What is design management in architecture?

What is Design Management in Architecture is the first article of a series.  Articles about design management in architecture practice. In the real world, an architect or anyone can find many resources about project and design management. The available resources include research papers, reports, books, and theses. They fulfill the subject of the document’s aims and objectives. The aims of theory-based research about a specific subject in design management. Also, a book that attracts readers with its practical knowledge content.

The academic and the practice arena put the architects in an overwhelming status.  They provide a massive number of online databases of papers and books.  The authors aim to support practice individuals in project and design management and merely applied in practice. For example, you can find topics like creative thinking, decision-making, and knowledge-sharing concepts. Further, architectural design methods, strategic design management, and other related topics. In Google Scholar you can find 5 million of these topics. For that, you can observe the hazards and destruction they cause for a design manager in reality. f

The reality contradicts many aspects of writings and publications. They show extreme openness and sincerity to people in practice. For example, in many EU companies in the Middle East, I worked with, they randomly assigned positions.  They directly and indirectly assigned a design manager to someone who works under a project manager. Also, a design manager to an employee at a director level in the firm’s organizational chart. This creates a conflict of duties, thus failure in work.

In this context, there is a misconception about the design manager position in the organization chart that handles project design management. Another related matter is a misunderstanding of the real role of a design manager and who he should be. But, unfortunately, companies, here in the Middle East, assign positions to serve their goals to achieve only a financial benefit, not more. This causes a lot of failures and defects in the company operations in the long run and makes work a destabilizing status.

The misconception is at what level a design manager should be in the company’s organization chart. A design manager, regardless of whether he is an architect or architect-engineer, must spend a certain number of years in business. He should handle several roles, like architectural design for a project. Heading the preparation of construction drawings. Having real-world knowledge about writing specifications. How to handle bidding documents for the construction phase. Finally, how to run several projects at one time with the same staff.

The design manager should have experience in working with a group of architects at a senior level and coordinating the latter’s work. Any project includes practice experience of structural system, related design specifications, and construction matters. Adding to that, mechanical and electrical experience, and knowledge of building design. If he doesn’t have project design management practice experience, he will not fail in his role. The design manager can handle his role by knowing how systems work. Finally, have experience in other fields process of design.

A design manager with this practical experience should have some characteristics. It is evident that has worked in the field for 15+ years on large-scale projects of any type. Otherwise handled or worked with a team in completing several buildings of various scales.  In running all the stages of a project lifecycle in practice, an individual will have the experience to handle project design management.

In practice, you find many articles on job boards and professional bodies’ publications, like LinkedIn and others. They relate to training and guides about project design management.  These contain the Trash of practice related to the design management field. They include unnecessary information that does not relate directly to a design management job. For example, a design manager should have experience in several tasks, like running a business. How fiscal matters are handled in a company’s operations. How is business budget allocated to a specific project? Management skills in attracting new clients, projects, and company growth goals. Finally, other matters like outsourcing company work and the design manager’s involvement in the construction phase.

Project design management is actively involved with many firms’ daily activities. For example, meeting new clients for newly assigned projects. Analyzing and assessing the new project to build a project design program. Evaluating the outsourcing companies involved in the design process. Building a project team for a project and a skills matrix. Running many projects from start to construction handover. Team coordination and clearing defects and work failures in any project.

In addition to the previous planning, a project lifecycle in the design phase. Also, plan the municipality submittals to get the approvals. Monitoring and quality control by choosing proper engineers and architects for the design phase. And regular client meetings in every stage of the design phase for approvals and updates about the project status. Scheduled meetings with clients for design fees payments.

Design management in practice in the real world is the process of managing design and people activities. It’s the process of holding meetings with clients and outsourcing companies. In addition, hold the firm’s officials on-demand or planned meetings. It includes several tasks like planning the project lifecycle in terms of phasing, timing. Further, team building, defining project outcomes, quality control, authority, and client submittal stages. Finally, solving delay issues and teamwork problems.

In some firms in the Middle East, they involve the design manager in various roles. Further, they hold him responsible for the outcomes and failures. For example, studying consultancy contracts with clients for a specific project. Its alignment with country rules and regulations, as well as industry standards. Other firms hold him responsible for fund budgeting for the design phase. Also, for the internal team and outsourcing, as well as firms spending within the process.

Firms assign roles to design managers, such as administrative activities. For example, daily attendance sheets, hourly work, and weekly work reports. Further the development of staff and looking for firm growth by employing people who contribute to business growth. People who can create an uptrend in firm work. For instance, people having direct relations with clients outside the firm’s client circle.

Regular evaluation of staff works for development, wages, and yearly upgrade. The review of the project documents from the initial phase. In some cases, roles like writing client reports and design quality control reports. Also, specs reports for submittals, internal design work, and funds reports for every stage of spending. Further,  issuing documents for firm fees payments, project records of the external funds to outsourcing companies. A design manager is the owner of the company and the Business itself.