There are many phases of an architecture project, and frequently a firm is only contracted to perform a select number. To determine the best project management process, you must understand these phases and the needs of each.

Pre-design is especially pertinent to overall project management because of the discoveries made. Depending on the size and sophistication of a project, the architect might be engaged in pre-design. As Jorge Fontan AIA explains it: …the owner and architect establish and analyze a set of conditions and research that will establish the framework and requirements for the building development. This includes site analysis, zoning, budgeting, and programming use requirements.

In a way, pre-design lays a lot of the groundwork that comprises the crux of this article. Setting up an agreed-upon, legally binding framework and requirements allows you to make educated predictions about how to budget time, money, and staffing, and ensure that the project will be run through to completion while meeting the goals of the full team.

USE EFFECTIVE WORK PLANS FOR SCHEDULING AND STAFFING
Not all projects will have pre-design done by the architect, possibly because the client has completed much of the work themselves. While it’s great that the client may come to you with documents of site analysis, zoning and code analysis, programming, etc., you will likely end up vetting some of their work.

Regardless if you are assisting in pre-design or not, you should create a work plan, often referred to as the roadmap of a project. This document helps outline a smooth path to complete an architecture project. Development of a work plan for the project begins with consideration of schedules, ways to organize relationships between the parties, the firm’s available resources, and perhaps fees. In addition, how the leadership for the project will be organized and what experience and specialty levels will be required are identified.

A work plan should include:
Project description
Statement of deliverables
Team Org Chart
Responsibility Matrix
Preliminary Project Schedule
Preliminary Staffing needs
Project directory
Internal project budget and profit plan
Code information (optional).

A good work plan will help define an accurate project schedule. You will have to use your experience to create the timeline of design phases based on size of the project, services requested, and staffing availability.

Often times for commercial interior projects, the client might approach a firm with a hard deadline like their lease ending in nine months. Sometimes it is possible to rush design and construction to have this client moved into a new space on time, but it frequently causes pain for everyone.

In cases like that, you may be desperate for revenue and accept the project, but when possible, learn to say “no” to projects that will set you up for failure. It won’t benefit you in the long term to have a bad project with unhappy clients, staff, and partners.

If a client approaches who is pushing an unrealistic deadline simply to save money, past experience is a powerful tool for adding more time. If you can prove the added costs and mistakes made during a rushed schedule, and the successes of a project with proper time, the client should come to agree with your professional advice.

The work plan also helps with project staffing, the difficult task of balancing the availability of staff that might be working on multiple projects that are in different phases. The more your work plan is broken down, the better you are set to find the right people for the right task.

If you’re a sole proprietor, it’s always good to take your estimated time and multiply by 1.5 or even 2. If the client accepts, you’ve given yourself leeway for surprises that will inevitably pop up and decrease late nights.