Key Elements from RIBA Stage 1: Preparation and Brief

The RIBA Plan of Work 2013

Most people in the construction industry will be familiar with the RIBA plan of work 2013, which is often used as a guidance document when planning out the stages of a construction project. Spanning a total of eight stages, and covering the whole lifecycle of a project, the current RIBA plan of work highlights a number of tasks that are relevant at each work stage and this offers the user a sound base for planning out their project.

RIBA Stage 1: Preparation and Brief

There are several design stages in the RIBA plan of work 2013, however, prior to these is arguably one of the most important stages of any project; RIBA Stage 1: Preparation and Brief. As the name suggests, this stage is all about preparation, and if executed correctly, should offer the project a sound foundation for success.

Whether you decide to use the RIBA plan of work 2013 as a guide for your project or not, there are some fundamental tasks within the preparation and brief stage that we believe should feature as a priority in any project plan.

Developing a Sound Project Brief

Developing a sound project brief is critical and should be the first step in describing the idea for the project. Careful consideration should be given to the project objectives, technical requirements and overall desired outcomes so that any relevant information can be incorporated into the drafting of the initial project brief.

Carrying out this exercise helps to promote a better understanding of the project as a whole and should provide sound documentation which can be relied upon when undertaking consultant appointments and subsequently discussing concept design ideas.

The initial project brief should offer suitable and sufficient information so that the reader understands why the project has been commissioned, what the project involves and what outcomes the project needs to achieve.

Undertaking Project Feasibility

Often our ideas and dreams cloud our judgment and undertaking suitable feasibility studies can be likened to listening to your head rather than your heart. It is important that we ask the question:

“Is the project feasible?”

Feasibility studies are conducted to help determine the viability of the project and ascertain if it is operationally, technically and, in some cases, legally, possible. A project must also be economically justifiable and feasibility studies usually include some form of cost benefit analysis which helps to determine the economic benefits of the project. The outcome will also help the client make an informed decision on the project budget.

Developing the Project Programme

Understanding the time implications of project tasks and how long a project will take is often part of the feasibility study and is fundamental to its success. At Austin Fletcher we always advocate the drafting of a project programme at the earliest opportunity.

Usually, if the project follows the RIBA plan of work 2013 closely, the first draft of the project programme will already have been carried out under Stage 0. In some cases, Stage 0 is either skipped or condensed and the first chance to draft the project programme is during Stage 1. Either way, it is imperative that a programme be developed at an early stage of a project where information from the project brief and outcomes of the feasibility studies can be used to add detail and accuracy.

During the early stages of a project the time implications of certain tasks will be unknown. It is important to include these items using anticipated timescales until sufficient information is available to allow the project programme to be revised.

When drafting any programme it must be realistic. Allocating tasks with unachievable timescales to fit deadlines is counterproductive and only delays the inevitable which in many a case has a financial implication. Look out for our future blog posts on programming where we will delve into this topic in more detail.

Summary

There are many factors to take into consideration when embarking on a new project, in this article we have highlighted three tasks from Stage 1 of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 which we feel should always be prioritised before undertaking any meaningful design work.

A sound initial project brief summarises the project, highlighting objectives, milestones and the general scope of work.

Feasibility studies may not be exciting, but they can provide comfort, confidence and justification for undertaking the project.

Drafting a realistic project programme at the earliest opportunity will help provide an understanding of the time implications associated with individual elements of a project and provide a method of managing tasks and monitoring progress.

Carrying out these three elements of work correctly will, together, provide a sound base on which to build your project.

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