20 Steps to Design Quality

	Introduction
	1. Start Project Book
	2. Review Advisor Resources
	3. Understand Design Timeline
	4. Obtain Professional Design Assistance
	5. Establish Design Goals for Occupants
	6. Establish Design Goals for Community
	7. Test the Site
	8. Begin Cost Analyses
	9. Assemble Project Design Team
	10. Develop 3 Site Plans
	11. Use Design Checklist
	12. Use O&M Checklist
	13. Prioritize Design Components
	14. Emphasize Design in Funding Applications
	15. Prioritize Construction Systems
	16. Prioritize Finishes & Hardware
	17. Monitor Bids
	18. Monitor Construction
	19. Create O&M Manual
	20. Complete Project Book

"In the world of affordable housing construction, design and cost are always assumed to be two issues perpetually at odds with each other. Often enough, promising design concepts are compromised as a project moves forward because they are based on inadequate or inaccurate cost estimates. Diligent attention to cost issues from the very earliest phases of a project will help guarantee that design quality is "built in" from the beginning." Moustafa Mourad, Enterprise Foundation, Columbia, Maryland Tools Cost Analyses Checklist Resources R.S. Means Company Marshall & Swift Company The Enterprise Foundation Craftsman Book Company Print Step 8

Why | When | Who | What | How

Step 8. Conduct cost analyses early and often

Why is this step important?

Development is an iterative process between the aspirations and goals for a project and the realities of the available budget. Too often critical design components - components that may impact the long term viability of a project - are eliminated to save money. To make the problem worse, this "trade-off" often occurs at a point when the design is fairly far advanced; i.e., when it's too late to adjust the design and the only option is to eliminate specific components.

Close attention to cost from the earliest stages of the project will help ensure that the evolving design can be built for the available budget. Some tradeoffs will be inevitable as the process unfolds, but if costs are analyzed and controlled on an ongoing basis, these tradeoffs can be minimized so as not to affect critical design components.

When should this step be done?

The Design Advisor recommends that cost analyses be conducted at a minimum of seven separate times during the development process (see the Design/Development Matrix):

Concept Phase
     Upon completion of the site evaluation

Predevelopment Phase
     Upon completion of early schematic design.

Development Phase
     Upon completion of late schematic design.
     Upon completion of late schematic redesign, as required (for example, by funding agencies).
     Upon completion of design development.
     Upon completion of the contract documents.
     During the bidding process.

Who should do this step?

The owner/developer and the design team, with input from a property manager and a contractor, if at all possible. Consider using a cost estimator to provide an independent professional opinion.

(Note: The Design Advisor strongly recommends obtaining professional design assistance as early as possible in the development process; i.e. prior to formally assembling the project design team (see Step 4.). Developers should look to these professionals for help in early stage cost estimating as well. )

What should be done?

• Develop cost analyses that build on each other over the various phases of development.
• Print the Cost Analyses Checklist and add it to the Project Book. Use it to make sure that a continuous series of cost analyses - at ever increasing levels of detail and accuracy - are conducted over the course of your development process. Add photocopies of the analyses to the Project Book as they are completed.

How can doing this help move my project forward?

• Accurate cost estimates add credibility and reality to each phase of the development process.
• They also substantially reduce the need for cost cuts during later phases of the development, ensuring that original design concepts and components make it into the built project.
• Accurate estimates are also critical for ensuring the reliability of the project Feasibility Study and the credibility of the financial package/loan application.
• Finally, accurate estimates at all phases of the development help reduce or eliminate surprises during the bidding process.