There are more than 50 distinct building design specialties. Many medium-to-large projects have two dozen or more separate design-stage consultants and sub-consultants. Some of the more common of these are indicated in the diagram on the next page. For many reasons, the coordination and integration of the output of these large teams is often grossly…Continue Reading
There is a popular idea that by giving one consulting firm a number of disciplines, they will do better internal coordination, and create fewer problems for the lead consultant and the client. Unfortunately, this usually doesn’t work. Despite statements in websites extolling the virtues of one-stop shopping, experience is that intra-team coordination between different disciplines…Continue Reading
Unless you are a “one-man band” that can do everything your project needs (which probably means it is a house addition) you will have a Project Team to coordinate. A failure to do that well throws the doors wide open to a whole array of risk issues. Is it just about communication? It’s easy to say “that’s…Continue Reading
“Scope creep” is an endemic disease in design practices. The scope of your projects keeps increasing, but your fees do not. Scope creep destroys profitability and causes schedule blowout. Although scope creep is managed (or not) on a day-to-day basis by your PMs, firm principals must create and maintain the conditions that both allow and…Continue Reading