Managing Projects

Question 1

What information would you expect from the design team at RIBA Stage 4?

Answer 1

Technical design.

• Fully coordinated services, structure & architecture
• Fully detailed
• Specialist subcontractor design & spec
• Construction issue - in Traditional procurement this is what is priced and built against

Question 2

What’s the difference between RIBA Plan of Work 2013 and 2020?

Answer 2

• Adapted to increased use of BIM
• Aftercare activities starting in Stage 6: Handover
• Different options for planning permission depending on the procurement route
• Reinforces intention that Stage 4: Technical Design includes all the design information required for construction
• New Sustainability guidance
• Reinforces requirement to appoint a sustainability champion to create a sustainability strategy at the outset of the project
• Stage name changes: Developed design is now Spatial Coordination; Construction is now Manufacturing and Construction

Question 3

What level of information would you expect at Stage 2?

Answer 3

• Architectural Concept incorporating Strategic Engineering requirements and aligned to Cost Plan, Project Strategies and Outline Specification
• Final project brief issued

Question 4

What level of information would you expect at Stage 3?

Answer 4

• Spatially coordinated design
• Updated proposals from structural design and building services systems
• Aligned with Cost Plan and Outline Specification

Question 5

What is ISO 9001?

Answer 5

A certified quality management system for organisations who want to prove their ability to provide products and services that meet the needs of their customers and other relevant stakeholders

Question 6

What information is included in a PEP?

Answer 6

• Project overview
• Project programme
• Project organisation
• Control procedures
• Stakeholder management
• Communication strategy
• H&S strategy
• Quality assurance approach
• Soft landing approach
• Commissioning / handover strategy

Question 7

What is a project audit?

Answer 7

• An opportunity to review project challenges, risks and processes
• Reflect on whether the project is still meeting core objectives

Question 8

What could be included in a post-project audit (lessons learned) review?

Answer 8

• Quality of briefing documents
• Quality of design
• Quality of cost information
• Effectiveness of communications
• Performance of the project team
• Construction issues - quality, H&S, programme

Question 9

What is value engineering?

Answer 9

• Method to eliminate any unnecessary costs and/or increase the value of a specification or product
• Could be related to design, specification or cost

Question 10

What are the benefits of value engineering?

Answer 10

1) Improved performance
2) Identification of alternative designs or solutions
3) Reduced costs
4) Added value

Question 11

What are the risks associated with value engineering?

Answer 11

• Becomes detached from Value Management
• Undertaken too late to be effective
• Inadequate information causing incorrect assumptions
• Insufficient participation by stakeholders (buy-in)
• Insufficient time allocated for the process
• Unknown knock-on effects to other elements of the design
• Reduced ability to meet project brief
• Reduced design performance

Question 12

What is Value Management?

Answer 12

• Overall concept of managing the balance between benefits and costs throughout the project
• Clearly defining a client’s strategic objectives
• Considering optimum solutions
• Deciding which provides the optimum lifetime value to the client
• Includes value engineering as part of the process

Question 13

What advice would you give a client on how to deliver a project with no scope creep?

Answer 13

• PEP including control processes (change control, stage gate governance)
• Stakeholder Management
• Effective communication
• Effective project management
• Robust Project Brief

Question 14

How would you go about managing a site manager who is really excellent at managing the operatives on site but very poor at communication and project administration?

Answer 14

• Be proactive - set up regular meetings, develop simple reporting tools
• Recommend a contract administration system
• Offer constructive feedback on reports, etc.
• Scrutinise the programme
• Maintain good records and communication
• Maintain a client-side reporting structure
• Issue early warnings and escalate poor performance

Question 15

Imagine I’m a client and I give you a project very similar to your case study project, what advice would you give me on what needed to be in a feasibility study for that project?

Answer 15

1) A feasibility study is completed at RIBA 1 to determine whether or not a proposed project is practical and affordable, and to select a preferred option if there are different solutions.
2) It should contain:
- Project objectives
- Site details / constraints
- Statutory requirements, e.g. Planning
- Options appraisal
- Space requirements
- Sketch arrangement plans
- Order of cost estimate
- Conclusions and recommendations (preferred option)

Question 16

When would you implement a change control process and what would you do?

Answer 16

Usually from RIBA 3 when the Project Brief is fixed

Process:

1) Identify the need for change, using a form
2) Design solution is explored
3) Cost impact evaluation
4) Report to client
5) If rejected, design solution revisited
6) If accepted, project management action to instruct the change, direct detailed design, update cost documents and programme

Question 17

Earned Value Management is one of the tools we can use in project controls – can you explain how you used it?

Answer 17

A technique used to assess project progress by comparing the amount and cost of work that was planned to have been done by a particular stage with the amount that has actually been done and what it has actually cost.

This gives a good indication of how the project is progressing compared to what was planned and enables forecasts to be made about the eventual cost and time that will be required to complete the project.

Question 18

There are two indicators of Earned Value, do you know what they are?

Answer 18

• Cost Performance Index (CPI) is the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed divided by the Actual Cost of Work Performed (BCWP / ACWP)
• A negative number indicates that the project is overbudget, a positive indicates that its underbudget
• Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed divided by the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWP / BCWS)
• A negative number indicates that the project is behind schedule

Question 19

In earned value analysis, what is ACWP, BCWP and BCWS?

Answer 19

You must first understand the duration of an activity, the cost/day and the total cost of the activity.

Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) - the actual cost of the work completed

Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) - the budgeted cost of the work completed

Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWP) - the budgeted cost of the work scheduled to complete

Cost Variance (CV) = BCWP - ACWP

Schedule Variance (SV) = BCWP - BCWS

Question 20

What is the Earned Value metric?

Answer 20

The money we should have spent for the work we have actually completed, i.e. the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed

Question 21

What is Soft Landings?

Answer 21

A collection of processes to ease the transition between Project and Operations in order to drive maximum benefit.

Question 22

What are Statutory Consents?

Answer 22

Consents you must obtain by law. I.e., Planning and Building Regulations

Question 23

What is a S106 Agreement?

Answer 23

The legal agreement between an application and authority to implement a mitigation of the development. I.e., a bus stop, junction or provide money.

Question 24

What is a Section 278 Agreement?

Answer 24

Legal agreement between Highways Authority and Application to create an interface to the national network.

Question 25

Can you explain what an EIA is?

Answer 25

Environmental Impact Assessment - an assessment undertaken by applicant that looks at all facets of the development impact on the environment.

Question 26

What are the project strategies?

Answer 26

``` Strategies to support the design process, generally developed in parallel with the design stages (Stage 2-3) and to respond to the Business Case or Project Brief: • Conservation Strategy • Cost Strategy • Fire Safety Strategy • Health and Safety Strategy • Inclusive Design Strategy • Planning Strategy • Plan for Use Strategy • Procurement Strategy • Sustainability Strategy. These strategies are usually prepared in outline at Stage 2 and in detail at Stage 3, ```

Question 27

What is a responsibilities matrix?

Answer 27

- Maps out activities required to develop the design information and assigns to specific team members or to external bodies - Should make clear where the boundaries between responsibilities lie - Ambiguity between roles and design liability must be resolved early - Clarity on how contractor's design and others will be provided for in the design

Question 28

How can the impact of design changes be managed?

Answer 28

1) Have well-defined systems for coping with change 2) Limit the time at which changes occur by dealing with problems that give rise to the change, and then implement a 'change freeze' to allow the design to be developed to remove the impact of the problems

Question 29

How is it best to manage client approvals to design changes?

Answer 29

- Once design team has completed design to a logical point, i.e. end of stage - Client approval is a gateway to the next stage - Client approvals should be planned and managed carefully so as not to delay the start of the next stage

Question 30

What is the link between design management and cost control?

Answer 30

- Should be integrated throughout design stage to ensure design isn't incompatible with the budget - Contingency sums should be understood by designers so that when a solution for risk items is identified it can be managed efficiently

Question 31

What should be included in a risk monitoring and control process?

Answer 31

1) Monthly reviews of the current risk profile and identify changes in risk probabilities and impacts 2) Monthly monitoring of risk responses/mitigations 3) Update of risk register with new risks 4) Review level of project risk management maturity of project

Question 32

What statutory requirements before starting construction?

Answer 32

1) F10 notification 2) Planning permission 3) Building control notice