Making It Happen: A Non-Technical Guide to Project Management

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:

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. ...