Managing Design

CHAPTER 21Level 4: Enclosure (Leading/Strategic)

Change, option and value analysis, consultant coordination, issue tracking, and decision support are the dynamic processes that manage project decisions. As Level 4 controls, they comprise the project's “brain, nervous and immune system” that keeps occupants safe, healthy, and out of the weather. As the framework's “enclosure,” this level is a protective shield to guard against external forces, anticipate change, and bring closure. In a Maslow-ian sense it's the self-actualized management level. Once set, the Level 1, 2, and 3 controls inevitably change and evolve. It's the team's job to manage that change strategically, using Level 4 controls (Figure 21.1), as described in the following sections.

FIGURE 21.1 Level 4: “Enclosure” (Leading/Strategic).

Change

Change is the inevitable dynamic that will occur on your project and must be managed, including:

• Unplanned revisions, market conditions, errors, human nature and constant, well-intentioned miscommunications to project controls
• The resulting impacts and effects of one element's change on other project controls
• The management actions and reactions that must be made in response to these changes to keep or restore the project to balance.

Those surprised by project change reveal their limited experience. As a design manager, start by setting up change management systems (i.e. ...