12.1. Design Steps and the Schedule
"I think I'm starting to get a better handle on what the design phase is all about." I told Sheila my idea about the result of the design phase being an exact description of the final product. "But," I concluded, "I'm a little worried about the process of design. How soon can we get a schedule for it? And how accurate is that schedule likely to be?"
Sheila was way ahead of me. "You know, Will, I used to think that the project was the design, and the construction was just incidental." I looked at her skeptically.
"I know it sounds strange, but it's true," she assured me. "Anyway, usually the design isn't complete when the construction begins, so managing the execution has a lot to do with trying to revise the design and build at the same time."
I told her that seemed like a funny way to do it. Sheila replied, "As an engineer, most of my focus has been on the design. But I've started to change that perspective since I looked at your framework. In fact," she said, grabbing a pad of paper off my desk, "I think we can work the design process in very neatly with your consultant's framework for assignments."
On the paper she wrote:
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DESIGN (results): an unmistakable description of the deliverable(s) |
She said, "This pretty much sums up both of our ideas about the results of the design phase. I've just used the word deliverables instead of final product. It's a more generic word. In this assignment I'm responsible for designing more than tangible products. ...