Investigating the dynamic potential of the project brief -

Abstract

The construction industry regularly suffers from delays, cost overruns and less delivered value leading eventually to clients’ and end users’ dissatisfaction. Failure to meet the project’s basic objectives is highly attributed to poor management practices that are traced back to the very earliest stages of the project development. At project takeoff, the project brief is of utmost importance; it is where critical decisions are made and the most value is generated. Project brief is the project’s cornerstone that expresses the basic intentions of the client and the source of information that flows throughout the design process. This research is concerned with the briefing process inefficiencies that are a major factor hindering the development of the design and a main source of re-design, re-work, re-scope and claims. This is due to the lack of clarity in the client needs and objectives and the little attention given to assess the client and stakeholders’ requirements. Other problems emerging also during the design process along with frequent changes in client’s requirements are also considered a main reason of the brief improper evolution. To this end, the purpose of this research is to investigate the dynamic potential of the project brief taking into account its completeness as per design stages and the development drivers that determine its level of flexibility. Through highlighting input from (a) the literature, (b) surveyed projects and (c) unstructured interviews, as the foundation for the overall methodology used, this research succeeded in developing a brief framework that sets and aligns explicitly and precisely the project’s requirements at design stages’ gateways. This framework combines both fixed and dynamic brief views and helps in properly managing and controlling the brief evolution based on different development factors. Finally, this research empowers our comprehension of the dynamic brief nature by improving the decision-making process and ensu