Project Management

Question 1

Goals for project management

Answer 1

To reach the end of the project
To reach the end on budget
To reach the end on time
To reach the end safely
To reach the end error-free
To reach the end meeting everyone’s expectations

Question 2

Goals

Answer 2

constitute the very purpose of project management and should be considered universal principles that do not change from project to project (and therefore should be achieved in every project).

Question 3

Objectives

Answer 3

describe project-specific outcomes or results and states that objectives can be both quantifiable or measurable as well as subjective (e.g., aesthetic).

Question 4

5 phases of project management

Answer 4

Start: the project begins
Planning: figuring out how to perform the work
Design: the project’s overall design is worked out
Production: preparation of construction documents and/or other deliverables based on the overall design
Closeout: the project work is completed

Question 5

6 activities of project management

Answer 5

Defining
Defining the design project’s scope of work, budget, and schedule-in effect, determining the project objectives.
Planning
Planning the work effort so that the project scope of work, budget, and schedule will be met.
Directing
Directing the design team so that the project objectives will be met while staying within budget and on schedule.
Coordinating
Coordinating the efforts of the design team so that interdisciplinary information flows smoothly and at the right time.
Monitoring
Monitoring the design team’s work product and progress against the project objectives, budget, and schedule.
Learning
Learning from the project: what went right, what went wrong, and how to improve performance on the next project.

Question 6

Project Work Plan

Answer 6

A Project Work Plan (PWP) is an organizational framework to plan how and in what sequence project work will occur.

The PWP therefore takes the scope of services (outlined in the contract documents and client agreement) and divides this scope into specific tasks and clarifies how and when this work will be accomplished by the design team. The PWP will also establish the project communication procedures/hierarchy and the reporting structure, as well as safety, accounting and quality control procedures (e.g. CAD standards). Finally, the PWP provides the design project’s management team with a high-level plan of the project work so that they can assess whether the project has been properly planned and—as the project progresses—if the project work is being completed in reference to its stated goals

Question 7

Objective of PWP: Definition of project objectives

Answer 7

Recall that objectives are defined by Ramroth as project-specific results. Project objectives, therefore, can be defined through determining:

What needs to be done
When it needs to be done
Who will do it and how much it will cost

Question 8

Objective of PWP: Identification of the project team

Answer 8

What disciplines are needed to accomplish the project? (e.g. architect, civil engineer, structural, mechanical, etc.)
Are these disciplines available within the design firm, or will outside consultants be needed? Will the landscape architect be an outside consultant?
How will the scope of work be established between these various parties?
How will information be disseminated within the project team?

Question 9

Objective of PWP: Breakdown of the project into task budgets

Answer 9

every “task” has three elements, and they are as follows:

An objective (with a measurable outcome)
A duration (the length of time required to complete the objective)
A level of effort (the number of labor hours budgeted to accomplish the objective)

Question 10

Objective of the PWP: Development of the project schedule

Answer 10

The project schedule is critical to effective project management. It applies a timeline to the tasks developed in step 3 of the Project Work Plan and tells the project team when deliverables are due throughout the course of the project. The project schedule also functions as a benchmark against which project progress can be compared to determine if the project is on-schedule. Project schedules should always be created around major project milestones and conform to the dates/timelines established in the design contract

Question 11

Objective of the PWP: Establishment of the project QC

Answer 11

ensure that the project is as complete and accurate as possible. In the context of quality control, completeness and accuracy are defined both in reference to the client’s project objectives and the contract as well as any requirements set forth by governmental review agencies.
QC during the construction phase is addressed through the following means:

Submittals and samples of prefabricated/manufactured products provided to the designer for review and approval
Mockups of elements constructed on site to serve as a reference for larger scale work conducted on the site
Materials testing to ensure installation quality
Direct observation of installation work (e.g. watching the landscape contractor install plant material)

Question 12

Objective of the PWP: Identification of other project-specific procedures and standards

Answer 12

The last component of a Project Work Plan is a catch-all category intended to cover any content not covered in the prior five sections. As such, there is no definitive statement for what might be found under “other project-specific procedures and standards”, but within the context of landscape architectural practice, this category could include a project work safety plan that outlines safety procedures, required equipment and communication protocols required during field work or visits to a construction site. This section might also cover elements of CAD/drafting standards in addition to that found in the quality control program, as well as invoicing procedures, templates/standard formats for meeting minutes, telephone calls and other correspondence

Question 13

Project Schedule: Milestone List

Answer 13

A milestone list is the most basic form of project schedule and can be used to quickly and simply convey a basic project timeline. Milestone lists are often used in small projects, and they often appear in Request for Proposal (RFP) documents. As such, milestone lists are used to convey a broad schedule for complex projects, with the milestone list transforming into a bar/Gantt chart or CPM schedule as the project progresses.

Question 14

Project Schedule: Bar Chart

Answer 14

Bar or Gantt charts are the most common graphic schedule used in the design profession largely because they are easy to create and update and—from clients to the general public to other designers—they are easily understood. Bar charts are effective in small and medium-scale design projects and are also used in conjunction with CPM schedules in larger, complex projects.

Question 15

Project Schedule: Critical Path Method

Answer 15

Critical Path Method (CPM) schedules are somewhat similar in appearance to bar charts, however—unlike bar charts—CPM schedules identify tasks that are project-critical. In other words, CPM schedules illustrate the relationships and interdependencies between various tasks and graphically highlight the most important tasks. Tasks are generally considered to be critical when NOT meeting the task deadline will directly and irreversibly impact the overall project schedule. CPM schedules are therefore used on large, complex projects that require extensive coordination between various tasks and disciplines

Question 16

Scheduling jargon

Answer 16

Start-to-start”: interrelated tasks that start at the same time

“Start-to-finish”: interrelated tasks in which one task finishes when the other starts

“Finish-to-start”: interrelated tasks in which one task finishes before the next task starts

“Finish-to-finish”: interrelated tasks that finish at the same time

Question 17

QC on design documents

Answer 17

0% - the drawing has not been started, but the sheet size may be decided and the titleblock is present.

25% - the drawing has been started, but all elements of the drawing are still in progress

50% - plans, sections and details are drawn, but dimensions, notes and callouts are missing or incomplete

90% - the drawing is considered to be complete, pending any changes or comments made during the quality control check of the drawing.

100% - the drawing is completed and has gone through the firm’s quality control check process.

Question 18

Constructability review

Answer 18

A constructability review is an audit and review process in which the contract documents are reviewed to identify potential construction-related problems and suggest improvements for how to streamline and improve project construction. Such considerations are potentially broad in scope, but may include material costs, equipment limitations at the construction site, and local expertise (or lack thereof) in regard to specific building trades. Constructability reviews are conducted prior to the bidding phase

Question 19

Value engineering

Answer 19

Value engineering entails the review of the contract documents to determine if construction costs and duration can be reduced while maintaining (or even improving) project quality. Examples of value engineering would include replacement of tropical hardwood decking with less costly materials, removing unnecessary or nonessential site furnishings, or adjusting the spacing or size of plant material. Whereas constructability reviews occur only prior to the bidding phase, value engineering can occur during the design phase and/or after the construction bid has been awarded (i.e. during construction).

Question 20

Meeting Factilitation

Answer 20

scheduling the date, time and place of meetings
preparing a meeting agenda/schedule
ensuring that meeting participants are aware of any deliverables related to the meeting
taking notes (“meeting minutes”) and distributing these to the project team after the meeting
following up with key attendees and the owner/client after the meeting to confirm key decisions and plan next steps.

Question 21

Meeting agenda

Answer 21

should be distributed to all meeting attendees prior to the meeting and should include any and all key issues to be resolved. Ideally, agendas from a prior meeting are treated as a template for a subsequent meeting to ensure that items are not forgotten or omitted in future discussions

Question 22

Meeting minutes

Answer 22

should include the date, time and location of the meeting, names, positions and firms/organizations of all attendees, as well as any and all notable and relevant statements made by the attendees. Meeting minutes should not be exhaustive—rather, they are intended to be a task-oriented, high-level summary of a meeting.

Question 23

Resolving contract disputes: mediation

Answer 23

Mediation is a voluntary method of resolving disputes in which the parties (e.g. the owner/client and the landscape architect) come to a common agreement that ends the conflict in question. The process of mediation is led by a third-party, mutually agreed upon mediator, with the mediator acting as an unbiased intermediary to help establish an acceptable resolution to the conflict at hand.

Mediation does not prescribe a legally binding decision and any resolution brokered through mediating is not court-enforceable. Moreover, if mediation is not successful, any of the parties involved in the mediation process can still file a lawsuit. However, most parties are likely to accept the outcome of the mediation process, especially in instances where the mediation process is outlined as the primary form of conflict resolution in the contract.

Question 24

Resolving contract disputes: arbitration

Answer 24

a process led by impartial, third parties known as “arbitrators,” and these arbitrators are empowered to render a final, binding decision that cannot be repealed. Arbitration is thus considered to be the most formal means of conflict resolution described in contracts. Although arbitration is handled outside of the municipal court system, parties can engage in a process called “binding arbitration”, in which the decision rendered by the arbitrator(s) is considered court-enforceable.

Question 25

Resolving contract disputes: parterning

Answer 25

Unlike mediation and arbitration, partnering is intended to be a preventative process that addresses potential conflicts before they manifest themselves in any serious fashion. In partnering, the contracted parties are led through a series of team-building sessions by a trained facilitator. This process begins before any project work is conducted and continues at regular intervals throughout the project. The goal of this process is to identify common goals, improve communication and promote unity within the project team, thereby reducing the likelihood that serious disputes will occur.

Question 26

Project budgets

Answer 26

Project budgets can be broken down to reflect the various phases of a project’s development. In general, a project will have budgets for administration, design, construction and contingency. Depending upon the contracting method used (e.g., general contracting method vs. design-build) some of these budget categories could potentially be collapsed into the same categories or divided between the same party. The

Question 27

Overhead

Answer 27

The non-labor costs associated with operating and maintaining an office are known as overhead. Examples of overhead include renting an office space, paying for office internet service and purchasing new computers for employees.

Question 28

Project budget categories: administration

Answer 28

The project administration budget is the amount of money that the owner/client has allotted to manage the project over all its phases. Depending upon the owner’s preferences and capabilities, as well as the particulars of a project, this budget could be allocated toward the owner’s staff, or it could be directed toward a general contractor or other party that will be administering the project for the owner/client.

Question 29

Project budget categories: design

Answer 29

The project design budget is the amount of money allocated toward creating the project design concept and translating it into construction documents. The project design budget should take into account all of the disciplines (e.g. architecture, structural engineering, landscape architecture, etc.) that will be required to complete the construction documents. Note that the landscape architect should typically account for a profit goal of between 15-20% when developing the design budget for a project.

In instances where the owner/client’s design budget is insufficient for the required scope of services, it may be necessary for design firms to negotiate with the owner/client. Design budgets can generally be met by reducing the designer’s scope of services in some of the following ways:

Reducing the number of client submittals or deliverables
Reducing the number of meetings
Adjusting the overall scope of work such that the scope of services is reduced

Question 30

Project budget categories: construction

Answer 30

The project construction budget is the amount of money that the client has allocated to have the project built. The landscape architect will typically be required to produce a design for the client that meets their construction budget, and an effective landscape architect will be capable of maximizing a design’s impact within these budgetary constraints. This capability typically develops over time and with experience and may also reflect the opportunities and constraints unique to each project. For example, specifying decomposed granite walkways may be a cost-effective strategy in regions where this material is abundant, whereas it could be considered a poor decision in areas where similar materials (e.g. crushed bluestone gravel) are available at a lower cost.

Question 31

Project budget categories: construction support services

Answer 31

This is the amount of money that the owner/client has budgeted for construction inspection, testing, review of submittals, etc.

Question 32

Project budget categories: contingency

Answer 32

The project contingency budget is the amount of money the client has set aside for design and/or construction changes, with this money intended to act as a buffer for unexpected cost overruns. As a general rule, budget contingencies should be 5-10% of the value of their respective line item.