How a design manager build a skills matrix? is the thirteenth article of a series. Articles about design management in architecture practice. I have discussed in the previous articles what is design management, who is the design manager in practice. Also, firm or project design management plan, what are the key functions of a design management plan in practice? In addition, what needs to be managed in architecture firm. This article is the eighth article on building and writing a design management plan.
Design manager’s intervention with recruiters
Design managers regularly identify job descriptions. They intervene with the firm recruiter’s daily work. The firm announces a job vacancy online based on the job description updates. Therefore, they inform the recruiter’s team what is required for a job vacancy. Recruiters focus on the design manager’s instructions on the strengths and areas needed in the candidate. Also, it’s the design manager’s role to update the job descriptions in the design management plan. In the next paragraph, I will discuss and analyze the staff organizational chart of the firm. Management, design, and other skills are the basis of defining a firm’s design organization chart and skills matrix.
Design manager and organization chart
At the top of the organization chart sits the design manager. He manages the firm’s projects and design team staff. Project managers manage the project work and the team doing the work. The lead architect or the senior architect does the design, mainly the concept design. In addition, senior architects transfer concept design to architectural designs with the defined team. They coordinate the architecture design with other engineering disciplines. They review the work from time to time as per internal and industry standards.
Architects in the team prepare the project working drawings with the architects’ technologists. In addition to that, they start the detailing work of the project.
The design manager defines the management plan parts and general guidelines. Manages client and internal meetings with the firm’s staff. He also administers work schedules, the scope of work, increments, performance reviews, team building, and problem-solving. Project managers build project timelines. As well as coordinate the outsourced work procurement process. Builds work schedules and assignments for the architecture team, and attends meetings with firm teams.
Lead architects prepare concept design, client design reports, and distribute work schedules to the senior architects. Review and coordinate architecture team’s design work with the engineering team. In addition, writes the project architectural specifications based on the client’s project requirements. Also, assign a team member to calculate the project architecture bill of quantities. Solve resource problems needed for the team and technical issues of architectural design. Surely, holds meetings with the other engineers in the design phases and reflects any concerns about the design. Furthermore, the lead architect writes staff performance reports identifying major strengths and weak points, and how to develop them. Certainly, attends kickoff meetings with clients to introduce the project team, along with the project manager and design manager.
Senior architect transforms the concept design into architectural design drawings. At the same time considers standards, rules, and regulations. Reflects all the spec’s on the drawings. As well as distribute the work to the architects to finalize the working drawings. Coordinates review of the drawings and preparations by the architects with the project spec’s. Surely, attends meetings with the lead/project manager to ensure work achieves milestones, and to report work issues if available.
Architects transform the design drawings into working drawings with the aid of the senior architects. They report technical problems in this process to them for solving. Review, check, and ensure all the working drawings are coordinated with the engineering drawings. Coordinate with the architectural technicians to assist them in preparing the working drawings. They ensure the production of high-quality drafting and working drawings.
Technicians assist the architects in preparing work that follows the firm’s procedures. As well as industry and quality standards.
Design manager and work categories
In the design management plan design manager identifies work categories related to the staff position. Concept and design review, presentation, writing Spec’s and Bill of Quantities by lead architects. Design, visualization, working drawings, and details by senior architects and architects. Drafting and drafting review by the architects and technicians. Other engineers do similar work in the process, in addition to the main work. These will help the design manager build the skills matrix for the firm’s work.
Design manager and skills matrix
In addition to the following skills, the design manager prepares the skills matrix for the firm’s use. It also includes the academic qualifications, practice certifications, and work experience.
Management-relevant skills include, but are not limited to: design management, people management, project planning, analysis, evaluation and assessment, negotiation, coordination, scheduling, time management, budgeting, estimation, communication, decision-making, problem-solving, leadership, and contracts administration.
Designer’s relevant skills include: leadership, design, review, scheduling, visualization, writing, coordination, estimation, and communication.
Technicians’ relevant skills include: drafting, scheduling, visualization, review, estimation, coordination, and communication.
So, according to that, a manager is evaluated on his academic qualifications and higher degrees obtained, and in which specialty. In addition, how many years of management does he have in practice, and what type of projects and teams has he managed? What are the skills he possesses from the above-mentioned list of skills?
Designers, on the other hand, are evaluated based on their qualifications and higher education level, and specialty. How many years in conducting design or developing designs and concepts, in practice? Management type, whether it’s projects or people, and what type of these. Adding to that, the above-mentioned skills.
Technician staff, as well, are evaluated on their academic credentials in technician work. The types of projects they worked on and the specialties, such as infrastructure, structure, architecture, and other related firms’ work. How many years of experience in every type have they spent, and did they have a management role or not? Adding to that, the skills mentioned above.
In the following graph, which is used to match staff skills, the firm’s design staff are categorized and grouped based on the three divisions. The above right side of the graph, written in blue, is the skills related to managers and lead architects. The following are the skills related to senior architects and architects. The above-left side shows the skills related to technicians. The graph has three arms that connect in the middle, and every end is the mark of the gauge for low skill. Every arm is related to the three major categories: management, design, and technician work. See Figure 1, the mapping staff skills and experience graph. This leads to building a skills matrix for a firm. Also, other related articles you can find in these links 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
Figure 1, the mapping staff skills and experience graph.
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