#official project

KEY COMPONENTS AND RELATIONSHIPS

TOP TIER:

Client body: The client entity that funds and owns the project.

Professional advisors: External or internal advisors providing governance, standards, and specialist input.

The diagram suggests a formal collaboration between the Client body and Professional advisors, with the project management function acting as a central coordinating layer between the client/advisors and delivery teams.

CENTRAL BINDING ELEMENT:

Project management functions: This is the core coordinating hub. It directs, manages, and communicates with the design and construction management approaches, effectively substituting for the client’s in-house project management capability.

Design management functions: A dual-supply path from project management to the design disciplines, indicating responsibility for design governance, conformity to brief, and integration with construction planning.

Construction management functions: Another arm under project management handling execution planning, field coordination, safety, scheduling, cost control, and procurement interfaces.

DELIVERY/DISCIPLINES (THE BASE LAYER):

Architectural functions: Architecture design development, detailing, and integration with structural and MEP.

Quantity surveying functions: Cost estimation, value engineering, and cost control.

Engineering functions: Structural, MEP, and other engineering disciplines providing technical design coordination.

Construction functions: Site execution, contractor management, and on-site coordination.

ARROWS AND FLOW:

The arrows imply a bidirectional or directive flow between levels, indicating that:

Project management functions coordinate with both design management and construction management.

Design management and construction management provide input to and receive direction from architectural, quantity surveying, engineering, and construction functions.

There is an implication of cross-discipline coordination (multi-headed arrows from the central hub to the base layer), reflecting integrated design and build activities.

Annotation:

The caption notes that this is “Figure 9.5 Design - and - build structure (project management dominant),” signaling that the project management function has a leading governance role in the design-build process, potentially controlling schedules, budgets, interfaces, and decision-making.

INTERPRETATION FOR PRACTICE

Delivery model implications:

This diagram supports a design-build with a strong client-side or contracted project management leadership, where the PMO (Project Management Office) assumes primary responsibility for alignment of design, cost, and construction activities.

It implies tight integration between design development and construction planning, with explicit leadership from the PM function to avoid silos.

BIM and data governance implications:

In a BIM-enabled workflow, this structure suggests a centralized data governance framework where the Project Management functions coordinate data exchange between architectural, structural, and MEP models, as well as cost and procurement data managed by the QS function.

Clear responsibilities for interfaces, the PM function would define the BEP/EIR interfaces, model progression milestones, and integration cadence (e.g., weekly coordination meetings, model federation, RFI logs, 4D/5D/6D simulations).

Risk and decision rights:

With project management dominance, the PM function typically holds decision rights on scope changes, budget adjustments, and schedule recovery plans, while design and construction functions provide technical inputs and recommendations.

Practical considerations:

Establish a formal RACI or responsibility matrix to accompany this structure, clarifying who approves design changes, who authorizes cost implications, and how coordination with external advisors is handled.

Implement a common data environment (CDE) and shared BIM workflows to realize the intended integrated design and build approach, ensuring traceability of decisions from PM through each discipline.

Design and Build Structure (Construction Dominant)

OVERVIEW

The figure depicts a design-and-build organizational structure with a construction-dominant governance model. It shows how roles, responsibilities, and information flow are arranged from the client side through the project management/leadership layer down to the delivery functions.

KEY COMPONENTS AND RELATIONSHIPS

TOP TIER:

Client body: The project owner or client organization funding the work.

Professional advisors: External specialists providing governance, standards, and expert input. The diagram shows a dotted/indirect line to the client's body, indicating advisory input rather than direct control.

Central coordinating layer:

Construction management functions: The primary hub in this construction-dominant model. They coordinate design, project management, and on-site execution.

Design management functions: Provide design oversight and interface with construction management to ensure constructability and coordination with the build plan.

Project management functions: Act as a bridge between design and construction teams, but in this diagram, they still report into the broader construction-dominant structure, reflecting a tighter on-site control emphasis.

Delivery/disciplines (the base layer):

Architectural functions

Quantity surveying functions

Engineering functions

Construction functions

Arrows and flow:

The arrows indicate direction and influence of the management group over the delivery functions. There are bidirectional lines between some blocks, suggesting ongoing communication and feedback loops, but the overarching emphasis is that construction management has the dominant governing role.

There is an implied integration path where design and project management functions feed into and coordinate with the architectural, QS, engineering, and construction teams.

Caption and title:

The diagram is labeled as Figure 9.4: Design - and - build structure (construction dominant), indicating that the project governance is led by construction management, with design and project management playing supporting roles to enable on-site delivery.

INTERPRETATION FOR PRACTICE

Delivery model implications:

This layout supports a design-build contract where the construction management function drives decisions, sequencing, procurement, and coordination to maximize on-site efficiency and reduce rework.

There is explicit emphasis on the integration of design inputs with constructability feedback from the field, enabling rapid decision-making for design changes that affect buildability.

BIM and data governance implications:

In a BIM-enabled workflow, the construction-dominant model would rely on tight integration of design and construction data, with the construction management function leading model coordination, plan progression, and on-site data capture (RFIs, NCRs, daily reports).

Clear responsibilities should accompany this diagram, including a RACI for who approves design changes, who issues field directives, and how model updates propagate to the cost and schedule systems (4D/5D/6D).

Risk and decision rights:

The construction management function likely holds significant decision rights for on-site ISPs, procurement, subcontracting, sequencing, and interface management.

Design and project management inputs are essential for ensuring compliant and constructible solutions, but the authority to finalize on-site decisions rests with construction management.

Practical considerations:

Establish a formal RACI matrix to delineate who approves changes, who authorizes cost implications, and how design information is released for construction.

Implement a robust field-reporting system and model coordination process to ensure timely feedback from the construction team informs design iterations.