Why is Project Management important for design?

To put it simply 'plan your work, and then work your plan'

As I reflect on 40 years in the industry, I’m always thankful that I had good grounding in Project Management. Both in construction and design it is important to understand project management and to implement practical systems. The old mantra of getting it right, first time, on time and on budget still holds. And in these times where we are stretched for engineering resources, it’s important that design engineers plan their work and deliver efficiently. This is where it is important for design engineers to apply the practical principles of project management in the delivery of good designs.

Some young engineers say, yes, we know all that, but I often find that the ‘knowing’ and the ‘doing’ are different in reality. So, when I run project management training courses for designers, I help them to understand that how the practical application of project management theory can help them to ‘get their stuff’ done more effectively.

I use the PMBOK process to help designers to understand how good project management can assist them to be better designers. I come to this not from a technical perspective but from the perspective of producing good, safe, efficient designs for their clients on time and within budget.

The PMBOK process for a designer can be summarised as follows:

Project Start Up and Initiation:

• Define the project, define the scope and technical criteria and identify the key outputs for the project;

• Review and understand the contract terms and brief. And ensure you have a signed contract and

• Arrange a start-up meeting with the client.

Project planning:

• Plan the project, and establish the scope to a granular level;

• Review the brief and all the inputs for completeness;

• Decide who’s doing what and who will be verifying the work;

• Identify the work breakdown structure and program the deliverables;

• Have a project start up meeting with the team; and

• Arrange regular meetings with the client.

Deliver the project:

• Undertake the design work, get it checked and verified;

• Manage the team to ensure the work will be delivered on time;

• Undertake the necessary Risk, Safety, HSiD and Environmental Reviews;

• Meet regularly with the client to review progress and outputs;

Monitoring and control;

• Monitor the hours and budget against progress;

• Measure the delivery against the planned duration and track the program against the planned delivery;

• Review the expenditure against the planned budget and estimate the costs to complete;

• Review the budget and identify any changes or variations and deal with those as per the contract; and

• Report progress to management and the client.

Project Completion and closure:

• Complete the design work through the various stages, and have it verified that it satisfies the brief, technical criteria and relevant standards and codes;

• Forward the deliverables to the client and arrange a final review meeting to close out any issues;

• When design is complete and accepted by the client, finalise the project expenses and determine the final project performance;

• Report this performance to management;

• Undertake a lessons learnt session with the team to review the design, processes and delivery nothing any improvements for future projects; and

• Celebrate successes and reward any great performance.

To put it simply ‘plan your work, and then work your plan'. These steps are relatively straight forward and logical for most engineers but it’s amazing how many don’t follow these simple steps. Designers should not leave the project management stuff to the PM’s or management. Delivery of a quality service to our clients is all about producing the right product, on time and on budget. To do this effectively and to be successful designers need to take an active role in the management and delivery of the overall project, and not just concentrate on the design.

Dan Reeve is a Life member of Consult Australia and is the former Director for Transport for SMEC Australia. He is now works part time in various consultancy activities and charitable board work.