OFFICE PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE

I. Project Teams
- Even the smallest project requires a team of two: an architect and client
- Relationships expand as teams become larger and it includes office colleagues, consultants,
contractor, etc.

1. PROJECT MANAGER
- Central figure on a project team.
- The person in the architectural firm who is responsible of managing design, schedule and budget
concerns to meet the client’s expectations.
- Effective project managers assume project leadership responsibility, accept certain challenges and
bring certain traits and abilities to their work

Traits and Abilities

a. Is organized, directs and controls all key aspects of the project.
b. Is enthusiastic about achieving high standards.
c. Communicates well (both within the team and to those outside).
d. Motivates the project team to meet the project goals.
e. Delegates when appropriate.
f. Listens well and can interpret clearly team members’ issues and opinions.
g. Attacks aggressively every problem important to the projects’ success.
h. Is persuasive in a pleasing manner.
i. Has a conscious sense of time, knows how to accomplish a task, and is aware of how much
time is left to finish a task.
j. Knows where to find the answers for technical and managerial problems.
k. Knows that it takes a team to accomplish outstanding results and gives a credit to the team.
l. Is results – oriented always keeping the final outcome of the project in mind.

2. MANAGING STAFF & CONSULTANTS

- The team may include a part – time draftsperson, a consultant, the contractor and the client.

THE COMPONENT PROJECT MANAGER FROM THE CLIENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

 Responds to requests from clients quickly, don’t wait for a convenient time.
 Be prepared to discuss the projects’ status (technical, budget, or schedule) at any time.
 Keep files so information is readily available when client asks for it.
 Arrive at meetings on time and prepared.
 Keeps client informed by routinely sending copies of correspondence, telephone logs and other
project documentation.
 Review all invoices before they mailed and prepared to answer any questions about them from
the client.

EFFECTIVE PROJECT TEAM CHARACTERISTICS

 Small enough to convene and communicates easily

 Foster discussions that are interactive and open to all members
 Team members have a mutual understanding of each other’s roles and skills
 Team members offer an appropriate combination of functional/ technical problem – solving and
interpersonal skills
 Has a truly meaningful purpose – clearly articulated, understood, and advocated for by all
members
 A specific set of team goals exists in addition to an individual and organizational goals
 The team has a realistic, ambitious goals that are clean and important to all team members
 The group plans for a specific set of teamwork products
 Team members have a sense of mutual accountability with the members feeling individually and
jointly responsible for the teams purpose, goals, approach and work products
  The team is able to measure progress against specific goals
 All team members have a sense that only the team can fail

PROJECT TEAM WORKING APPROACH

1. Is understood and agreed to by everybody

2. Capitalizes on (and enhances ) the skills of those on the team
3. Provides for open interaction fact – based problem – solving and results – based evaluation
4. Can be modified and improved overtime

3. PROJECT OPERATIONS
- Project planning and team – building put the resources needed to execute a project in place. The next
part, and the hardest part, is making it all work – orchestrating and integrating these plans and
resources to produce a successful project
- Project management also involves collecting, processing and communicating changes and closing
out the project

A. START – UP
- Includes project definition, acquisition, planning and contract negotiation
o Team Briefing and Kickoff
 Reviewing:
 Project requirements
 The project work plan
 Schedules and milestone dates
 Project policies which include project responsibilities and authorities, client
structure and relationships, teem meetings and communications, approaches
to identifying and solving problems, project change and reports and other key
management issues

B. PROJECT AUTHORIZATION
o Includes
 Establishing the necessary projects accounts
 Providing information on what can be charged to the project and what cannot
especially reimbursable and non – reimbursable expense
 Identifying the internal project reports that will be prepared and distributed
 Providing the accounting department/ bookkeeper/ principal with information about
the project milestones, deliverables and billing details

C. PROJECTS’ FILES
- The most effective project filing system is one that can be easily understood and used by everyone

D. KEY PROJECT INFORMATION

o Includes
 Project directory (list of names, addresses, phone and fax no.’s of key participants)
 Project program and construction budget requirements
 Site information including climatic, environmental surveys, and geotechnical data
 Applicable codes and regulations
 Project schedule, milestones and list of deliverables
 List of project files, locations and access guidelines

II. Communications
 - Professional services involve a continuing exchange of information including data, advice and
opinions, proposals and decisions
o TALKING and LISTENING
 Direct personal interaction
 Meetings provides opportunities for groups to exchange information and make, modify,
and affirm project decisions
 Consider “stand – up ” meetings
o These are short sessions usually directed to a single subject or decision
to be made or reviewed. Also called conference call.
 Other ways: memos, telephone calls, faxes emails, letters

o ROUTINE COMMUNICATIONS
 Information is often conveyed to a formal transactions between individuals and within
groups – i.e. telephone conversations, fax and email message correspondence,
transmittals of documents, reports and memos.
 These transactions serve two purposes: to convey important information and become
part of the project record

III. Management Technology

- Used technology to speed up contract completion like voicemail, fax machine and internet

IV. Decisions
- The management of decision making is a key project management task
o Understand the decisions made
 What are the most important project decisions?
 When they must be made?
 Who will make them?
 Who needs to contribute data, opinions / advice?
 Who needs to approve the design?
 Who needs to be informed?
o Submittals and of approvals
 Most projects include the milestones points at which project decisions are synthesized,
presented, discussed and affirmed. The project agreement provides the first of
milestone dates of deliverables

V. Documentation
- Even the smallest project generates a great deal of paper such as notes, meeting agendas and
minutes of meetings, technical materials, and other documentation
- The project manager correspondence and for documenting significant developments on all projects
- Good business practice suggests it is nicer to document transactions that take place between the
parties in the design team and the client. Doing so keeps the project on track, and when a claim is
filed, there is a record

VI. Close Out

- With the project winding down, and with other projects waiting in the wings, it is common and
economically necessary to disband the project team and reassign the project manager
- It will be necessary to close out the project internally as well, collecting information, providing any
required documentation, finalizing billing and collections.