Assembling A Collaborative Team - Other - Page 38
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team
For simplicity’s sake, this publication considers two scenarios: a ‘practice’
approach and a ‘project’ approach. The detail of these approaches is set out
below and is similar to the concept of the bespoke practice- or project-specific
RIBA Plan of Work 2013.
Neither approach impacts on how the incremental development of the project
brief should be carried out; however, as the brief is a core tool at Stage 2, and
because some of its contents may require specific services to be included in
the professional services contracts or the Building Contract, it is considered
in Figures 3.1 and 3.2. The complexity of both preparing the project brief and
assembling the project team is likely to increase with the size and/or complexity
of a project, but the processes set out in this publication provide benefits on
even the smallest of projects as they bring greater clarity to who is doing what,
when they are doing it and how the project team will work together
collaboratively.
The practice approach
Use of the practice approach is anticipated in two sets of circumstances:
•for experienced clients who understand the processes involved and have
their own in-house appointment documents prepared for use on every project
•for architectural practices, or project managers and others, where a common
set of documents can be prepared for use on all of the practice’s projects,
although the clients themselves will vary from project to project and also vary
in their level of experience.
The practice approach of assembling the project team uses the same tools as
the project approach. The difference is that the tools are progressed ‘off-line’
(i.e. not in relation to a specific project). The concept is straightforward: the
WHO, WHAT, WHEN and HOW aspects (see Chapters 6 to 9) are considered
holistically and then utilised on every project. The WHY aspects are part of the
briefing process and need to be considered individually on each new project.
The practice approach is summarised in Figure 3.1.
The step change is that, while the project approach relies on strategic considerations
and appointments during Stage 0 and the detailed assembly of the project team
during Stage 1, the practice approach works on the basis that each member of
the project team is appointed at the outset, for the duration of the project, on
the basis of fully developed appointment documents. There is therefore no
incremental development of the project team.
The practice approach can be harnessed by an architectural practice, an
experienced client or a project manager undertaking the project lead role, and
the tools in this publication can be used by any party. The fundamental difference
is that the party that has their foot in the door and is appointed at the outset
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