Managing Design

CHAPTER 18Level 1: Foundation (Planning/Organizing)

The best way to manage design in a team environment is to start well. (See Figure 18.1.) Countless teams fail because they forget to prepare or think they don't have time to plan. Make it a point to create a tightly knit working group. Set the following controls in place first, or as soon as you can.

“If you don't know where you're going – you'll end up somewhere else.”

– Yogi Berra

FIGURE 18.1 Level 1: “Foundation” (Planning/Organizing).

Goals and Objectives

Set goals: Setting goals before beginning a project seems obvious. Unfortunately, it is surprising to see how often team fail to set goals. William Pena, in his classic book Problem Seeking, talked about the value of breaking goals down into subject-based categories: form, function, time, economy, and quality.

Breakdown: This breakdown method is valuable in grouping goals into categories useful in design and construction. Too many projects are launched with “lazy” goals such as: “Be on time, on budget, with high quality.” These clichéd statements do little to define project-specific needs. Strong teams articulate real goals, categorize them and commit to them.

Shared goals: The next goal setting principle is that all team members should agree to the goals. Within client organizations, multiple constituencies may have conflicting goals. The construction director ...