colour schedules
Issue colour schedules to contractor

Project procedures
Establish and advise regarding basic lines of communication between all parties
including contractors, client and consultants
Establish with contractor requirements for testing and inspection of specific
materials and work by inspection and testing companies
Arrange for distribution of reports through proper channels for action if necessary
Advise on interpretation of contract documents
Issue supplementary details and instructions as required

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Respond to requests for information and issue written site instructions to
contractor
when applicable
Advise contractor on Contemplated Changes to the contract
Prepare and process requests for quotation regarding Contemplated Changes to
the
contract
Process and coordinate changes to contract after consultation with client
Review contractor’s submissions for changes in contract time and amount in
conjunction with consultants
Advise client on validity of claims
Issue Change Orders as required
Obtain client approval and signature on Change Orders
Notify appropriate authorities of changes when appropriate

Site visitation and review

Attend site meetings
Make periodic visits to site to determine if construction is in general conformity
with contract documents
Evaluate work performed and materials supplied in relation to contractor’s
progress
application
Make site visits to observe specific events as conditions warrant
Prepare and submit to client, contractor and building officials site visit reports
including those of professional engineering consultants
Issue appropriate certificate for payment covering contractor’s request

Shop drawings and samples

Review requested shop drawings when submitted
Instruct consultants to review shop drawings as appropriate
Review submitted samples where applicable and comment accordingly
Instruct consultants to review submitted samples as appropriate
Maintain shop drawing and sample record

Consultants
Coordinate general review and other services of other consultants
Direct findings of other consultants for appropriate action

Administration of changes in the work

Prepare proposal requests
Receive and review proposals responses
Prepare and issue change orders

Project close-out
Review prescribed procedures for project close-out e.g. specifications and/or

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 OAA/OGCA Document 100
Arrange for appropriate representatives to attend demonstration(s) of systems
Obtain appropriate records of demonstration(s)
Arrange for turnover of applicable operating instructions
Substantial performance
Receive from contractor application for Certificate of Substantial
Performance
Receive from contractor list of items to be completed or corrected
Perform site review for substantial performance
Review site review findings in relation to contract and lien legislation
Notify contractor if substantial performance not certified and provide
reason
Certify substantial performance
Obtain and review required documents for release of basic holdback moneys
Issue certificate for payment for release of holdback
Assist client in obtaining occupancy permit if required or requested
Obtain from contractor:
Warranties
Certificates of inspection
Equipment manuals
Workers compensation certificate
Operating instructions
Statutory declaration documents
Keying schedules
Maintenance stock
As-built drawings
Other specified items
Completion
Receive from contractor application for statement of completion
Carry out site visit for completion
Review findings in relation to contract and lien legislation
Notify contractor if project not found to be complete and reasons
Issue statement of completion
Receive contractor’s written notice of total completion
Issue certificate for payment for holdback for finishing work
Perform final site visit
Issue final site visit report
Receive from contractor final application for payment
Issue final certificate for payment to contractor
Prepare record drawings if required
Advise professional liability insurer of project completion date

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
7. Tasks Generally Associated with Post-Construction and Facility Operation

Following completion of construction, the consultant may provide the owner with
services necessary in the occupation, use and maintenance of the facility.

The contract documents usually require a 12 month warranty on all labour and materials.
During this period the consultant may continue to advise the client and communicate
with the contractor regarding defects or deficiencies which may be observed.

After occupancy of the building the consultant may also continue to assist the owner by
providing ongoing facility management services such as maintenance advice, changing
occupancies and tenant issues.

Warranty
Review reported defects during one year warranty period
Notify contractor of items requiring attention
Carry out review of reported defects or deficiencies prior to expiration of one year
warranty period
Notify contractor of items requiring attention
Assist client in administering corrective action by contractor where defects or
deficiencies occur within extended warranty period

Start-up assistance
Move management

Maintenance
Maintenance programming
Compile maintenance manuals
Arrange maintenance contracts

Operational
Programming
Compile maintenance manuals
Review operational procedures
Facility operations meetings
Facility performance meetings

Tenant-related services

Project promotion

Leasing services

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
8. Tasks Generally Associated with Project Management and Administration

Project management
Planning
Prepare project plan including man-hours and timelines
Set up project tracking and accounting system
Establish project filing system
Scheduling
Prepare initial schedule
Modify schedule as needed
Inform owner of schedule details and implications
Track schedule performance
Internal budgeting
Prepare internal project budget
Modify budget as needed
Track internal project costs
Track budget performance
Billings
Prepare periodic billings report
Prepare periodic fee invoices
Prepare reimbursable expense invoices
Staffing
Set up project team
Architects
Designers
Technical staff
Other
Communicate project requirements
Assign and monitor individual tasks
Monitor staffing needs
Prepare and distribute project directory

Interaction with owner

Identify client’s authorized representative
Obtain client’s standards and requirements for drawings and other submissions
Maintain regular communication
Correspondence
Meetings
Reviews and approvals
Changes

Consultant management
Consultant selection
Negotiate, prepare and execute consultant agreements
Planning

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Civil engineering
Survey
Geotechnical
Architecture
Structural
Mechanical
Electrical
Landscape architecture
Interior design
Furniture/equipment
Specialty consultants
Environmental
Acoustical
Food service
Traffic
Signage/graphics
Building code
Special lighting
Energy
Seismic
Cost
Hardware
Roofing
Building envelope
Security
Marketing
Other
Consultant and Owner’s consultant coordination
Insurance
Licensing
Scheduling
Estimates
Building systems
General ongoing communication
Prepare and distribute project directory
Obtain consultants’ requirements for investigation and testing as needed

Inspection and testing

Needs determination
Consultant selection
Specifications
Soil
Concrete
Steel
Roofing

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Asphalt
Building audit
Other

Insurance
Excess professional liability
Property damage
Builder’s risk
Personal liability
Other

Meetings
Owner
Consultants
Permitting and approval agencies
Contractor
Staff
Public
Other
Specify number of meetings

Project presentations
Client progress meetings
Public meetings
Marketing presentations
Special presentations

Cost estimating
Data collection
Research
Quantity take-offs
Consultant coordination
Preliminary estimates
Detailed estimates
Utilities: on and off site
Demolition
Site development
Base building construction
Tenant improvements
Furniture and equipment
Landscape
Allowances
Maintenance
Life-cycle costing
Cash flow analysis

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Analysis of alternates
Report preparation
Report presentation

Value engineering
Design review
Building systems review
Research of alternates
Cost estimating
Evaluation analysis
Report preparation
Report presentation

Quality control/Quality assurance

Establish QC/QA procedures
Monitor QC/QA procedures
Design concept review
Technical review
Consultant coordination
Dimension check
Specification coordination

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Volume 3A Section 1 - The Entrepreneurial Project Manager

Introduction

You have invested a great deal of time, effort and expense to win the project. When the
client announced that you had been awarded the job, you felt that rush of satisfaction that
comes when a goal is realized. Now it’s time to settle down and get the job done.

There are many components to a successfully completed project. Obviously the technical
competence of you and your team count heavily in the outcome. Fortunately, technical
competence (although not necessarily brilliance) is fairly easy to come by. Most projects
don’t fail in their ability to meet technical goals. Many do, however, fall short of the
financial, schedule, client satisfaction and general management goals which are
established or assumed.

The burden of this effort falls on the project manager. Project managers take many forms.
On small projects, the PM is often lead designer, technician, draftsperson and sometimes
clerical staff. On the largest projects, the project manager is a senior staffer or Principal
overseeing a large team which extends throughout the firm’s office and beyond. In every
case, and regardless of that person’s seniority status in the firm, the project manager is
the individual responsible for ensuring that all the project goals are met.

There is no shortage of books and seminars which teach Project Management technique.
Even this manual has numerous Sections devoted to the step-by-step tactics of
scheduling, budgeting and tracking projects. These fundamental skills are vital to success
in Project Management. Without these most basic skills, your career as a project manager
will be, or ought to be short-lived.

Raising the bar of performance

All project managers worth their salt knows how to design, schedule and budget projects
and steer them to successful completion. That’s entry level stuff.

So what separates you from the amateurs? What does it take to move beyond the “kid’s
stuff” in project management?

The best project managers have long since realized that success in project management
has to equal success in business. And successful project managers do far more than
simply drag their projects across the finish line. They understand that schedule and
budget compliance are the minimum requirement of project management success. They
realize they need to build a much deeper set of skills and operate with a much broader
outlook if they are to be successful.

One model which many successful project managers have adopted is that of the
entrepreneur.

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An entrepreneur is a self-directed person who operates a business which takes advantage
of diverse talents and resources in order to service customers* and return profits. The key
difference between an entrepreneur and a manager in a corporation is that the
entrepreneur usually has, but in any case behaves as if he or she has a personal stake in
the success or failure of the business. This attitude of personal ownership sets a high
standard of performance in every aspect of their work. Entrepreneurs realize that, while
they work together with a team to accomplish the goal, they, personally, are the driving
force behind that team. While entrepreneurs may not, and often don’t, actually perform
the work, they are personally responsible for the quality of the work, the satisfaction of
the customer and the financial return to the shareholders.

This attitude sets the performance bar high. Without an entrepreneurial attitude, it’s easy
to find countless reasons why the project will or did fail. The owner didn’t supply the
right information. The technical staff were incompetent. The permitting agency was too
slow. The budget was inadequate. An entrepreneur, on the other hand, knows that failure
is not an option. If the project fails, the company fails and they stand to lose everything.
In a similar way, the entrepreneurial project manager knows that if the job is to be done,
it’s up to them. They accept no excuses and find ways to mitigate or remove the barriers
to successful project completion.

What does it take to become an entrepreneurial project manager?

* Throughout this manual the word “client” has often been replaced with the word “customer.”
While “client” has been used forever in this industry, “customer” has a more personal
implication. This is especially pertinent for the project manager with an entrepreneurial attitude.
You have been a “customer” of many businesses and know the type of treatment which inspires
you to return again and again. By thinking of your clients as “customers” the importance of high
quality “customer service” gains a higher priority and helps to add even more value to your
services.

The Entrepreneurial Wheel

The entrepreneur’s world is like a wheel with five spokes. Each spoke carries an equal
weight and demands equal attention. Should any of the spokes break, the entire wheel
will collapse.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Each spoke represents an aspect of the entrepreneur’s business which must be
established, tracked and proactively managed in order to achieve success. The spokes
represent, in order:

• Vision
• Marketing
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Delivery Systems

Spoke # 1 Vision

As we discussed in Volume 1, Section 1, no business can thrive without a compelling

reason for being and a strong drive to contribute in a meaningful way. This is often
called “vision.” In the earlier section we discussed the vision which a design firm must
have in order to distinguish itself from competitors and provide a compelling reason for
clients to select it. For the entrepreneurial project manager, “vision” is equally important
but in a slightly different manner.

There are two types of vision which are important to the project manager and both must
be clearly understood and articulated.

The first type of vision is that which we’ve already discussed and defines and drives the
firm and the team. What sets your firm apart from the competition? Why should a client
select your firm over someone else? What is it, besides price, which makes your firm the
one to beat?

A vision for yourself

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
These same questions should also apply to you as a project manager. There are many
project managers out there. Most are good at what they do. Some are exceptional. What
do you offer a firm and a client that they can’t find elsewhere?

An entrepreneurial project manager will think of themselves as, “Me Incorporated.” They
understand that both the practice and the client are looking for the best. They make it
their personal responsibility to continually upgrade their skills and increase their value to
the marketplace. By working diligently to stay at the front of the pack, these project
managers establish a reputation for themselves and are constantly in demand. Clients ask
for these project managers to be assigned to their projects. Firms make offers of
ownership.

All these results come from the project manager who has a strong vision of their unique
contribution to the profession. Without this strong, overriding vision, you are just another
adequate project manager.

A vision for your project

The second type of vision which the entrepreneurial project manager must cultivate is a
vision about the project at hand. Every project is a unique undertaking. Each has its own
origin and “hot buttons.” No two projects are ever the same. Even if the scope is
identical, the personalities of the participants, the culture of the organizations and the
circumstances which establish the need are always changing.

To be successful, every project must also have a strong vision. The vision statement of a
project will let everyone involved know what the team is attempting to accomplish with
this work. If most of your projects seem too mundane to require or deserve a mission
statement, perhaps you have become too jaded and would benefit from a higher purpose
to your work!

Think about the following story which was related by the Principal of a
Mechanical/Electrical consulting firm in New Mexico.

Building Better Chips

Several years ago, the silicone chip giant Intel, built an enormous manufacturing facility
near Albuquerque, NM. Of course, every consultant and contractor for miles around
wanted a piece of the action and competition was very tight. For its part, Intel insisted on
making all A/E selections based on low price.

This practice was most frustrating and one consultant decided to do something about it.
He made an appointment with the Director of Facilities and made an impassioned appeal
for Intel to select on value, rather than price.

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The Director listened attentively and then said, “Every consultant has told me how well
they can help me build my facility. They have related their experience and showed me
countless pictures of other facilities they have built. But so far no one has talked to me
about making computer chips. I am in business to make chips, not build facilities. The
first consultant who comes in my office and shows me how they can help me make chips
better will get all the work here and I won’t even ask the price.”

The purpose of that project was not to build a factory, it was to make chips better. What
is the vision for the project on which you are currently working?

You can distill this vision by asking yourself:

• Why is your customer going ahead with this project?

• What are they trying to accomplish that is larger than the simple built stuff which
you will provide?
• How can you show that you understand those goals?
• How can you help them achieve those larger goals?

By understanding and working from the larger goals of the project, you develop a vision
which will let you bring more value to the customer than they ever could have expected.
By bringing your client and your entire team into this shared vision, you stand out in the
client’s mind in ways which few of your competitors can mach.

Don’t head into another project without first establishing a powerful vision for the
project. Let there be an overriding goal of accomplishment beyond the mere technical
requirements of the job. With this “double vision” that includes yourself as a project
manager and the project itself, you will be in demand like no other.

Spoke # 2: Marketing

The Project Manager and the Store Clerk

Every one of us has had the experience of shopping at a store where the clerks were too
busy chatting to realize we were there; where their body language spoke clearly that they
weren’t interested in serving us; where they made it clear we were just too much trouble.
It’s rare that we go back to those stores.

We have also shopped at stores where we were made to feel as if we were the most
important person on earth. Where nothing was too much trouble and the clerk had all the
time in the world for us. We shop at these stores repeatedly.

A large store chain may spend millions on advertising. They carefully ensure the stores
are stocked with the right inventory. They continually rework the look of the store so it

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
appeals to potential customers. They do relentless market surveys to ensure their pricing
is in line with their competition. All this work will be successful in bringing a new
customer in the door.

Then it’s up to the store clerk.

In many ways, a project manager is like that store clerk. Your firm may work tirelessly to
attract new clients. You may spend thousands chasing and winning a particular project.
But it is only when the client has the chance to experience the service available from the
project delivery team, will they decide whether or not to “shop at your store” again.

Your Personal Marketing Plan

Most firms obtain between 70% and 90% of their work from repeat clients. These are
clients who have worked with the firm before and are pleased and motivated to come
back to have you do additional projects.

Knowing their role as the crucial connection between the client and the repeat work they
represent, the entrepreneurial project manager has a keen sense of their marketing
responsibilities. They understand that their attitudes and actions in “customer service”
will be as important in bringing the client back as their ability to complete the technical
aspects of the project.

As an entrepreneurial project manager you know that:

You and your team have the single, most important role in the marketing effort.
You are the point where all the marketing hype is validated or disproved.
You alone have the power to bring a customer back, or send them away forever.
You are the person on whom the client depends to get the job done.
You have direct, personal responsibility for the level of service and quality throughout
the project.
You have a direct responsibility to ensure a continuing supply of work.

With this understanding, you and your team will establish “Personal Marketing Plans”
which are implemented every day, in every situation.

Most project teams, when asked to participate in “Marketing,” immediately envision

making those dreaded cold calls which most design professionals will do anything in
their power to avoid. You can assure your team this is not their highest and best use and,
while they will be asked to interact with clients, they will not be required to do
telemarketing.

Establish your entrepreneurial and personal marketing plan by reviewing these questions
with your team:

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 1. How aware are you and your team of your role in turning customers away or
bringing them back?

2. What can you do to make that “shopping” experience memorable for your
customer during:
• Meetings
• Phone calls
• Project updates
• Regular communications

3. Are you always on the lookout for opportunities for:

• Extras
• Additional services
• Other projects
• Client maintenance opportunities
• Other likely clients
• Network building opportunities
• Networking opportunities
• Ways to make your client look good
• Public relations opportunities
• Good client references and testimonials
• Post project communications opportunities

By recognizing yourselves as that vital, personal link between the customer and your
firm, you can easily identify the simple, everyday actions that will inspire your customers
to come back project after project.

Spoke # 3: Finance

There is no escaping the fact that one of the project manager’s primary responsibilities is
to manage the project finances and ensure the job returns a profit to the firm. The
entrepreneurial project manager will take this responsibility very seriously and will
educate him or herself on the subtleties of project and firm finances.

Other sections of this manual have dwelt extensively on financial performance. Pay
special attention to:

Volume 2, Section 3 Hourly rates

Volume 2, Section 5 & 6 Calculating and compiling fees
Volume 3B, Section 1 Profit: what it is, what it isn’t, why you need it.
Volume 3B, Section 4 Learning to calculate your overhead rate
Volume 3B, Section 5 Using key indicators to “manage by the numbers”

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
These sections will give you the knowledge necessary to budget your projects and set
adequate fees. They will also show you how project finances merge into overall firm
finances and contribute or detract from the health of your company.

When focusing on the finances of the project itself, the entrepreneurial project manager
will learn how to work with, monitor and manage project finances to steer the job to
successful and profitable completion.

Many firms have some type of computer-based job-costing and tracking system in place.
In fact, the most popular software programs are far more powerful and sophisticated than
is necessary. It is certainly the case that most project managers and many firm Principals
don’t understand how the system works, what the various reports mean and how to
interpret and act on the data provided. As a result, few firms are actually using the
capability they possess.

The entrepreneurial project manager, on the other hand:

• Learns how to plan a project so it can be tracked carefully.

• Forecasts project expenditures before the job begins
• Tracks expenditures and determines schedule and budget status on a weekly basis
• Accurately assesses actual percentage completion
• Regularly compares actual completion to budget and schedule consumed
• Knows exactly where his or her project stands at every step along the way.
• Treats project management as a continual series of minor course corrections
• Takes early corrective action to keep projects ahead of schedule and under budget

Other sections of this Volume focus on techniques you can use to forecast, monitor and
manage project finances to successful completion. Pay special attention to:

Volume 3A, Section 2 Project planning

Volume 3A, Section 3 Tracking project progress using the Earned-Value Method
Volume 3A, Section 4 Keeping your project on track

In the discussion of Profit in Volume 3B, Section 1, the point is made that it is the project
manager’s job to deliver a profit on every project. The fact that your project is profitable
should not be a remarkable accomplishment, it should be the normal course of events.
While there are occasions when you may anticipate, for marketing or other purposes, to
have a project which does not make a profit, these situations are rare and always pre-
planned. The entrepreneurial project manager assumes responsibility for always
delivering a profit and satisfying the customer’s needs.

Spoke #4 - Human Resources

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
In many places throughout this manual, we have made the point that design professionals
do not deal in inventory or machinery, they deal in ideas which are generated and
implemented by trained and talented people. The resources which project managers use
to accomplish their work are human.

As an entrepreneurial project manager, you must learn to understand and deal with those
human resources on two levels:

1. You must first learn to understand and manage yourself

2. Then you can move forward to understanding and managing your team

Understanding and managing your own personal human resource

One of the characteristics of project managers in the design professions is that virtually
every one has begun their career as a design professional -- an architect, an engineer, a
planner, an interior designer, etc. They went to school and worked hard to achieve that
goal and were motivated to work hard at improving those skills. In most cases, these
dedicated professionals distinguished themselves in their profession and were rewarded
with a promotion to the role of project manager.

While this common scenario makes perfect sense, there is a flaw in the logic. It is rare to
find the architect or engineer who went through five or six years of university education
looking forward to the day they could schedule and budget projects. The subject matter
was probably never mentioned in school and few, if any, pressured the faculty for courses
in project management.

Once into the working world, practitioners quickly discovered the vital need for project
management, but it was seen, like laundry, as something that had to be done, not
something you would choose to do.

Among the many people involved in this profession, some seem to have been born with a
natural talent for project management. They are easily recognizable and respected for
their abilities. When other design professionals are asked to list the characteristics of the
best project managers they have ever known or worked with, characteristics similar to the
following are invariably mentioned:

• Good communicator
• Well organized
• Good listener
• Understands the “big picture”
• Inspiring leader
• Team player
• Motivates others
• Manages time well
• Delegates work effectively

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 • Technically competent
• Rarely gets flustered

In workshop after workshop, where participants are asked to characterize their favourite
project managers, these traits are listed. Significantly, out of ten characteristics listed, the
characteristic of “Technical Competence” is usually mentioned near the end.

What do we learn from this simple exercise?

The important lesson here is that the important skills necessary for success in project
management are not those in which most design professionals have been formally
trained. A quick look at the list confirms that few engineering or architectural schools
offer courses in, “being a good listener,” or “delegating work effectively.” If a project
manager has these skills, they were either born with them or they have learned them
somewhere other than in their formal education.

Rising out of this question is the reasonable notion that you might not want to be a
project manager. When a person is promoted to project manager status, it often means
you get to do less of the technical and design work that you like to do. It can even be
argued that the thinking process which takes those who have demonstrated excellence in
their technical capabilities and moves them into a position in which these skills are much
less important than the “people” skills in which they have little or no training is
somewhat twisted.

Since you invested all that time and money pursuing your career dreams, and you have
not necessarily sought to acquire the “softer” skills that are important in project
management, you may decide you don’t want to be a project manager.

Ask yourself if you have or want to acquire the personal skills it takes to be a successful,
entrepreneurial project manager?

• Are you content to let others do much of the technical or design work on a
project?
• Do you prefer the atmosphere of a team or do you work best as a loner?
• When things go wrong, do you mind taking the heat?
• Would you rather be the coach or the star player?
• Can you work well under stressful conditions?

This self-inspection is vital if you want to move forward to being a successful project
manager. If you determine that this career path is for you, it’s time to start investing in
your own “human resource management” by upgrading your skills in:

• Interpersonal communications
• Time management
• Supervision and delegation

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 • Leadership skills
• Written and oral communications
• Stress management
• Negotiating

Understanding and managing your team

If the resources a project manager must use to accomplish his or her work are human,
they must learn how to manage those resources. Unlike managing equipment, machinery
or inventory, human resources pose a particular challenge.

Perhaps making the project manager’s job even more challenging is the fact that the
human resources in the design professions are highly trained, highly intelligent and self-
directed individuals. Each has his or her own, strong opinions of how things ought to be
and often resist being told what to do. The management of groups like this has often been
referred to as “herding cats.”

Your job is to build a team and then nurture that team so it sets and then exceeds its own
high standards of performance.

Recruiting and Motivating

While we all know how hard it is to find good talent, the best people are always attracted
to work with the best project managers. Your job is to set your project standards high
enough to attract the best talent that’s out there. A really fine firm and its best project
managers never have trouble finding good talent.

As an entrepreneurial project manager, you have an ongoing need to attract, recruit and
train top talent. The best way to do this is to make your team a “talent magnet” by:

• Setting your standards high and sticking to them.

• Understanding that individual team members have differing levels of interest in a
project.
• Acquainting yourself with your team members and learning what drives them.
• Recognizing individual achievements, contributions and quality work, with open
praise.
• Writing a memorandum of praise and placing a copy in their personnel record.
• Knowing that reward or recognition should be immediate or the value to the
recipient diminishes.
• Keeping any corrections or reproofs that are necessary prompt and directly related
to the event which triggered them.
• Keeping your admonitions for mistakes or poor performance completely private.
• Knowing that an employee’s time is their most valuable commodity and
recognizing and rewarding their contributions.

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Delegating

Always remember that your title is project manager, not Project Doer. As a manager,
your task is to leverage the efforts of others towards the completion of the work.

Always

• Begin with preparation and systematically plan what to delegate and what to do
yourself.
• Think through the activities the team member will need to do to complete an
assignment
• Specifically outline that individual’s or team’s responsibilities

• Ask for feedback to ensure the assignment has been fully understood. One of the
most frequent mistakes made by project managers is assuming that other people
understand what’s going on and know what they are doing.

• Challenge the time estimate to complete any task. Given the option, everyone will
ask for more time to complete a task than may be necessary. However, you must
always work with the staff and team to get their “buy-in” to your schedule. If they
don’t believe from the outset that it can be accomplished, the schedule will fail.

• Grant the team member enough authority to complete the assignment.

• Be certain the individual has the resources to do the job
• Check periodically to determine if you've given too much or too little authority
and adjust appropriately
• Ask the team member if you've provided enough information
• Focus on what needs to be done, not how to do it
• Take time to review completed assignments
• Thank a team member and show that you notice high-quality work

Never

• Let two or more individuals be responsible for the same task

• Overly structure the assignment so the individual has no latitude to make
decisions
• Demand that the individual work in exactly the same manner as you would. This
removes authority, responsibility and creativity. Instead, focus on the end result,
not the step-by-step means of getting there.
• Re-do the assignment yourself. Nothing undermines trust greater.
• Avoid confronting a team member about substandard performance

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Red Flags

You know you need to improve your delegation skills if:

• You're just too busy. You are under constant pressure, usually miss personal
deadlines or spend a great deal of time on activities that you would not personally
pay your charge-out rate for.
• You're often surprised by team members doing things other than what you
expected or intended, and job quality is below the standards you expect.
• Productivity is low or dropping and team members seem less efficient and
unmotivated.

Spoke # 5: Delivery Systems

Process vs. Project

Most businesses which breed successful entrepreneurs are “process” driven. This means
they establish a successful process for accomplishing work or producing a product and
then manage that process. Projects and products come and go, but the process by which
they are developed and completed gives the company its strength and competitive
advantage. Over time, continuous fine tuning and adjustment of the process makes it
better and more profitable.

Design professionals, on the other hand, are “project” driven. They work from one
project to the next with little regard for a standardized process which would make the
production of work faster, easier, more accurate, and more profitable. With an intense
focus on maximizing billable time, the incremental improvements which are made in the
“process” are developed in rare moments of “stolen” time. Compounding this problem is
the strong belief that every project is different and should be approached with a “clean
slate” in order to give the client maximum value. Making a standardized process even
more challenging is the “herd of cats,” each of whom has and vigorously defends, what
they believe to be the best process.

The entrepreneurial project manager recognizes this dilemma and works to balance the
need for standardized processes against the value of a unique approach.

The entrepreneurial project manager will find the best processes and systems which will
allow him or her to accomplish projects faster, more accurately, and at lower cost. Once
they have found these processes, they are very intolerant of individuals who take it upon
themselves to use a different set of standards or procedures and undermine the strength of
the team. If adjustments or changes are to be made in the process, they will be reviewed,
tested and adopted by the team, not by individuals at their own discretion.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Standard Procedures

Why do you need standards? In general the most significant advantage offered by any
standard procedure is the ability to re-use and leverage previous efforts. In order to do
this effectively any standard must be:

• Easy to find, understand and use

• Consistently formatted
• Usefully organized
• Accessible to everyone

Standards should never exist for their own sake. As we’ve repeated numerous times in
this manual, your firm lives and grows on knowledge and information which is the
foundation of the value you bring to your clients. The use of standard procedures allows
that information to be:

• Easy to find, understand and use

• Consistently formatted
• Usefully organized
• Accessible to everyone

and makes it available for effective reuse. It’s not coincidental that the standards and the
information are judged by the same criteria. In addition, standards will:

• Improve the way you communicate and coordinate information

• Allow you to re-use and benefit from your highest quality work
• Increase productivity by reducing repetitive effort

However, unless everyone adheres to your standards, your office and especially your
computer capability will only experience dramatically increased overhead costs.
Standards must be universally accepted and adhered to within your team. There are
plenty of firms who claim to have developed standards and who can dust off the manual
to prove it. But when you look at the computer terminals, the filing cabinets, the
correspondence going out of the office and the schedules and budgets being prepared, it’s
everyone for themselves!

Types of Standards

Standards fall into three categories and each is equally important to be addressed.

1. Standards of organization

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 For example:
• Computer and paper filing and storage systems
• Consistent file and document naming
• CAD layering organization

2. Standards of communication
For example:
• Graphic standards
• Symbol and detail libraries
• Standard forms and templates
• Letter and memo writing
• Meetings and their minutes

3. Standards of procedure
For example:
• Scheduling techniques
• Task delegation
• Preparation and documentation of calculations
• Review and quality control
• Project monitoring and reporting practices

As you work to develop a set of office and team standards, keep these principles in mind:

1. The standards should be kept as simple and straightforward as possible.

Complexity for its own sake only adds to confusion and resistance to the use of
the standards

2. Stay away from committees. Assign only one or two people who can focus on the
work, not the committee.

3. Give those assigned to develop the standards a strict and short deadline and then
allow them time to get it done. Do not expect this type of work to be done as an
extra curricular activity.

4. Assume that the standards which are developed will continuously evolve. This
will be an ongoing process as you work with the standards and discover
weaknesses or better alternatives.

5. Prepare a printed manual and distribute it to everyone. Hold a meeting to present

and discuss the standards. Make sure everyone is aware of them and the
importance of adhering to them.

6. Enforce the standards by refusing to accept work which is not in conformance.

Unless they know you are serious, the entire effort is a waste of time.

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 7. Establish a regular schedule for the review and revision of each section. Focus on
a different section every 3 months. Encourage your team to submit their ideas and
experiences with the standards and include those comments in the review process.

8. Keep the manual revised and updated regularly. Develop the habit of issuing the
next update on a regular basis. Don’t allow the manual to collect dust.

9. Hold regular gatherings to discuss and review the standards and educate your
team about new developments.

How does a PM become an Entrepreneur?

The model of the entrepreneurial project manager is one which can drive your project
success rate to new heights. It does, however, call for a change of thinking on your part.
The world of the entrepreneur is not familiar to most design professionals and you need
to make an active decision to adjust your thought process. Do this by:

1. Exposing yourself to the entrepreneurial world.

• Join a business roundtable or a weekly breakfast meeting of local business people

through your Chamber of Commerce. Get the outside perspective they can
provide on the world of business in general and their specific buying needs and
habits.

• Determine to learn something new from an industry other than yours. What can
you learn from retail, from banking, from manufacturing that could be useful to
your operation? While it’s unlikely you will learn methods which can be directly
translated into your practice, be open-minded about how you could adapt their
strategies to your advantage.

• Subscribe to and read business journals. While you must continue to keep abreast
of professional issues reported in the architectural and engineering journals, add a
monthly small business magazine to your reading list. Pick up a copy of “Inc.,”
“Success,” “Fortune,” “Entrepreneur” or other general business publication.
Again, keep your mind open to what you can learn from other entrepreneurs who
face many of the same struggles as you.

• Establish an Advisory Board made up of individuals who are not from your firm
or even your profession. Let this Board meet quarterly or twice yearly to review
your progress, help you set goals and provide their detached, outside-perspective
views on the world-at-large and your place in it.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
2. Setting specific entrepreneurial performance goals.

• At the beginning of each year, or even twice per year, sit down alone or with your
team and establish a set of profit goals for your projects. By working together to
set these targets, you will have a high level of commitment from everyone to
achieve your goals.

• Establish a defined set of Customer Satisfaction ratings which can be measured

by a simple survey. Take an initial survey of your existing clients to establish a
base line, then conduct yearly or twice yearly surveys to monitor your
continuously improving performance in each category.

• Invite formal or informal peer review of your project management techniques on

a regular basis. Keep a scorecard of your performance in each important category
and set new goals for achievement each year.

3. Measuring entrepreneurial performance.

• Get competitive! Monitor the various professional surveys and business reports to
see how your growth and performance ranks against that of your peers and your
competitors. Establish the key indicators which are most important to you and set
annual goals for improved performance.

• Chart your progress regularly. Keep your entire team informed of your
entrepreneurial performance in regular meetings and by a chart on the wall. Only
when these performance issues are kept front and center will they become
important in the day-to-day decision-making and thought process of your team.

4. Rewarding entrepreneurial performance.

• Celebrate success. Take time to recognize both individual and team

accomplishments when goals are met. If you fail to reinforce this mode of
thinking, it will quickly fade and your high-performance team will return to the
standard methods of doing business in the design professions.

• If you and your team are going to think like entrepreneurs, you should be
rewarded like entrepreneurs as well. Be sure, though, that you are not providing
exceptional rewards for merely adequate performance. Remember, a project
manager’s job is to deliver a profit on every project. Only when the budgeted
profit, or some other predetermined standard is exceeded, should rewards which
are above and beyond normal compensation be shared.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Volume 3A Section 2 - Project Planning

The Importance of Planning

Imagine this situation: A client of yours, say a developer in the commercial office
business, decides they are going to put up another project. They’ve done this many times
before and they know the process, so they decide they don’t need an architect. After all,
putting up a simple office building isn’t that tough. It’s just a matter of following a few
simple steps.

Step one: Dig a hole.

Step two: Start pouring concrete for foundations.

Step three: Start pouring concrete for the walls or core of the building.

Step four: Realize you’ve poured the foundations in the wrong place so tear them out
and start again.

The idea of starting a project as large and complex as a building, even a relatively simple
on, without first planning the project, is so foolish it’s laughable. The entire reason the
profession of architecture exists is to plan projects on paper or the computer first, before
committing to the expense of actual bricks and mortar. Tearing out a foundation on paper
is a lot less expensive than taking them out with a jackhammer.

By planning the entire project ahead of time, we learn where the problems are likely to
occur. We identify conflicts and solve them while the cost is still relatively low.
Architects love to tell prospective clients that the design fee is but a tiny fraction of the
total cost of the facility. The investment in pre-planning assures a project that will run
more smoothly and the finished product will meet their objectives and expectations.

Question: If we’re so good at planning other people’s work, why do design

professionals do such a poor job of planning their own?

There is no good answer to this question. Simply an excuse that architects, once handed a
project, love to dive in and start working on the job. Since surrounding ourselves with the
design and the technical challenges is far more entertaining and satisfying than preparing
schedules and budgets, architects like to put off or altogether avoid the planning work
which should go on before a project begins.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
The results are just as predictable as they are for the client who starts building without a
blueprint. We start working on a project only to discover that we have missed an
important piece of information or failed to coordinate with another vital discipline. So we
undo the work we’ve done and start over. Or we redo work which has been done before
because we neglected to plan the proper sequence of the work.

On project after project, design professionals spend more time, more money and more
effort than they ever need to because they fail to plan their work. Although it’s almost
impossible to measure accurately, it has been estimated that the average project spends
between 25% and 50% of the project budget on:

• Tasks which have already been done once, but must be done over
• Work which is not within the scope
• Re-doing work which has not been properly coordinated between the disciplines
• Exploring even more design options when the budget only allows for limited
design work

These and many other “un-planned” activities eat away at a project’s budget, schedule,
profitability and ability to meet client expectations. All of these activities can be
minimized or avoided altogether by good, upfront planning.

Why do you need to plan your projects?

Architects must plan their projects for the same reason that their clients’ projects must be
planned. The undertakings are just too complex to simply walk into and start working. If
unplanned, something is bound to go wrong.

Architects also plan because the planning process provides a means of measuring the
progress of the project once it is underway. Without the ability to measure progress, it is
impossible to know where a job stands and whether or not it needs special attention.

The overriding objective of the planning process is to break any project into small,
manageable parts that can be delegated or undertaken in a logical, progressive manner.
Then, as each part of the project is completed, the project manager can measure progress,
quality and client satisfaction along the way. If, at any time, the measurement system
indicates the project is heading off track, the project manager can take preemptive action
instead of waiting until the end of the job to discover it ran over schedule and budget.

Before a project begins, the project manager, along with the extended team including any
in-house staff, the client, any other consultants and, if possible, the permitting agencies,
the contractor and any others who have significant input, will work together to assemble
a Project work plan.

The project work plan

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Some of the elements of a good work plan have been discussed at length in other parts of
this manual. Others have received only passing mention. Depending on the size and
complexity of the project at hand, you should put the appropriate level of time and effort
into preparing your work plan.

For some projects, preparation of the work plan will take you less than an hour. It will
take the form of a few notes on a page. For others, project planning could take days or
weeks and require the input of many people. You must be the judge of the appropriate
level of effort necessary to plan your project.

In total, there are eight elements in a good work plan. These are:

1. Project Definition.
(Why you are doing the work)

2. Work Breakdown Structure

(How you're organizing to do the work)

3. Task List
(The details of what needs to be done)

4. Schedule
(When things are going to get done)

5. Organization Chart
(Who is responsible for getting it done)

6. Budget
(What it will cost to get it done)

7. Quality Management Plan

(How you'll make sure it's done right)

8. Client Management Plan

(How you'll keep the client happy as it's getting done)

We will examine each of these elements separately.

Work plan element #1: Project definition.

In the previous Section (Volume 3A, Section 1) you read about the need for a “vision”
for the project - an understanding of the larger goals which the job is to accomplish. The
story was told of the silicon chip factory in which the goal of the project was not to
construct a factory, but to build chips better.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
This concept was also discussed in Volume 1A, Section 5 where you learned to define
the scope and establish a clear understanding of the larger goals of the project by asking
questions such as:

• Why is the client doing this project?

• What problem will it solve?
• What opportunities will it create?

Obviously the approach you take to a temporary “fix-it” job that will be replaced in two
years will be different from the approach you take to the design of a new facility.

So the first element of your work plan is a clear “vision” for the project at hand.

Without a clear definition it’s just too easy for the project to go off track as you and your
team explore alternatives which do not relate to the client’s overall goals. However, by
understanding and working from the larger goals of the project, you develop a vision that
will let you bring far more value to the customer than they could ever have expected.

Once this vision and definition have been distilled, communicate it so the entire project
team shares in this understanding.

Work plan element # 2: The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The concept of a WBS has been discussed at length in both Volume 1A, Section 5 and
Volume 2, Section 1. It has also been mentioned in numerous other places throughout
this manual. The WBS is such a common theme because it forms the foundation of your
entire work plan. It is the common framework from which all planning is done.

By breaking the work down into small elements, the WBS increases the likelihood you
will account for everything. This has two major advantages. First, you will complete all
the work expected by the client. Second, you will be able to easily identify work which is
outside the scope and for which you are receiving no fee. The first is vital for client
satisfaction. The second is vital for financial success.

Since design and construction projects are most often large, complex undertakings lasting
months and sometimes years, there isn’t a project manager who can successfully keep the
countless individual tasks organized in their head. They must have some means of
orderly arrangement which allows them to comprehend the project at a glance and know,
at any time, the status of the overall job and each of its elements. The only way to do this
is to break the project into component parts organized in a WBS.

The two sections cited above provide extensive discussion and step-by-step instructions
on the development of a WBS. This is likely the most important element in your work
plan and the one on which you should spend the most time.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Once it has been complete, provide a diagram of your WBS to all team members so you
are all working from the same organizational perspective.

Overall Project

SubProject A SubProject B SubProject C

Task 1

Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Subtask 1
Task 5
Subtask 2
Task 6
Subtask 3
Work Package 1
Subtask 4
Work Package 2
Subtask 5
Work Package 3
Individual Effort 1
Work Package 4
Individual Effort 2
Individual Effort 3

Work plan element # 3. Detailed task list

If the WBS is the framework of the project, the task list is the in-fill and detail of how
you and your team members will be spending your days in the coming weeks or months.

These two work plan elements are integrally related and could even be seen as one and
the same thing since the detailed task list fills in the blanks of the WBS. The process of
preparing the detailed task list can be daunting and it is tempting to simply adopt the task
list from a previous project. The danger of this practice is the risk of including or
excluding an important item which sets this project apart.

Volume 2, Section 2 provides an extensive checklist which you can use as a prompt to
see if your list is complete. It also provides detailed instructions and advice regarding the
preparation of your task list.

Like the WBS, you should put a priority emphasis on the development of your task list. If
you hurry this process, you are likely to miss important items which will come back later
to haunt you either as mistakes on the project or errors and omissions claims by the
client.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
When preparing your detailed task list:

1. Start from scratch with a new list each time. Don’t depend on a pre-printed list or
modified list from a previous project. Use the list provided in Volume 2, Section
2 as a guideline and a thinking prompt only.

2. Keep it simple. Never exceed seven to ten items at any level in the WBS.

3. List everything that impacts your schedule whether it falls under your contract or
not. You will identify “what’s included” and “who does what” during
negotiations and discussions.

4. Include project management as a task on your list because no project can be

completed without being managed.

Work plan element # 4: Schedule

There are numerous scheduling techniques and systems available to today’s project
manager using automated and manual methods as well as combinations of the two. In the
spirit of keeping things simple, though, there are only three techniques which most
project managers need to master and use on a regular basis. These techniques are:

• Milestone Scheduling
• Bar Chart Scheduling
• Critical Path Scheduling

This listing shows the techniques in ascending order of complexity, detail and level of
effort in preparation. Each method has its merits and drawbacks and your job is to select
the best method for the project at hand. The method you choose will be influenced by the
complexity and length of the job and the makeup of the project team. Projects which are
large, complicated and using extended teams will require a more complex scheduling
approach. Those that are small and require only a few team members can use a simpler
method.

Keep in mind that larger projects are made up of many smaller projects. While you may
schedule the entire job using Critical Path Scheduling, you might find that small groups,
working on isolated aspects of the project, will find a Milestone Chart very beneficial for
their work.

Milestone Scheduling

A Milestone Chart is a very simple scheduling method. In its most basic form, the chart
shows the list of tasks to be completed and the due date for each task. The chart is

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
distributed to team members or, if you are working alone on a project, pinned up in front
of your desk, to focus the effort on the deadline.

Referring back to the case study project which was outlined in Volume 2, Section 1, here
is how a Milestone Schedule might look for the portion of the project in which the
existing building must be studied and documented.

Task: Study the Building Deadline

1 Conduct historical research 26-Mar

2 Obtain existing old drawings and photographs 9-Apr
3 Prepare structural evaluation 2-Apr
4 Determine construction materials and methods 2-Apr
5 Identify and evaluate major and minor defects 16-Apr
6 Prepare measured drawings 7-May
7 Prepare photographic documentation 14-May
8 Conduct adjacent building and property condition survey 23-Apr
9 Assess utilities both on- and off-site 30-Apr

Milestone schedules are best used on smaller projects of short duration with a small
project staff. Obviously, this includes smaller sub-projects within a large, complex one.
They offer a number of advantages to the project manager including:

• The simplicity of preparation

• The low cost of preparation and revision
• A focus on deadlines

These advantages must be weighed against their shortcomings which include:

• No indication as to when tasks should begin in order to achieve the deadline

• No capability for reporting project status
• No reflection of the interrelationships between tasks

Even with these disadvantages, Milestone Schedules can and should be used by all
project managers on small projects or for isolated sub-projects within larger jobs.

Bar Chart Scheduling

The bar chart is also simple to prepare and use and is probably the most popular
scheduling method. It consists simply of a gridded sheet with the tasks listed down the
left side against a time scale along the horizontal axis. Horizontal bars indicate the
planned start and finish dates of each task. The length of the bar is proportional to the
duration of the task.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 week ending March April May
Task: Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

1 Conduct historical research

2 Obtain existing old drawings and photographs
3 Prepare structural evaluation
4 Determine construction materials and methods
5 Identify and evaluate major and minor defects
6 Prepare measured drawings
7 Prepare photographic documentation
8 Conduct adjacent building and property condition survey
9 Assess utilities both on- and off-site

Bar Charts are used on every size and shape of project imaginable. Bar Chart Scheduling
is, by far, the most commonly used method of preparing and documenting schedules that
exists. This is for good reason since Bar Charts offer a number of significant advantages:

• An easily and commonly understood graphic representation

• Ease and low cost of preparation and change
• The display of both starting and completion dates for tasks
• Appropriate for all but the largest and most complex projects
• The availability of many computer-based programs to prepare Bar Chart
schedules
• The ability to prepare them manually on simple graph paper if necessary

Despite these many advantages and their obvious popularity, Bar Charts don’t do
everything. Bar Charts fail to:

• Show the interrelationships between tasks

• Prioritize the tasks in any way
• Assist the project manager by identifying which tasks are critical to reaching the
end date

Because of their distinct advantages, you should plan on using Bar Chart Scheduling to
plan and document the majority of your projects.

Critical Path Scheduling

Large, complex projects on which many people are working over a long period of time
call for a more sophisticated method of scheduling. Since these projects are made up of
so many smaller tasks, all of which contribute to the overall completion of the job, it’s
vital that the project manager know how the various tasks are dependent upon one
another and which tasks have top priority for completion.

Critical Path scheduling identifies those tasks within a project which have a direct effect
on the final deadline. Stated another way, the critical path is the shortest possible “path”
through the project. If any of the tasks on the critical path go over their allotted time, the

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
deadline for the project will be missed. With this knowledge the project manager can
exercise a level of control and judgment over a project which is simply unavailable with
other scheduling methods.

Critical Path Method (CPM) allows in-depth project schedule analysis for managing
large, complex projects. It has the graphic clarity of the Bar Chart method plus the
additional benefit of defining and showing task interdependencies and priorities.

While CPM is the most thorough and accurate scheduling system, it’s also complex to
understand and prepare. Even with computer-based scheduling software, a project
manager must have a thorough understanding of the method to make the best use of it.

CPM offers the advantages of:

• Clearly identifying the relationships between tasks
• Identifying those tasks which influence project deadlines
• Providing a high level of project control for the sophisticated project manager

The disadvantages of using CPM are:

• The high cost and effort of preparation
• The need for regular schedule maintenance and updating to be of continuing use
• The difficulty in understanding the charts and communicating to the rest of the
team

Preparing a CPM Schedule

The first step in the preparation of a Critical Path Schedule is perhaps the most difficult.
It is to establish the relationship that exists between each of the tasks. Fortunately, there
are only three possible types of relationships between the tasks on any project. The three
possible relationships between any two tasks are:

1. Task A must be completed before Task B can begin.

2. Task A must be at least partially completed before Task B can begin.

3. Task A must be entirely completed before Task B can be completed.

These relationships are graphically represented like this:

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 A B

A
B

When all the relationships between each pair of tasks on the project have been
determined, a “task interface diagram” graphically illustrates these various task
relationships.

Historical
Research

Old Dwgs
&
Photos

Measured
Drawings
Structural
Evaluation

Photo
Materials Docum'n
& Identify
Methods Defects

Adjacent
Prop. Surv.

Utility
Assessment

Notice how, in at least one case, two tasks have both the Type 1 and Type 2 relationships.
This is not uncommon. A high-profile example would be the traditional tasks of Design
Development and Working Drawings. In this case, Working Drawings can’t begin until
Design Development is at least partly underway. Nor can Working Drawings be complete
until Design Development is 100% finished.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
When you have determined how each is task is related to all the other, the next step in the
process is to determine the duration of each task. In the budgeting process discussed in
Volume 2, Section 4, you learned to develop a duration chart that identified the number
of hours required to complete a task. It’s unlikely those hours would be put in all at once.
It’s more likely they would be spread out over a period of time. When preparing a Bar
Chart or Critical Path Schedule, you must estimate the length of time over which those
hours will be expended.

Type 1 Relationship

Task A = Programming Research (3 calendar days)

Task B = Programming (4 calendar days)

Task A Task B
Program Program-
Research ming

Task A - Program Research

Task B - Programming

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Type 2 Relationship

Task A = Contract Documents (8 weeks)

Task B = Fast-Track Construction (20 weeks)

Task A
Contract
Documents

Task B
Fast-Track
Construction

Task A - Contract Documents

Task B - Fast-Track Construction

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

Type 3 Relationship

Task A = Schematic Design (4 weeks)

Task B = Contract Documents (7 weeks)

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Task A
Schematic
Design

Task B
Contract
Documents
Task A - Schematic Design

Task B - Contract Documents

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Notice how, in the Type 2 and Type 3 examples, there is more time in the first and last
tasks respectively, that can be completed either before or after the second task comes
onto the critical path. This is known as “float” and represents the areas where a project
manager has flexibility to shift his or her own time or that of the staff members working
on the project. As is evident from the diagrams, these “non-critical” tasks which are off
the critical path can only be delayed for so long before they would affect the deadline.

Step three is to combine the task-based precedence diagram with the time-based duration
chart. This results in a bar chart-looking diagram, on which are superimposed the
relationship arrows of the precedence diagram.
week ending March April May
Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

1 Conduct historical research

2 Obtain existing old drawings and photographs

3 Prepare structural evaluation

4 Determine construction materials and methods

5 Identify and evaluate major and minor defects

6 Prepare measured drawings

7 Prepare photographic documentation

8 Adjacent building and property survey

9 Assess utilities both on- and off-site

The final step is to determine those tasks which are “critical”. Critical tasks are those
which will affect the duration of the overall project if there is any delay in their
completion.

For smaller projects, this task can be done visually from the time-based precedence
diagram. For larger, more complex projects it will be necessary to tabulate each task,
detailing its start date, duration, finish date and float time. For very large projects, the
manual determination of critical path becomes almost impossible manually and demands
the use of a computer-based scheduling system.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 week ending March April May
Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

1 Conduct historical research

2 Obtain existing old drawings and photographs

3 Prepare structural evaluation

4 Determine construction materials and methods

5 Identify and evaluate major and minor defects

6 Prepare measured drawings

7 Prepare photographic documentation

8 Adjacent building and property survey

9 Assess utilities both on- and off-site

Common Mistakes in Project Scheduling

There are many pits into which project managers can fall as they assemble project
schedules. Here’s how to avoid the most common ones:

• Don’t forget to schedule time for the corrections and changes which always
follow any review

• Be sure to let the client know about their role in maintaining the schedule.

• Confirm that all the necessary ground-work has been completed before you
schedule tasks to begin.

• Never assume that all the staff you will need will always be available when you
need them

• Build in enough time for the not-so-obvious tasks like phone calls and meetings

• Assume that none of your deadlines will be met and develop contingency action
plans for the day your assumption comes true

Traits of a Good Schedule

A schedule is far more than just a chart pinned to a wall or submitted in a proposal. It's a
working tool, necessary for the successful completion of your project. The best schedules
will always:

1. Simplify the process and allow everyone on your team to understand what’s going
on. The simple schedule will also be easy to change and update.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 2. Unite and motivate the team because it has been developed in cooperation and
with the commitment of everyone.

3. Help you understand how the tasks are interrelated.

4. Anticipate the worst by building in slippage, forcing early deadlines, and including
time for non-technical tasks like Project Management.

Work plan element # 5. Organization chart

Any time your project is to be accomplished by more than one person you need to
determine how the effort is to be divided up amongst the team members. Of course, there
is never a time when a project is done by a single individual since every project involves
at least one design professional and one client.

The organization chart must address two major questions:

1. Who is responsible for each area of work to be accomplished

2. How will communication take place between the various team components

The traditional organization chart is a mainstay of the profession. It has been seen in
virtually every proposal that has ever been submitted and might look similar to this:

Client

Principal
in
Charge
Project
Manager

Lead Support
Designer Staff

Mechanical Structural Electrical

Engineer Engineer Engineer

Characteristic of this type of organization chart is the boxes with names and titles and the
“chain of command” which runs up to top. While the names in the boxes might change,
the chart remains virtually identical from project to project.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Unfortunately, while charts like this may show who is responsible for a certain part of the
work, they do little or nothing to explain how you intend to “organize” to get the work
done. While the example chart is generic, it is not unlike many that appear in projects all
the time. Taken at face value, this chart says the engineers only ever speak and report to
the lead designer, who passes their information on to the project manager who speaks to
the client. The engineers never have an opportunity to meet with the client. Of course,
this doesn’t ever (or, at least, should never) happen. Communications and meetings take
place between every level of the project.

Nor does this organization chart reflect any unique aspects of the project. For example,
there is a great deal of difference between how a firm should organize to accomplish a
traditional design-bid-build project versus a fast-track or design/build project. Yet the
organization charts for each of these jobs more often than not looks the same.

When preparing your work plan, augment the traditional organization chart with
annotations that refer to how communications will take place. If the project warrants,
include some notes regarding how special circumstances will be dealt with. The
traditional organization chart should perhaps more correctly be called a Responsibility
Chart. To that you should add some notes about how those who are responsible will
actually organize and communicate amongst themselves to get the work done.

One firm, working on a very large project, decided to prepare a “Management

Organization Chart” which identified not only the various responsible parties, but how
their tasks would evolve through the life of the project. This chart illustrates the flow of
activities through the course of the project and identifies the team player or players who
carry responsibility for each activity. Key submittal points are also shown as well as “red
flag” points, where projects can often become bogged down.

By identifying key tasks and the team members who had key responsibility for each of
those tasks, the chart, while complex, painted a clear picture of how the project would be
completed.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
 Red Flag
Issues

Schematic Early Preliminary Design 80% 90% 100%

Design Site Design Design Development Completion Completion Completion
Submittals Submittal Package Submittal Submittal Submittal Submittal Submittal

Scope
Definition

Team
Kickoff
Meeting

Design Site Produc- Produc- 80% 90% 100%

Work- Design tion tion Complete Complete Complete
shop

Building
Geo- Design Quality Quality Continual
&
technical Develop- Control Control Bidding Site
Systems
Invest'gn ment Review Review Review
Design

Utility Permit Beer &

Coord'n Applica- Pizza
tion Party!

Progress
Meetings with
Project Manager

PROJECT TEAM CLIENT Quality Control

Project Manager Contractor
A/E Team Other 3rd Parties
Review Agencies

Work plan element # 6. Budget

Volume 2 of this Manual is almost entirely focused on preparing your project budget.
Obviously this is a vital component of your work plan. The budget identifies the costs
associated with each task of the project and develops a total cost and fee to be charged to
the client.

In your work plan, the budget must recognize and allocate for each of the budget
components which are:

1. Direct labour
2. Overheads
3. Other direct costs
4. Contingency
5. Profit

It is never enough to simply calculate a total fee which you will charge to the client for
the work. It is vitally important that your budgeting process identify the breakdown of
costs for all the tasks and responsibilities throughout the project. Only then can you
properly manage the job once it’s underway.

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Mastering the Business of Architecture,(2004), Stone, D., Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto.
Throughout Volume 2, and particularly in Sections 5 & 6, you are encouraged to use as
many budgeting methods as possible to determine both the project costs and your overall
fee. Using a single budgeting method will give you a budget number. But only when your
number has been confirmed by numerous other methods can you feel comfortable in
quoting that fee to the client and working to ensure your profit on the job.

In the end, your work plan must break the project budget down into its various
components in the Bottom-Up Budgeting format shown in Volume 2, Section 5. This will
then be used as the basis of your project progress tracking which is discussed in Volume
3A, Section 3.

Work plan element # 7. Quality management plan

Every client has a different set of project expectations. Likewise, every project calls for a
particular level of quality and attention to detail. While design professionals seem
genetically programmed to be perfectionists, not all clients are willing to pay for absolute
top quality. Because many project managers fail to address the issue of quality at the
earliest stages of the project, many jobs either fail to meet client expectations or, more
commonly, “over-shoot the runway” and provide quality standards which are far in
excess of what the client needed, wanted or was willing to pay for.

Your quality management plan is simply an opportunity, before the project begins, to
clearly define with the client and the entire team, the standards of quality which are
expected on the project. Obviously these are tied directly to the construction budget when
dealing with the selection of materials and methods.

Perhaps less obvious are the implications for your process. Do the quality standards on
this project call for two design alternatives from which the client may choose or should
you just keep working until the design is “perfect?” Do the quality standards demand that
every detail be designed from scratch, or does the budget only allow for the reuse of
standard details?

Questions like these show clearly that “less-than-perfect” quality does not equate with
shoddy work on your part. It simply relates to the process you will use and the amount
your client is willing to invest in the design component of the project.

Your quality management plan should document the client expectations and the process
you plan to use to achieve them. This will let the entire team and the client work from the
same understanding so mistakes of “too little” or “too much” aren’t made during the
project.

Work plan element # 8. Client management plan

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Consider this list of potential clients:

• A building committee at a church

• An individual home owner
• The Public Utility Director in a small community
• The Board of Directors of a large Corporation
• A big Department within the Federal Government.

Every client and every client organization, large or small, is unique. As individuals, each
has his or her own personality, preferences and pet peeves. As organizations, they all
have ways in which “things get done around here.”

In order to have a successful project and, perhaps more importantly, a successful ongoing
relationship with that client, you must understand and accommodate these personal
preferences.

A true story:

An architect once had a small medical practice as a client. The doctor who was the
architect’s main contact was a person who was very detail-oriented. He never seemed to
have enough data from which he could make a decision. Meetings with this client would
last for hours and cover excruciating detail on every aspect of the project. However,
decisions were very difficult to come by.

For his part, the architect was a very flamboyant character who would make decisions on
the least amount of evidence and rush off to make progress on the project. He would
return to his office after a meeting with the client and dive into the work and push it into
fast-forward. Then, a week later, the client would call wanting to discuss the detail a little
more because, in his mind, no decisions had been made.

The two managed to tolerate each other for a period of time, but eventually the
relationship was ended. The architect lost the client because he failed to learn how to
properly “manage” that person.

Your client management plan must address the particular needs and preferences of both
the individuals with whom you will be dealing and the organization within which they
work. If it is a public agency, it probably has a very specific process for review and
approval. If you don’t understand that process, your project and your relationship will run
into trouble. If the client is a particular personality type, recognize it and address how
you plan to deal with it.

Your client management plan must document these issues and, if you are working with
an extended team, make the needs clear to them as well. It needn’t be long and involved,
simply enough to identify key preferences, processes and “taboos.”

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Your work plan

While it may seem that preparation of the work plan takes more effort than the project,
this is decidedly not the case. As discussed at the beginning of this section, the time and
effort you put into it should be proportional to the size and complexity of the project. A
small project may call only for a simple schedule, a budget and a few notes on a page
addressing the other issues. A large, lengthy job will certainly call for you to spend a few
days and even several weeks assembling your work plan.

Your clients have learned that it’s worthwhile to invest in your planning services before
beginning their jobs. Learn from them and invest in your own planning effort before you
start the next project.

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Volume 3A Section 3 - Tracking projects

The Challenge of Project Tracking

You’ve now invested a tremendous effort in selling your client on the project and
convincing them to retain your firm instead of someone else. You spent hours calculating
a fair fee which also promised to provide you with a decent profit. Then you worked
especially hard to convince the client to accept the fee you had calculated. Once the deal
was signed, you prepared a thorough work plan that included all the essential elements.
Now it’s finally time to get on with the work.

All this planning and preparation won’t be of much use if you have no means of tracking
the progress and status of the job along the way. In the same way that you want a road
map to check your progress on a trip, you will need a means of monitoring the
progression of the project.

Many, but by no means all firms make use of automated accounting and job tracking
software. These systems tend to be powerful and sophisticated and can be enormously
useful. The problem with many of the systems in place is two-fold. First, for many firms,
they are too powerful and too sophisticated. The variety of reports that are available and
the countless ways in which data can be manipulated bring confusion rather than
simplicity. Second, the firms, and particularly the project managers who use them rarely
take the time to learn the systems well enough to understand the options they offer.

There is another, perhaps even more damaging flaw in the overall system used by many
firms which has nothing to do with the software. The weak link lies in the project
manager’s ability to accurately report percentage completion. In most firms, project
managers simply don’t bother to report the estimated percentage completion of their
projects on a regular basis. Without this vital number, the reports produced by your
expensive system are meaningless. While they will certainly tell you how many hours
and dollars you may have spent on the project, without the percentage completion
estimate, they have no way of telling you whether you are ahead, behind or right where
you should be.

This is an enormous problem in project management practice. It’s rather like having a
bank book that tells you how much money you’ve spent, but doesn’t tell you how much
is left in the bank. The one piece of information is useless without the other.

The reason many project managers don’t report percentage completion is they don’t
know how. When they try, most use one of two methods:

1. They will try the “throw-the-dart-at-the-wall” method which simply involves

guessing. This usually works until the project nears completion. Then it runs into the

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“95% and hanging there forever” syndrome. The project manager reports 95%
completion, then spends another two weeks working on the project only to report again
that the job is 95% complete.

2. The second method might be called the “How much have I spent?” method. In
this case, the project manager knows he or she has spent, for instance, $5,500 from a
$10,000 budget and therefore assumes the job is 55% complete. This method usually has
a rude awakening when the budget is entirely consumed but there is still a lot of work to
be done.

There is no doubt that estimating percentage completion on an entire project is difficult.

There are many tasks being worked on simultaneously and the overall progress of the job
can be more of a gut feel than an accurate calculation.

There are, however, methods of accurately assessing percentage complete which, when
combined with a simple but accurate accounting system, will provide you with all the
data and information you require to accurately track the status of both the schedule and
the budget of your job from start to finish. One of these methods is known as the Earned-
Value Methods of project monitoring.

Earned-Value Monitoring Method

As the name implies, this method applies a value to the work you are doing and then
monitors the amount of the value you have “earned” as you complete the work. This
system was originally developed by the U.S. military for tracking their projects and is
now used by construction companies and design professionals throughout the profession.

Don’t let the fact that it was developed by the military and is used by contractors make
you think it is a complicated system. It probably requires less time and provides more
accurate results than any other method available. It’s only requirement is good project
planning, nearly all of which you will have done by now.

The primary requirements of the Earned Value Method are:

1. A good Work Breakdown Structure and Task List

(Volume 1A, Section 5 & Volume 2, Sections 1 & 2)
2. A Bar Chart schedule (Volume 3A, Section 2)
3. A project budget expressed in Bottom-Up format (Volume 2, Section 5)

With these in hand the effort involves five easy steps:

1. Prepare an Expenditure Forecast

2. Estimate the progress for each task and compute overall progress
3. Check the actual project costs to date
4. Determine the status of the schedule

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5. Determine the status of the budget

Using the example project which has illustrated many of the concepts in this manual so
far, see how the tracking is prepared and accomplished.

NOTE: In the example shown here, the budget figures include the cost of labour
only and do not include overhead or profit. If your firm allows project managers to know
raw labour rates and costs, this method is preferable since there is a direct correlation
between the time sheets and the work completed. However, many firms consider labour
rates to be confidential and do not share them with project managers. If this is your case,
the Earned Value method works just as well using gross Billing Rates.

If you are using labour amounts for your calculations, you are actually tracking project
costs. If you are using billing amounts, you will be tracking earnings. Either system
works, just make sure you are consistent.

Step 1:Preparing an Expenditure Forecast

Task list and task budgets

In the project planning effort, you prepared a Work Breakdown Structure, a Task List,
Schedule and a Budget. These items are now brought together for your tracking effort.

The Work Breakdown Structure and Task List developed the following list of project
items to be completed. (Volume 2, Section 1)

T a s k : S t udy t he bui l di ng
Subt asks
Conduct hi st or i cal r esear ch
Obt ai n ex i st i ng ol d dr aw i ngs and phot ogr aphs
Pr epar e st r uct ur al ev al uat i on
Det er mi ne const r uct i on mat er i al s and met hods
Ident i f y and ev al uat e maj or and mi nor def ect s
Pr epar e measur ed dr aw i ngs
Pr epar e phot ogr aphi c document at i on
Conduct adj acent bui l di ng and pr oper t y condi t i on sur v ey
A ssess ut i l i t i es bot h on- and of f - si t e

For each task on the list, a budget of both hours and dollars was prepared. (Volume 2,
Sections 4 &5)

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Task: Study the building Who Hours Rate Who Hours Rate Extend
Subtasks
Conduct historical research DTM 8.5 $ 45 $ 383
Obtain existing old drawings and photographs DTM 5.5 $ 45 $ 248
Prepare structural evaluation TON 8 $ 75 REV 4 $ 35 $ 740
Determine construction materials and methods TON 5 $ 75 REV 4 $ 35 $ 515
Identify and evaluate major and minor defects TDN 4 $ 75 $ 300
Prepare measured drawings LMW 16 $ 65 BNG 24 $ 45 $ 2,120
Prepare photographic documentation LMW 10 $ 65 $ 650
Conduct adjacent building and property condition survey TON 4.5 $ 75 $ 338
Assess utilities both on- and off-site LMW 6 $ 65 REV 3.5 $ 35 $ 513

TOTAL $ 5,805

The Bar Chart Schedule for these tasks looked like this: (Volume 3A, Section 2)

week ending March April May

Task: Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

1 Conduct historical research

2 Obtain existing old drawings and photographs
3 Prepare structural evaluation
4 Determine construction materials and methods
5 Identify and evaluate major and minor defects
6 Prepare measured drawings
7 Prepare photographic documentation
8 Conduct adjacent building and property condition survey
9 Assess utilities both on- and off-site

It’s important to note that the budget for the project identified the number of hours to be
spent on each task. The schedule, on the other hand, indicates the period of time over
which these hours will be expended. Just because a task is budgeted to take eight hours,
does not mean it will be accomplished in one day. More often than not, that time will be
spread out over a longer duration

From the schedule, the duration for each of the tasks is as follows:

Study the Building

Conduct historical research 2 weeks
Obtain existing old drawings and photographs 3 weeks
Prepare structural evaluation 2 weeks
Determine construction materials and methods 1 week
Identify and evaluate major and minor defects 2 weeks
Prepare measured drawings 3 weeks
Prepare photographic documentation 2 weeks
Conduct adjacent building and property condition survey 1 week
Assess utilities both on- and off-site 2 weeks

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This allows you to bring all three elements of your plan -- scope, schedule and budget --
together in one chart.

Task Name Task Budget Task Duration

Conduct historical research $ 383 2 weeks
Old drawings and photographs $ 248 3 weeks
Prepare structural evaluation $ 740 2 weeks
Materials and methods $ 515 1 week
Major and minor defects $ 300 2 weeks
Prepare measured drawings $ 2,120 3 weeks
Photographic documentation $ 650 2 weeks
Adjacent building & property survey $ 338 1 week
Assess utilities both on- and off-site $ 513 2 weeks

$ 5,805

As stated above, the “Earned Value” concept is based on the fact that each task is
assigned a “value” equivalent to the budget of that task. When the task is complete, the
firm will have “earned” the amount which is the budget of the task. Each task is predicted
to be completed over a period of time and the value of the task will be earned over the
duration of the task.

For example, the task of “Identify and evaluate major and minor defects” has a value of
$300 and is scheduled for a duration of two weeks. Therefore, you can assume the budget
will be used up at a rate of $150 per week. Each of the other tasks, budgets and durations
can be combined in the same manner. In fact, the “bars” of the Bar Chart can be replaced
with the amounts that ought to be “earned” in each time period like this:

week ending March April May

Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

Conduct historical research $192 $192

Old drawings and photographs $83 $83 $83
Prepare structural evaluation $370 $370
Materials and methods $515
Major and minor defects $150 $150
Prepare measured drawings $707 $707 $707
Photographic documentation $325 $325
Adjacent building & property survey $338
Assess utilities both on- and off-site $257 $257

From this chart, it’s easy to see that certain weeks will have a high level of activity while
others will be fairly slow on this project. Likewise, the amounts scheduled to be “earned”
vary by week.

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Using the same chart, you can easily determine the amount to be “earned” each week like
this:

week ending March April May

Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

Conduct historical research $192 $192

Old drawings and photographs $83 $83 $83
Prepare structural evaluation $370 $370
Materials and methods $515
Major and minor defects $150 $150
Prepare measured drawings $707 $707 $707
Photographic documentation $325 $325
Adjacent building & property survey $338
Assess utilities both on- and off-site $257 $257

Total Weekly Value Earned $192 $645 $968 $233 $150 $1,302 $964 $1,032 $325

Finally, you can calculate the cumulative amounts predicted to be “earned” as the project
is scheduled to progress.

week ending March April May

Study the Building 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14

Conduct historical research $192 $192

Old drawings and photographs $83 $83 $83
Prepare structural evaluation $370 $370
Materials and methods $515
Major and minor defects $150 $150
Prepare measured drawings $707 $707 $707
Photographic documentation $325 $325
Adjacent building & property survey $338
Assess utilities both on- and off-site $257 $257

Total Weekly Value Earned $192 $645 $968 $233 $150 $1,302 $964 $1,032 $325

Cummulative Earnings $192 $837 $1,805 $2,038 $2,188 $3,490 $4,454 $5,486 $5,811

Projected Expenditure Curve

Using this projected cumulative “earnings” or “cost” data depending on whether you are
tracking labour or billing amounts, you will then prepare a graph which plots the
cumulative earned amount over the life of the project. This curve plots the course of your
“earnings” or “expenditures” (depending on whether you are using billing rates or labour
rates) if everything on the project goes according to plan.

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 Projected

$6,000

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0

7-May
2-Apr

9-Apr

14-May
12-Mar

19-Mar

26-Mar

16-Apr

23-Apr

30-Apr
Projected

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Step 2:Determining Project Status

Schedule Status

After all this planning and preparation, your work on the project has actually begun. By
yourself, or with your team you work through the first time period of the project. You fill
out and submit your timesheets and the data is entered into the system. Now it’s time to
check on the status of the project.

The key to any method of project tracking is to compare the work which has actually
been accomplished against the length of time and amount of money it has taken to
accomplish it. Most systems, however, ask the project manager to estimate the percentage
completion of the overall project. Even on relatively small projects, this is a challenge.
With so many individual tasks, many of which are ongoing simultaneously, it is almost
impossible to look at the overall project and accurately determine the percentage
complete.

The Earned Value Method asks you only to estimate the percentage completion of
individual tasks. For example, the case study project -- which itself is only a small
portion of a larger project -- is made up of nine tasks. While the overall project of “Study
the Building” is fairly straightforward, there are still many components which have to be
considered in an estimate of completion. Any estimate would be, at best, a good guess.
You need a higher level of accuracy than that.

It is far easier to estimate the level of completion of each task. For example, the first task
of “Conduct historical research” is estimated to take two weeks. If you were the one
doing the work, any point during that period you could make a reasonably accurate
estimate of your progress without too much effort. The task is simply small enough and
sufficiently contained that an accurate estimate is readily prepared. The same is true for
any of the other eight tasks which make up the project.

Study the Building

Conduct historical research
Obtain existing old drawings and photographs
Prepare structural evaluation
Determine construction materials and method
Identify and evaluate major and minor defects
Prepare measured drawings
Prepare photographic documentation
Conduct adjacent building and property condition survey
Assess utilities both on- and off-site

If the project manager is working with a larger team, he or she, along with the person
delegated to do the task will prepare the estimate. If, as is often the case, the project
manager is the team, he or she prepares the estimates alone.

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Your estimate will have nothing to do with the amount of money that has been spent or
the number of hours that have been logged. It will be solely based on looking at the task
to be done and assessing:

• The work which has actually been accomplished to date

• The quality of that work
• Any revisions which may have to be done due to poor quality or mistakes
• The amount of work left to be accomplished in the task
• The progress of deliverables toward a milestone

Your estimate need not be any more accurate than within plus or minus ten percent. In
fact, you should not try to be accurate within one or even five percent. If the tasks have
been sufficiently divided to be small enough, the effect of plus or minus ten percent will
have very little effect on the accuracy of your estimate for the overall project.

At the end of the first week of work, the project manager reviews the work and discovers
that:

• Task 1 got a late start because a staff member was ill. Although it was scheduled
to be 50% complete at this time, only about 30% of the work was done.
• Tasks 2 and 3, although not scheduled to begin until the second week, actually
made some progress
• Task 9 had some work done because a staff member happened to be at the Public
Works office on another matter and was able to collect utility drawings for the site.
• No other tasks were started.

The estimate of completion might look like this:

Status of work actually completed at the end of Week 1

Study the Building Task Budget % Complete Value Earned

Conduct historical research $384 30% $115

Old drawings and photographs $249 10% $25
Prepare structural evaluation $740 10% $74
Materials and methods $515 0% $0
Major and minor defects $300 0% $0
Prepare measured drawings $2,121 0% $0
Photographic documentation $650 0% $0
Adjacent building & property survey $338 0% $0
Assess utilities both on- and off-site $514 10% $51

Total Value Earned $5,811 $266

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By multiplying the task budget by the % Complete for that task, you determine the
amount you have “earned” to date on the task. By totaling the earned value of the tasks,
you can determine the total value you have earned on the entire project.

Interestingly, the total value earned, divided by the total project budget determines
overall percentage complete of the entire project. At this point, the project is:

$266 ÷ $5,811 = 5% complete

If you plot the value of the work you have actually completed against the Projected
Expenditure Curve, the result looks like this:

$2,000
$1,800
$1,600
$1,400
$1,200
$1,000
$800
$600
$400
$200
$0
12-Mar 19-Mar 26-Mar 2-Apr

Projected Earned

Notice how, as of the 19th of March, the actual value earned is higher than the projected.

What does this indicate?

At this point in the project, you and your team have done work which is worth $266. You
weren’t projected to have completed that value of work until some time into the next
week. So, as of the 19th of March, your project is about a half a day ahead of schedule.

A closer look at the graph shows that the horizontal distance (the time scale) between the
value of the actual work done and the projected curve, is the amount of time you are
ahead of or behind schedule.

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 $900

$800

$700

$600

$500

$400

$300

$200

$100

$0
12-Mar 19-Mar 26-Mar

Budget Status

Although any project manager will take delight in being ahead of schedule, it’s no good
being ahead of schedule if the budget is out of control. The next step is to look at the
status of the budget.

Although the estimate of percentage completion said the actual work completed at this
time is worth $266, you must determine how much it actually cost the firm to produce
this work.

In most firms, the frequency of time sheet submittal is every two weeks. More
progressive firms submit timesheets weekly and some have initiated daily submittals.
Obviously, the more lag there is between spending the time and receiving the report of
the time, the greater is the chance of error and overspending.

On larger projects lasting many months, there is probably little need to update the status
of your project any more than every two weeks. On small projects, which are started and
completed in a few days or weeks, the entire budget can be spent twice over before the
first financial report is available.

On small jobs, project managers must take responsibility for monitoring the expenditures
on a frequent enough basis to accurately track spending. Some ask their team members to
submit their timesheets to the project manager daily. This way, they can keep a simple
chart or spreadsheet of the expenditures on the project. Whatever system you need to put
in place or modify to provide accurate and timely information, is worth the effort for the
success of your project.

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In the case study project here, the project manager, or the Accounting Department must
determine the total amount spent on the project to date. The amount does not have to be
broken down into phases and it does not matter on which task the money was spent. All
that is required is the total amount spent to date. Remember, however, to remain
consistent. If you are tracking labour, determine the total labour cost to date. If you are
tracking earnings, determine the total billing rate amount to date.

Let’s say the project manager determines the total spent to date on the project is $365.

When added to the graph, the result would look like:

$2,500

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000

$500

$0
12-Mar 19-Mar 26-Mar 2-Apr 9-Apr

Projected Earned Actual

A simple glance at this graph shows that, as of the 19th of March, the value of work
actually completed is $266, but it has cost the firm $365 to do that work. This indicates
the project is $99 over budget.

A closer look at the graph reveals that the vertical distance (the dollar scale) between the
value of the actual work done and the actual cost to do that work is the amount by which
the project is currently over or under budget.

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 $900

$800

$700

$600

$500

$400

$300

$200

$100

$0
12-Mar 19-Mar 26-Mar

So What?

A project which is a half day ahead of schedule and $99 over budget will hardly make
headlines.

But managing a project is much like driving a car. As you drive down the road you are
always looking ahead, watching for problems and making tiny corrections through the
steering wheel, the gas pedal or the brakes. These tiny corrections, constantly made, keep
you from finding yourself in a terrible skid, sliding sideways down the road at 60 miles
per hour. Once you are in the skid, there is very little that anyone can do to help you.

Knowing that the project is $100 over budget one week into the job, any project manager
worth their corner office can make a tiny correction which will bring the budget back in
line. But, a project manager who discovers the job is thousands of dollars over budget
and weeks behind schedule with only a few days left to finish is like the driver who looks
up and sees a tree or bridge abutment 10 feet in front of the car. There is nothing anyone
can do to help you.

Using the Earned Value Method, you can easily monitor the status of both your schedule
and your budget. With this information you can then make frequent, minor course
corrections to keep your project on track.

Let’s look at the case study project after four weeks have gone by.

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At the end of the fourth week of work, the project manager reviews the work and
discovers that:

• Task 1 is still dragging. Although much initial work has been completed, the key
staff member has been tied up with another project.
• Tasks 2 and 3 are completely finished and the material is in the file.
• Task 4 has not yet been started.
• Task 5 was late starting, but is well underway now.
• Task 6 has been started using available information and is progressing well.
• The photographer had a cancellation and was able to get on to Task 7 early.
• Task 8 has not been started.
• Task 9 has progressed no further than before.

The estimate of completion might look like this:

Status of work actually completed at the end of Week 4

Study the Building Task Budget % Complete Value Earned

Conduct historical research $384 75% $288

Old drawings and photographs $249 100% $249
Prepare structural evaluation $740 100% $740
Materials and methods $515 100% $0
Major and minor defects $300 40% $120
Prepare measured drawings $2,121 20% $424
Photographic documentation $650 10% $65
Adjacent building & property survey $338 0% $0
Assess utilities both on- and off-site $514 10% $51

Total Value Earned $5,811 $1,938

Comparing the total value earned to the total project value, the overall percentage
complete can be seen to be:

$1,938 ÷ $5,811 = 33%

Plotting the value of the work you have actually completed against the Projected
Expenditure Curve, the result looks like this:

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 $3,500

$3,000

$2,500

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000

$500

$0
12- 19- 26- 2- 9- 16- 23-
Mar Mar Mar Apr Apr Apr Apr

Projected Earned

In contrast to the schedule status after the first report, the project has now fallen behind.
Where the actual value of work completed to date is $1,938, the plan called for $2,038
worth of work completed by now. A quick check of the horizontal distance between the
two lines indicates the project is behind by two or three days.

$2,500

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000

$500

$0
26-Mar 2-Apr 9-Apr 16-Apr

Again, a good project manager should be able to correct a situation like this without
breaking a sweat. And it’s much better to know you are two days behind schedule at the
half-way point of the project than to discover it with only a few days left to go.

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Checking the status of the budget, while work completed by the end of Week 4 is worth
$1,938, a quick check with the Accounting Department or the project manager’s own
notes determines that this work actually cost the firm $1,875.

Even without plotting the graph, it’s easy to see the project is a little under budget.

$2,500

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000

$500

$0
26-Mar 2-Apr 9-Apr 16-Apr

Using this simple system, a project manager can keep close tabs on the schedule and
budget status of any project. It is not time consuming and provides accurate updates upon
which he or she can act.

As the job moves along, regular percentage completion estimates keep the project
manager informed of the schedule status. A close watch on the expenditures of the
project allow you to determine the budget status of the work. In its simplest form, the
project manager’s job is to keep the three lines of the graph as close together as possible
until the project is complete. Should the schedule or budget line start to wander at all,
your job is to find out what is causing the deviation and take action to bring it back in
line.

It’s highly unlikely that you will ever have a status update in which your project’s
progress is exactly on the projected path. It will always be a little ahead or a little behind.
You can easily control these variations with the minor “course corrections” discussed
above. Only if your project suffers a major deviation from the projected curve will it be
necessary for you to take drastic corrective action.

In the following Section you will learn how to recognize an out-of-control project and the
corrective actions that are available for you to take.

Dollars, Not Hours

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Many firms and project managers track their jobs in terms of the hours spent on a project.
They will budget 100 hours for a particular task and then monitor the time spent to see if
they are over or under budget.

In contrast, you will by now have noticed that there has been no mention of the number
of hours spent in the entire discussion of the Earned Value Method.

One of the realities of Project Management is the fact that, unless you are a one-person
operation, you can never be sure from day to day, who is going to be available to work on
your job. Sometimes you get the staff member you want, other times you get any warm
body that might be available. In any firm with more than two people, there are wide
variations in the labour cost, billing rates and productivity of staff members.

When you budget one hour for a particular task, you assume a consistent productivity no
matter who does the job. While Mr. Jones might be able to get the job done properly, Ms.
Smith, who charges out at $20 per hour more, may be able to do it in half the time.
Comparing the hours spent by these people on the same task is useless because one
person’s hour is almost never equal to another person’s hour.

A dollar, on the other hand, will always be equal to another dollar regardless of who
spends it. Since the hours are all eventually converted to dollars, why not take advantage
of the dependable accuracy and track schedule and budget in relation to dollars?

Your client pays you in dollars. You and your staff prefer paychecks made out in dollars.
This is a reliable, consistent method of measuring value and progress and it doesn’t lie
about productivity.

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Volume 3A Section 4 - Keeping Your Project on Track

Recognizing an out-of-control project

A project is a living, breathing thing whose state of health is constantly changing. As a

project manager, your job is to monitor the health of this beast until it is completed and
out of your hands. Like a good nurse, you must learn to recognize the symptoms of an
ailing project and be adept at the therapy which will bring your patient back to good
health.

In the previous section, you learned how to use the Earned Value Method of project
tracking. You will use this method to monitor the schedule and budget status of your
project. In this Section you will learn more about that system and how to watch for signs
of trouble.

Your schedule and budget, however, aren’t the only vital signs you must monitor. A good
project manager has an instinctive “gut feel” for the status of a project including the
mood of the client and the extended team as well as a keen eye for the threats which can
derail your project from out of the blue.

The most dangerous condition for a project manager is to be paralyzed in a state of

inaction when a project is going out of control. Signs that a project is or is heading out of
control include:

• When you feel powerless to control the project. Has the project taken on a life of its
own? Are things happening (either positive or negative) without or in spite of your input?

• When you have a feeling of "who knows where this is going to end?" Has the project
schedule become a mere dream? Are scope items being added at rate faster than you can
even write them down?

• When cost overruns are large and/or unexpected. Were you surprised by the budget
status of the project? Were there expenditures or significant time inputs about which you
didn’t know?

• When deadlines are constantly being missed. Does it seem like you just can’t get
caught up no matter how much overtime you put in? Are other people establishing
deadlines which you don’t feel are realistic?

• When you feel the original plan was unrealistic and a new plan has not been
formulated. Are you so busy fighting fires that you don’t have time to fall back and plan
your strategy?

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• When the client or other team members are informing you of problems on the project
of which you were unaware. Do you feel like “project manager” means “last one to know
anything?”

If you are suffering any of these symptoms, it’s likely your project is out of control.

The graphs you generate in the Earned Value Method can also indicate trouble.

$6,000

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0

7-May
2-Apr

9-Apr

14-May
12-Mar

19-Mar

26-Mar

16-Apr

23-Apr

30-Apr

Projected Earned

This is a classic example of a project to which a scope item has been added without any
adjustment to the schedule or budget. The project was progressing smoothly until it
suddenly fell behind by almost a week. After that, it resumed regular and steady progress,
but never managed to get caught up.

$6,000

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0
7-May
2-Apr

9-Apr

14-May
12-Mar

19-Mar

26-Mar

16-Apr

23-Apr

30-Apr

Projected Earned

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This project manager, on the other hand, has completely forgotten about an important
scope item worth about $800. The project will finish up ahead of schedule, only to
discover the mistake after the budget has been consumed. Notice how the initial gain is
gradually being diminished by an over-confident team.

$6,000

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0

7-May
2-Apr

9-Apr

14-May
12-Mar

19-Mar

26-Mar

16-Apr

23-Apr

30-Apr

Projected Earned Actual

The project manager on this job is very happy about his job being right on schedule and
yet significantly under budget. Unfortunately, the sudden budget drop followed by a
consistent difference between the lines probably indicates someone is simply charging
their time to the wrong project.

A project or individual task which comes in below budget or ahead of time is not always
good news. It may indicate time has been charged to the wrong job, or a large portion of
the scope has been missed. Avoid the temptation of looking at under-expenditure as a
resource to fund creeping scope on other tasks.

Working With Contingency

Some project managers are shrewd budgeters and know how to build a contingency
factor into their projects. With this “cushion” in place, they have a greater flexibility to
let the project get slightly behind schedule or over budget. There are times when you may
want to provide the client with an additional scope item “at no charge.” You can only do
this if you know it won’t threaten the overall success of the project.

If you have a contingency in price or schedule on the project, you can make use of a
Variance Curve to track your budget status. On this project, the project manager has a

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budget contingency of $750. The dotted line indicates the amount the project is over or
under budget at any point. As long as the budget overrun does not exceed the $750
contingency, the project manager knows she can still make the projected profit. However,
when the overrun threatens to or exceeds the contingency, action is required.

1250
1000
750
500
250
0
-250
-500

7-May
2-Apr

9-Apr
12-Mar

19-Mar

26-Mar

16-Apr

23-Apr

30-Apr
Keeping Your Project Out Of Trouble

Everyone knows the best way to get out of trouble is not to get into trouble in the first
place. For project managers, this translates into careful planning and vigilant anticipation.
Here are a few Project Management Rules to keep you out of trouble before it happens.

1. Careful planning helps you avoid trouble in the first place.

Take the time to build a thorough Work Plan. (Volume 3A, Section 2) Make sure all
eight elements have been considered and the entire project team (even if you are a one-
person operation, you work with others outside your firm) is informed of the plan.

2. Be skeptical.
Brainstorm with your team to anticipate as many potential problem areas as possible. List
the “David Letterman Top Ten Things That Are Likely To Go Wrong On This Job.” Too
many project managers have short memories and are surprised when a particular problem
“blindsides” them (for the fifth time). Many project problems are easy to anticipate: the
client will not get their answers to you on time; the permitting agency will take two
weeks longer than they estimated; the new-in-town subcontractor will not have the
quality of work you expected. These and many other problems are so common that you
should never enter a project without having planned for their inevitable occurrence.

3. Have contingency plans ready if any of your fears come true.

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There’s no sense in anticipating a problem without having an action plan for when the
problem arrives. If, for example, you think it possible that the permitting agency will be
late in approving your application you could plan to:

• Approach them prior to your submission to inquire about the fastest possible way
through the permitting process.
• Work with the permitting staff to provide the information in a format which
makes their work as easy and fast as possible.
• Split the permitting into packages which can be submitted in sequence so the
work can still progress even if the entire project has not been permitted.
• Schedule your work so you have other, non-permit related tasks to complete while
waiting for permit approval.

4. Rework your budget and schedule when you are awarded the project.
It’s likely you put together a budget and a schedule as part of your proposal process. It’s
also likely that aspects of the project changed during the negotiation and contract signing.
If you don’t rework the plan before you get started, you are working from an out-dated
plan and are headed for trouble.

5. Revisit and revise your project plan regularly.

As the job moves along, particularly if the project is large and lengthy, you should
periodically review the work plan and determine if it must be updated. Projects inevitably
have scope items added, suffer schedule setbacks or have initial assumptions proved
wrong. If you don’t update your plan to recognize these changes, the plan cannot
accomplish the goal of completing the project.

6. Conduct “post-mortems” on every project and incorporate the lessons in future

jobs.

Too many firms and project managers move from job to job without ever taking the time
to reflect on what did and what did not work on the previous one. Without that pause, the
same mistakes are made again and again. In addition, the other members of your firm
miss the opportunity to share in the lessons-learned from your previous projects. Don’t
make the mistake of the tree-cutter who was too busy chopping down trees to take a
moment to sharpen his axe.

7. Plan to make a profit on all phases of the job.

It’s always a mistake to rationalize a losing project by assuming you will make it up later.
It almost never happens. Likewise, if you make additional profit or get ahead in an early
part of the job, don’t use that as an excuse to fall behind down the road. Profits are hard
enough to come by without giving away those you do win.

8. Stay close to the client and your design team with constant and thorough
communication.

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There has never been a problem which has arisen on a project which could not have been
solved by or at least been lessened by improved communication. As projects sink deeper
and deeper into trouble, project managers are more and more reluctant to speak with
clients. Although it’s human nature to want to avoid confrontation, when trouble is
brewing is the time when you need to be communicating the most. Understand that you
and the client are on the same team, working toward the same goals. They don’t want the
project to go sour and they would rather spend time and energy helping get things back
on track than chewing you out.

And If Things Do Go Sour...

Sooner or later (and probably sooner) you will be working on a project that goes bad.
When that happens, it’s your responsibility to pull that project back out of the hole and
turn it into a winner. The project manager is not a neutral bystander who watches and
reports as the building goes up in flames. You are the key, action-oriented person who
will take charge to save it.

Here are some time-tested ideas for pulling your sinking project out of the hole.

1. Settle on a solution quickly and go with it.

Design professionals are notorious for wanting to explore just one more option. Your
struggling project is not the place for this. Pick one solution -- the first solution you
proposed was probably 97% right anyway -- and run with it. Yes, there may be small
ways you can improve the project, but you don’t have time or money for it now.
Exploration of alternatives can wait for the next project.

Projects are like buses: There’s always another one coming along and you can try your
great idea on it.

2. Review the scope of work carefully and don't stray outside of it.
A struggling project is not the place to be practicing your good client relations by giving
away free services. Sit down with your team or review the current task list and compare it
to the contract you signed. If you find you or any of your team are working on tasks
which aren’t in the contract, put an immediate stop to it. Get the essential elements of the
project complete, then determine whether you have time to give away the odd “freebie.”

3. Use overtime judiciously.

Overtime is a great solution to many projects that have fallen behind. But don’t get
carried away. First, unless all your staff are salaried, you will have to pay for that
overtime and it’s more costly than regular time. Second, and perhaps more important,
after a point, the quality of work falls off dramatically because you and your team are just
too tired and overworked to produce a good project.

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4. Try to use staff with as much experience as possible.
A struggling project is not the place to be training interns or junior staff members.
Although their labour rates are the lowest, they are unable to make fast decisions, the
quality of their work is low and they make more mistakes which have to be corrected.
When a project is in trouble, clear the decks and bring in the veterans. They're better and
faster decision makers and they know all the shortcuts to getting a project done and out
quickly.

5. Sit down to talk with the client.

It may be the hardest thing you ever do, but sitting down and letting the client know the
project is falling behind just might reveal some resources you weren’t aware of. The
client is interested, first and foremost, in getting the project done. They don’t want to
delay the project any further by initiating a conflict with you. By being up-front with
your client, they may be able to help you prioritize tasks or take over certain tasks which
they could do in-house. Remember, you are both on the same team, working toward the
same goals.

6. Check with Accounting to see if you actually are over budget or behind schedule.
All that anxiety and the problem was simply someone charging time to the wrong job.
Before you push the panic button, make sure the problem is for real. It may just be a
timesheet error.

7. Shout "Stop!"
The most under-used word in the project manager’s vocabulary is, “Stop!” Left to their
own devices, your team would likely keep working and “tweaking” the project forever.
Think back to exam time when you were in school. At the end of the test, the professor
would state, “pencils down!” and the exam was over. There will always be something
more you can add to the project, the drawings, the specs, the bid package, and on, and on.
Shout, “Stop!” and let the project be finished.

The Kick-Finish

One of the hardest things a project team can do is finish a project. Many jobs easily reach
95% completion and then hang there for what seems like forever. There is always just
one more thing which “really should be added.” Unfortunately, while you are adding to
the design and documentation, you are also subtracting from your profit and your client’s
pleasure that you finished on time!

Everyone has heard of the “Kick Start” in which you give an energetic shove to an
endeavor in order to get up and running quickly. The “Kick Finish” has the opposite
effect and allows you to bring a job to a quick and satisfactory conclusion.

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The Quality Management gurus are very familiar with Paretto’s Principle which is the
Law of Diminishing Returns. It states that your continuing efforts will contribute less and
less to the overall quality of the job. If you were to graph “effort expended” (which, in
this industry is equal to money) against “quality achieved,” the result would look like
this:

100% quality
Quality

Client's
budget

Effort (=$)

You would achieve a reasonable level of quality very quickly, but, after that, the return
on your effort would diminish until it would be necessary to give an infinite effort to
achieve 100% quality. Unfortunately, most client’s budgets fall well short of infinity.

If all projects follow an Effort-Quality curve of this sort, you can take advantage of this
phenomenon to achieve a quick and quality finish to your job. Here’s how it works:

When the project reaches 95% completion, shout, “Stop!” Wrap up the project right then
and there and don’t allow any more time to be charged to the project. No, the job is not
finished yet, but you are about to “Kick Finish” it.

When the work has stopped, sit down by yourself or with a skeleton team and put
together a work plan for a brand new project. The work plan will have a new project
definition, scope, WBS, task list, schedule, budget, quality management plan and client
management plan. It will be a very short project, and it’s primary task is to finish the old
one.

By bringing a fresh start to the old project and treating the last five percent as a brand
new project, one in which your “SWAT Team” will come in and clean up, you bring new
energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the old tired job. It often pays to bring a new face
onto the project team who brings a fresh look at the job and can see opportunities or
challenges you have missed.

With a new schedule, budget and scope in hand, you will set out to complete this “new
project. Now, as was pointed out above, every project is subject to the Law of

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Diminishing Returns, but you can use this to your advantage. If the first 95% of the
project looks like this:

100% quality
Quality

Client's
budget

Effort (=$)

and the last 5% of the project looks the same, they will combine to look like this:

100% quality
Kick
Finish
Quality

Client's
budget

Effort (=$)

With the Kick Finish, you can dramatically increase your return on the last 5% of the
effort and achieve a much higher level of quality for the effort you invest.

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