Project management is a widely defined discipline that stands to penetrate its impact in any modern-day project. It is seen as an essential part of making or breaking the project and has both time and monitory importance for any corporation. However, building industry cultures varies across geographies and therefore the scope of this discipline also stands adaptable, also partially because of the kind and scale of the project.

However complex the project is, the basics of project management fundamentals that every client must set up are really simple.

1. Define clear roles.

Making it clear who is responsible for which activities are essential from the start. Often there are multiple stakeholders in a project with specific sets of requirements and dependencies. It is important to crystallise these requirements, make a dependency plan, and define roles so that all the pieces come together in alignment.

2. Comprehensive and frozen drawing documentation

Mid-project changes are the easiest way to lose track of a project. It is better to wait and freeze all the drawings rather than go by the fly. Change of drawings or incomplete planning leads to dependencies and cost escalation.

3. Responsive contracts system based on drawings

Contracts based upon drawings are more likely to lead to in the budget project. Rather than having a complete itemises system, contract awards can be fixed in responsibilities and have certain accommodation for flexibility. Sometimes it is best to go for fixed contracts, which in some cases are also discouraged due to the prevailing practice of mid-project changes. Some accommodation is necessary, though such a practice should be discouraged.

4. Cash flow planning

Frozen drawings and frozen contracts lead to better cash flow planning opportunities. Billing gets simplified and the processing time is saved thereby speeding up the project. Steady cash flow increases timely procurement and most of all increases the client’s reputation.

5. Weekly scheduled meetings

A pre-scheduled meeting leads to better coordination at the site. Designers and vendors can block this date and slots may be worked out for each vendor. Making the most out of these meetings is important. A pre-made checklist from all vendors must be asked for before each meeting and the intention should be to either solve the points or schedule the point in future.

6. Clear action points list + Dependency log

Listing is the key. All meeting should succeed with clear action points with a follow-up mechanism to the right stakeholder. Missing follow-up leads to loose ends on site that are later revealed.

Another aspect is adding a dependency log to the list. This helps iron out any aspect with high lead so that it is solved when a critical moment arises.

7. Data management

Though we discourage too frequent emails or changes, yet the information in the form of pictures, emails, etc. can create huge data sets that are not easy to miss. A simple solution can be to use a dedicated e-mail address for the project to organise all the information.

During the design phase, it is important to collect this data into pointers that can be checked/rechecked during various stages of design. Construction phase requires both pointers planning and drawing planning. Drawings must be set up with an update mechanism so that changes are communicated to all the contractors.

Rather than always resorting to full package tools like MS projects or AEC software, clients can also apply simple tools like Mail, Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs/Sheets or alikes that helps in achieving the same purpose. For many clients, the timely delivery of a project is most critical. As complexity increases, the solution lies in making processes simple. The above points help to not only eliminate “surprise elements” but also develop an environment with difficulties spotted early to overcome them.