Plan the work, work the plan

Taking the time to define what the objectives and constraints are for any project, large or small, is a critical first step.  Having a clear picture of what you want to accomplish provides the foundation and guidance to help navigate the journey.

Once you have the foundation of your scope defined, it's time to do some homework and work through due diligence or feasibility investigations.

This can mean different things for different projects and scopes, but it boils down to researching requirements and existing conditions to be sure you know what will be required to accomplish the project objectives and sometimes adapting scope.  This may include investigating physical things like structures, soils, environmental assessments, etc., private real estate restrictions, availability of utilities, required permits and approvals, etc. etc.  Each project is unique so this step helps lay the groundwork for success.

Design and approvals for your project is where you take all of your learnings from the due diligence phase to develop the plans and details you will use to construct and obtain all of the necessary approvals, agreements, etc. to allow you to complete your project.  Quality plans and schedules will allow you to effectively manage resources and expenditures and also give you powerful tools to use for engaging and managing your construction phase contractors and consultants.

The pre-construction phase is an exciting time where you get all of your materials, contractors, etc. lined up before starting construction.  At this point, you are pulling together all of the hard work planning and preparing as permits and approvals are obtained while you finalize your construction team to be sure you are ready to hit the ground running as soon as you start construction.

Construction is when all of the planning and designs are turned into reality.  There will certainly be challenges and issues to be resolved so following a disciplined approach from project inception through construction prepares you to handle the curve balls and is critical to the ultimate success of the project.