This chapter has described that part of the project life cycle that is directed by the design professional and results in a set of project documents ready for the tender process. All non-trivial construction projects, of any size, type or complexity, follow this general step-by-step procedure, beginning with the preliminary planning and feasibility study and leading on through schematic design, design development and construction contract document preparation. The intent of the process is a directed series of discussions by the design professional and the owner about the project. Each stage pursues increasingly detailed inquiry into smaller pieces and fewer options. Early in the process, a question might be, How big will the facility be? Later, one might ask, What kind of materials shall we use for this wall? As the design nears completion, the owner may be confronted with What colour paint shall be selected? During the early part of this phase, there will tend to be much back-and-forth, feedback type of discussion and consideration, as various options are proposed and evaluated. Somewhere during the schematic design stage it varies with every project there should be enough clarification to allow succeeding design work to proceed in a straight-ahead, linear fashion; the design manager does well to come to this point as early as possible, so that all parties can proceed efficiently, knowing that minimal changes will henceforth be made to the basic design plans. It is also well to remember that the several phases discussed in this chapter are part of a designbuild project, or a phased-construction project, although each of the phases will tend to follow the cycle described.
Some common tasks tend to occur during each of the stages, in addition to the technical planning and design efforts. We note three such tasks briefly below.
