JEFREY A.

DE LEON BSCE V-A

CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

TERM OF REFERENCE: AN INFORMATIONAL REPORT

Providing a profound understanding of the scope, the organizational objectives and

the process of accomplishment of a certain project is an essential aspect of project

Management (ACT Government, 2017). Moreover, establishing a strategy-level document

that defines all the activities and duties to be accomplished during the conduct of a particular

construction project can help effectively and efficiently to the success of a project

(McConnell, 2012). These and more, answers the question why Term of Reference is

important in construction project and management.

WHAT IS TERM OF REFERENCE(TOR)?

As mentioned above, Terms of Reference (TOR) is a strategy –level document that

provides essential information about a specific project. This includes statement of the

background, objectives and purpose in conducting the proposed project. Additionally, it

incorporates sections that indicate issues and budget related information about the project. It

being a strategy-level document, it also highlights all the planned activities, schedules of

such activities, expected outputs and job descriptions (McConnell, 2012).

According to the ACT Government (2017), TORs also establish committees and

details the specific authority that these committees have to manage and oversee. Regarding

the information on authority, Terms of Reference must clearly state the roles, duties, term

and obligations all in accordance to a specific legislative requirement.

PURPOSE OF TERM OF REFERENCE

To specify the amount and type of work to be accomplished in a project is the main

purpose of TORs. It also acts as the governance document in a project that establishes the

relationships between all the project participants and stakeholders (McConnell, 2012). On a

usual manner, TORs are being developed by a project manager and is a technical part of the

bidding documents and subsequently becomes a part of a project contract (Hartney, 2019).
JEFREY A. DE LEON BSCE V-A
CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

CONTENT OF A TERM OF REFERENCE

Every Term of Reference must focus on critical information that is necessary for

planning, implementing and monitoring of all construction activities involved in the project.

However, content of TOR differs in each project. Moreover, it significantly depends upon the

scope of the project.

In general, McConnell (2012) cited common key items or sections that ire included in

establishing a project TOR. Depending on the project’s scope, these items can either be

included or omitted. These items are as follows:

1. BACKGROUND

Term of Reference must provide information about the overview of the project. This can

include the history, the purpose and the goal of such project. Moreover, the general role of

stakeholders in doing all the required activities in this project can also be included in this

section.

2. OBJECTIVES

Another section in the Term of Reference describes some desired accomplishments that

the company wants to achieve upon completion of the project. These are simply the

organization’s objective in conducting the project. It is also advisable that the resources

needed and an expected timeframe must be established in this section as well. This will help

the project’s participant to identify and define what should be expected and what should be

done in this project.

3. ISSUES

Every projects encounter different issues and problems that need to be addressed in

order to maximize the output of a certain project and for it to be implanted successfully.

These issues become the points of discussion throughout the project duration. This can
JEFREY A. DE LEON BSCE V-A
CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

include any concern, questions, sudden changes in a project activity and anything that

requires immediate action. Being unable to resolve such issues can ultimately affect the

success rate of a project and can be a possible cause of a project failure.

Being able to enlist all the possible issues and concerns that may arise during the

project implementation can greatly help in managing such projects. Being able to do this as

early as before the project start, can help you prepare solutions and strategies beforehand.

4. METHODOLOGY

To have a further understanding as to how the project is to be implemented is very

important in project management. Moreover, providing set of principles, procedures and

rules will help you define how to carry out the project in the most effective way possible. As

this section suggest, it describes all the methods to be used in implementing the project.

Some important items included in the description of methods are as follows:

 Key Stages/Phases involved in the implementation process

 Level of stakeholder involvement

 Specification and Duration of all project activities and how it will be carried out.

 Tools to be used in the project that will help in monitoring project’s status.

 Data Analysis

5. EXPERTISE

Expertise section defines all the professional requirements that are needed by all the

projects participants involved in the implementation of the project. This section will serve as

basis for team building such as skill assessment and training. Some suggested items

included in this section are as follows:

 Nature of Work involved in the project

JEFREY A. DE LEON BSCE V-A
CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

 Type of skills and abilities required

 Exact number of individuals involved including qualification requirements

 Description of duties and responsibilities of each individuals

 Leadership Roles that defines the relationship between team members.

6. REPORTING

Reporting of all valued and necessary update or information is important in monitoring

the status of every project. This allows project managers to envision the performance of the

project. Are the activities still inclined in the projects objectives and timeline? Is it still on the

right track towards the success of a project? These questions require an effective reporting

of all information about the project.

To have an effective reporting and to establish requirements and formats in the reporting

process, Terms of Reference provides section that help to address this matter. Some of the

items that might be included in this section are:

 Table of contents for reports

 Rules in attaching annexes

 Templates for reporting

 Language to be used in reporting

 Computer programs to be used if any

 Submission dates of reports

 Individuals responsible for reporting and approving such reports

JEFREY A. DE LEON BSCE V-A
CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

7. WORK PLAN

It is advisable to determine all the actions that are needed to be made from the

beginning until the completion of a project within a specified timeframe and under a defined

budget. This is included in a work plan strategy that focuses on helping solve problems

throughout the duration of the project.

Another section of a Term of Reference is the Work Plan section. This should set out all

the project activities and necessary resources required for achieving the project’s expected

output.

OTHER KEY CONTENT OF TERM OF REFERENCE

Based on the guide of Hartney (2019) on how to write a powerful Terms of

Reference, he defined some other key items that are included in a strong Terms of

Reference.

1. SCOPE OF WORK

The project scope section usually contains two main components:

 Deliverables

Deliverables is considered as one of the most important words in project management.

This term refers to all items or materials that are to be produced and used for a specific

project. This can be a tangible product such as steel, sand, cements and the like or an

electronic item such as database, software and etc. Moreover, deliverables also include

services that are to be rendered. Example of this service is a training course that is to be

accomplished for a certain skills training. All the products that are to be produced during the

project must also be defined. This section can also contain portion that clearly defines

project requirements, design reports and other drawing plan requirements.

JEFREY A. DE LEON BSCE V-A
CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

 Task

This states the task or activities required in the project. This section can elaborate all the

details of a specific task to be accomplished in order to fully understand the nature of the

project. Moreover, this will allows the project participant to define all the course of actions

needed for such tasks.

2. SCHEDULE

An important tool of a project manager is the project schedule. This allows him to provide

a timeline that helps him accomplish the project in an acceptable time frame. This section of

the TOR details the important milestones that are expected to be achieved in the course of

the project. The use of Gantt Chart with details on completion dates is the most common

format of a Schedule section.

3. COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS

There are instances that one company coordinate with third parties in accomplishing a

particular project. These third parties can include utility companies, service providers,

management firms or other stake holders. To determine all the third parties associated with

the project is another job for project managers. This section in the TOR should clearly enlist

all third parties that are involved in the projects. Moreover, it also define the interest or the

role of such parties in accomplishing the project.

4. LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND STANDARDS

It is very important to always keep in mind that every project must be governed with a

law or standards. This will help us to maintain our credibility and conducting specific project.

Moreover, these regulations help us balance the needs of our stakeholders together with the

needs of our company. Ultimately, these laws allow us to proceed in the conduct of our

project under a set of requirements.

JEFREY A. DE LEON BSCE V-A
CONSTRUCTION METHOD AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

Also take note that every industry is inclined with standards that are developed for

different field of works. For instance, the International Standards Organization (ISO) has

established standards being followed by different industries. These requirements, standards

or regulations must also be specified in our Terms of Reference.

This report aims to establish a good context on Terms of Reference, its importance

and some key items to be included in such document. Being aware of all of these

information regarding this strategy-level document can allow us to have a better

understanding and excellent foundation in drafting our own Terms of Reference. At the end

of this report, I have attached an example of a Term of Reference indicating some of its key

content. Moreover, I have attached a link of Project Management Institute’s PMBook

Guides and Standard, a practice guide that provide supporting information and instruction

to help you apply PMI standards. Ultimately, looking forward to provide you further

information regarding this concept.

PMBook Guides and Standard - https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards