Fall 2007

Letter from the Editors
Management practices of the last 5,000 years have led us to design and build a world that now faces a crisis. Can we expect the management philosophy that got us here to get us out of this mess?
Read the full Letter from the Editors.

Featured Articles

The Pleasing Paradox
by David A. Schmaltz
The key to becoming a stellar service provider lies in making only responsible commitments. We must know how and when to say “No,” because no one can know what will finally emerge as best. Client and service provider will have to discover what constitutes best, and this always, always, always means stumbling through some uncomfortable territory together.
Read the full article.

Train Wreck Management
by Mary Poppendieck
As business grew and became geographically dispersed in the 1800s, a way to run these businesses had to be found. But there were no models outside the church and the military, so business looked to the Prussian army for a model. And there they found the classic organization chart—the one we know so well today. So where does this leave us? Which is more important—process or people?
Read the full article.

Project Delivery Is Broken: If it’s Broken, Fix It!
by Kristin Hill, AIA
Current approaches are fundamentally mismatched. They do not focus on delivering value, collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation. More of the same isn’t the answer. So where can designers look for a solution that will reform the process at its core? One answer: look to lean practices and principles to change the industry.
Read the full article.

Projects as Patients: What Can We Learn from the Medical Profession?
by Will Lichtig
Over the past 25 years, projects have continued to grow more complex, but project outcomes have not really improved. Projects are routinely late and over budget. Construction productivity has declined, while nonfarm productivity has increased. Construction projects continue to result in injuries and fatalities each day. Is it any wonder that individuals continue to leave the design and construction professions and the industry is facing a labor crisis?
Read the full article.

My Problem with Design
by Chauncey Bell
Our modern notions of “design” and “designing” trouble me. Not so long ago, if one wanted to become a designer, one first became a master craftsperson. Then at some moment we began to separate the “manual” work of craftsmanship and the “intellectual” work of design into two threads.
Read the full article.

Target-Value Design: Nine Foundational Practices for Delivering Surprising Client Value
by Hal Macomber, Gregory Howell, and John Barberio
Rework, repricing, change orders, and de-value engineering are all symptoms of a process that ignores the nature of design and the systems nature of the built environment. Target-Value Design turns current design practice upside-down.
Read the full article.

Additional Articles

Electronic Discovery: What You Need to Know
by Shannon Soady and Cathy Comstock
Respondents in the engineering and construction sector have the highest litigation costs— 59 percent higher than the average U.S. company spends on its legal work. A large portion of litigation costs is incurred during the complex production of electronic discovery (e-discovery), if a company is not prepared. How should architecture, engineering, and construction firms proactively safeguard themselves in the event of a subpoena, claim, or litigation?
Read the full article. (Note: link goes to a PDF.)

Fixed-Price Contracts: Saving the Construction Industry From Itself
by Barry B. LePatner, Hon. AIA
The emergence of a true fixed-price contract, in contrast to the widespread use of construction contracts that allow contract pricing to be readily increased, is imperative if the construction industry’s widespread inefficiencies and rampant cost overruns are to be contained.
Read the full article.

The Future of Professional Practice Conference: A Preview
by Michael Bordenaro
The ability to base near-term decisions on recent successes will afford attendees confidence when facing the inevitable business process changes enabled by advanced technology. From university curriculum to large firm management to small-firm case studies, the eclectic interests of the building industry will be addressed by architects…and architects representing owners, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers.
Read quotes and interviews with conference speakers.

The Practice Management Knowledge Community (PMKC) has awarded scholarships to two young professionals to attend this conference, cosponsored by the PMKC, to

Support young professionals’ participation in PMKC activities
Broaden young professionals’ understanding of PMKC initiatives
Include the ideas of young professionals in formulating PMKC thinking
Celebrate the value of professional conferences to young professionals

The scholarship winners are R.A. Molldrem and Melanie Hall.