One of the key features of PM-Steps is the use of STEPS. The STEPS subdivide the work of each design Phase into four sets of tasks. Breaking the work of the Phases into more manageable chunks that are in turn arranged in a logical order is intended to provide more control over the performance of the work. One of the aspects of project management that I always found challenging was delegating tasks in a way that kept the process moving forward. Too often the delegation had to be revisited (reworked) when later work showed that the early assumptions were now wrong. STEPS help to prevent that.
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I use POCKET to save articles that I stumble upon while surfing the net. My methodology is to browse through several sources and save the articles that seem like good references on a variety of topics. Marketing for instance.

I am sharing the cream of the marketing articles that I have saved this year. I think you will find a thing or two to save in your own digital library.
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This week I am playing around with a new toy called Publicate. I think it has some real potential for adding visual interest as well as facilitating the presentation of multiple articles in one post.

​Bear with me while I experiment.

The economics of design do not allow for the time it takes to write a specification and assemble a project manual.

You have to be extraordinarily well-organized to spend less than one hour on each spec section. There are usually about 50-70 architectural spec sections. Say 60 hours to produce the spec. If the specification represents 5% of the architect's fee (which I think is about right), then the math tells us that at somewhere above a $3,000,000 project, it might be feasible. This quickly rises to $4,000.000 or more if you aren't as efficient as my example. Or if your spec writer is better compensated. See my math below. You can quarrel with my numbers, but the point is that bound specs aren't affordable on a lot of projects, even public ones.

The Problem With Plans

I guess the calendar year is the accepted time frame for taking stock of achievements and planning for the new year. That process never worked very well for me. Although client interaction slowed down between Thanksgiving and New Years Day as they were distracted by their own year-end issues and the season, we had the same distractions. Planning takes a lot of time. Nevertheless, the planning effort is always worthwhile. You learn about your opportunities and your obstacles. Good stuff. The problem is trying to implement the plan. Stuff happens. The written plan is too time-consuming to access regularly, and it is disappointing to see the year slipping by with not-so-much being accomplished.

After 18 months I have decided to begin posting to the BLOG once again. If you are new to Architekwiki, you might have missed this source of riveting information. After all, it wasn't even listed in the menu until recently. 

Take a look.

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