Managing the design process is an overlooked art, you are managing a project and creating an idea, or creating a project. There is a reason and an outcome, a start and a finish. But every design is unknown at the start and then, especially in fit out and architecture, there are a multitude of outside influences which makes them more complex, you also have subjectivity to add into the equation. Sometimes there is a design manager involved on larger projects, but that doesn’t mean someone who is managing the project and to involve a dedicated project manager can be a heavy-handed way of developing a design. So, it falls to the designer to effectively manage the project. That is the element that makes or breaks the project, in terms of getting the financial gain and ongoing relationships. The gains in doing it well can soon mount up. If you could spend even 5% less hours on a £20K job through its management, that would be an extra £1,000 in time saved. Time which you could potentially double the value of by using it to work on another project! Manage the process effectively and you are more likely to get a recommendation or repeat work. That would also be a few less speculative pitches. How can you manage a design project well when you don’t have the project management skills? Idea First thing is to understand the process. Design is subjective, kind off, until you start having the constraints of legislation, usability, buildability, cost and sometimes vanity to incorporate. The hardest thing with subjectivity is to get a decision, the even harder thing is to get an agreed subjective decision that works. The quicker you get a decision, the quicker the project and the client gets the value. Also the less time you spend, you get better profits. To manage design efficiently, get those series of thoughts and ideas into a defined outcome as quickly as possible. Or all of those thought and decision loops into a flat line and deliver the idea quickly! Synopsis How do you then manage a design project effectively? There are a couple of ways to approach it. You could accept that you don’t know how many hours it will take to get an answer, charge a contingency. That way though everyone misses out on all the benefits and not achieve the most effective and efficient project possible. To achieve that you could focus on a few simple things. Solution The design process is an agile process. That is you are flexible and try and get a series of small decisions agreed until they mount up to make the full picture. The full benefit of this is that even if parts aren’t agreed there are elements that can be progressed. I always see design as a series of ever decreasing circles or loops, that eventually flatten out to a finished item, either through decision or necessity. To get these circles to flatten in the best way, focus on making the circles increasingly smaller, treat the design as a series of shorter projects that combine to make the whole project, the aim is to get some value for the client at the end of each loop. To help do this focus on the following in this order. You probably do this unconsciously, but to do it consciously is important in being effective and importantly make sure the whole project team knows what’s needed. This will limit communication and information fog and get decisions and solution quicker: 1.Why Why does the client want to do the project, what do they want to get from it? 2.Priorities Then find out what are the most important elements? Where is the value to the client? Where is the value to the contractor in getting decisions early? 3.Complexity What are going to be the difficult bits, especially when you add in legislation, usability, buildability, cost and vanity. These are the risks, these are the elements to monitor closely. Once you have this information, communicate it, then move onto the executing: 1.Organise Decide what you need to do and who’ doing it. 2.Communication Understand and decide who responsible for communicating with who and how. Make sure everyone knows! Clients, employees whoever is part of the project. 3.Information What information have you got, what do you need. Use the agreed communication plan. 4.Plan Plan at a high level for achieving all this. 5.Do Have fun, let the client have fun but always keep in mind the why, priorities and complexity to retain focus on what needs to be done to stop the project drifting. Make sure all the project team know all of this or you have wasted your time, this is your project, you manage it, or better still lead it. Managing design is all about delivering ideas in a functional way, managing the clients focus and delivering the value the client wants and you can do that! There are substantial benefits in terms of cost and reputation if you can improve how you run projects. Don’t miss out! I'd love to hear your views, experiences and comments and if you're interested in finding out more, drop me a line.
Thanks for reading Simon
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You’ve won a new project, yeah. Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew exactly what needed doing and you just got on with it. You’d just then have to manage yourself and get the work done. Deliver the product. Dreamy… That’s not the real world of projects though, it’s one of the key differences between manufacture for a product and manufacture for a project. There will always be fog to peer through. Fog from lack of information. Fog from different interpretation of information. Fog from knowing where to get the information from. Fog from who has the final decision. Fog from interpreting those decisions. If it wasn’t for the fog, how quickly would you get the work done? Quicker anyway. So you have to manage the fog, turn it to mist or clouds. Try and start to see some blue sky. Once you get to that point you can get on with the work effectively. Clear the fog, the time spent finding out will reduce. If you could spend even 5% less hours on a £20K job through its management, that would be an extra £1,000 in time saved. Time which you could potentially double the value of by using that time to work on another project! The question then is how do you get rid of the fog. Idea Managing that fog is tricky, you’ll never get rid of it completely, it can be reduced though. To do this, focus on it and focus on it in the right order to stop repeating actions, redoing work and get the answers. The quicker you get the information you need, the more time saved and better profit. Synopsis The important part of managing a build project, is getting the information and communication right, quickly and in the right order. It helps efficient procurement, your co-ordination and getting the job done and done well. Solution The manufacturing process is a waterfall process, you need to do one action to do the next, until you’re finished. To do this well you’ll need the right information in the right order. It will also need you to accept that you won’t have it all at the start, things will change, things will happen! The information will need managing. The key to managing the work effectively is to prioritise and focus on the right information at the right time and do it consciously and communicate it. Inform the rest of the project team as part of the process to limit communication and information fog. In doing so getting the right information before you need it. To do this focus on the following questions in this order. 1.Why Why are you doing the project, what do you want to get from it, why is the project being done? 2.Prioritise What are the most important elements? Where is the value? What of that value should be delivered first to the client so they can use it and other contractors can get on with their work? 3.Complexity What are going to be the difficult bits, what’s going to take the longest time to complete, what information is not available to complete parts of the work. Which elements effect other elements the most. Do elements need specialist knowledge? Once you have this information, communicate it, then move onto executing the project: 1.Organise Decide what you need to do and who is doing it 2.Communication Understand and decide who is responsible for communicating to who and how. Make sure everyone knows! Clients, employees whoever is part of the project. 3.Information What information have you got, what do you need, where do you need to go to get that information, what information do you need to produce. Use the agreed communication plan. 4.Plan Plan at a high level for achieving what you need to. 5.Do Have fun, get it built, but always keep in mind the why, priorities and complexity to retain focus on what needs to be done to stop the project from stalling. Make sure all the project team know all of this or you have wasted your time, this is your project, you manage it or better still lead it. Managing bespoke manufacturing projects is all about delivering the product, in a best order to deliver the value, for you and the client. There are substantial benefits in terms of cost and reputation if you can improve how you run projects. Don’t miss out! I'd love to hear your views, experiences and comments and if you're interested in finding out more, drop me a line.
Thanks for reading Simon A client’s world is an easy one right? You want something permanent creating, you know what you want that will bring in additional revenue, you’ve got the funding, you know you want it open for a certain date. Right go … It should be an easy process, get the right people in, you pay the bills, the work gets done. You just have to wait till it is ready for you and there it is as you envisaged. That’s how it appears on Instagram or would in the movies …well if they ever made films about development projects it would. Niche market the development film genre though! Then the questions start, you start getting new ideas, costs are too high, time ticks on. What you thought was being done hasn’t been done or quite how you thought and its somehow your fault, the more you get involved the more it’s your fault and you’re paying! Idea As a client the buck stops with you, to make decisions and have answers. The trouble is there are no wrong answers, but lots of right answers and everyone has them. In order to have the best project you need to have the most effective answers, if you can before you start. This isn’t entirely possible but I’m sure you do have lots of answers, but does everyone working on the project know what they are? Do they understand why? If they did maybe you would hear a little less of the things you don’t want to hear. Synopsis The important part of managing a project from the client or developer’s perspective is that you are as clear as possible about what you need. Where the value for you is and what your priorities are. You want everything of course, but there needs to be a hierarchy to let decisions be made. That way you’ll get what you want and need in the most effective way. Solution A client led project approach needs to be a hybrid of agile and waterfall management. You have to get the best ideas that work and get it done. But first you need to be able to explore to get the best ideas. The best way to do that is to have the elements of the project split down into manageable chunks. Specifically, the elements are most valuable to you. Think of the elements of your project as small loops, develop the element, review and improve then repeat until they are right to deliver the value to you. Then you can set them off on a waterfall approach to be built and become reality as quickly as possible. The key to managing your projects effectively is to prioritise and focus on where the value is to you. To do this follow the following process to get the important answers, do it consciously, don’t assume anyone knows the answers or will ask. It sets the right path for the project to travel down. This is the best way to stop the questions which slow the project down and then the blame and let the people deliver the project effectively. 1.Why Why are you doing the project, what do you want to get from it, why is the project being done? 2.Prioritise What are the most important elements? Where is the value in getting what completed first? What do you need to use it? 3.Complexity What don’t you know, what are you not sure on yet, what’s not been decided? Then move onto letting the people execute the project, but monitor it. Make sure its going down the path you set it on and try and get the project flat lined as quickly as possible. It will only cost you if you don’t, its your project, manage it or better still lead it. Managing your project is all about setting the right path for everyone. In the clearest way possible. There are substantial benefits in terms of cost and reputation if you can improve how you run your projects. Don’t miss out! I'd love to hear your views, experiences and comments and if you're interested in finding out more, drop me a line.
Thanks for reading Simon |
AuthorHi I'm Simon. I've worked in projects for a while now, either management or design. I love projects but they're frustrating. Hope some of this help you. Archives
October 2023
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