Management of the building design process with the Analytical Design Planning Technique

In recent times there has been a growing understanding of the importance of effective design planning and management to facilitate a co-ordinated building design within budget, and to ensure the smooth running of the project. Traditionally, building design has been planned with the same methods as construction, which do not allow the effects of variations and delays to be fully understood within an iterative process such as design. Also, they monitor progress based upon the completion of drawing work and other design deliverables as opposed to the availability of key pieces of information. This leads to a compromised design process containing inevitable cycles of rework together with associated time and cost penalties in both design and construction. The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) provides a means of planning iterative design work based on the flow of information through the process. A comprehensive information flow model of the detailed building design process has been produced, representing design activities and their information requirements. When linked to a dependency structure matrix (DSM) analysis tool, the optimal sequence of activities can be determined and iterative elements of work can be identified in a structured manner, based on the flow of information in the process. The optimal sequence of activities can be represented against a timescale so that a programme of work is produced. This programme can be integrated with the programmes of other stages of the project, such as construction, through further analysis of the process on a DSM, providing an objective means of developing an overall project programme. The technique has been trialled on case study projects and found to offer a range of benefits, including: it acknowledges the iterative nature of design; it identifies and accurately programmes crucial multi-disciplinary co-ordination activities that require a collaborative working environment to be undertaken effectively; it allows key information estimation and fixing requirements to be identified; and it can help to identify effective design and procurement strategies. The research has proven the viability of ADePT as a technique to plan and manage the detailed building design process.