Journal

Breaking a larger project down into phases can be a very useful technique in certain instances. Phases of work can overlap in part, or can be scheduled to be carried out years apart. Phasing benefits from a particular approach to project planning, documentation, and sometimes also design, so it is important to identify this early and plan with phasing in mind.

There are many factors that may affect the actual timeframe of your project. By understanding and considering these you will be able to reduce delay and make best possible use of time available. The efficiency and effectiveness of you and your project team will be essential to this. For this reason, it is vital for professionals to coach and educate clients on the project process, implement rigorous project planning at every stage, and to tie these together with great comm

A linear project is one that proceeds regularly and consistently through each of the project phases and stages, avoiding loops back in response to external factors, or to accommodate variations to the scope of work or the project plan.

There are usually some unexpected situations to be dealt with in any project, so it is important to plan for these unknowns from the start. As with budget, where the overall time available is limited, you should allow a contingency within the programme. We refer to this as programme contingency.

There are a number of steps that can be taken to reduce the overall timeframe of a project. A rigorous project planning process with excellent project management procedures should have a significant benefit in the long run. By keeping a close eye on all aspects of the project planning process, in particular costs and budget, a great deal of time can generally be saved.    

The timescale and programme of each individual construction project will be unique, but a written programme, usually in the form of a Gantt chart, can be produced from the outset of the project, and reviewed and updated as the project progresses. Many projects follow typical patterns which can be predicted with a reasonable degree of accuracy.