The Design Process can be as complex and varied as designs themselves. Each process is unique, and depends on whether the job is private or public, the relationships between the client, designer, and contractor, and many other significant factors. The following is a general account of the design process as it might occur, taking into account the whole life of a potential project.

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Predesign/Information Gathering

During this phase of the design, background information is gathered. This might include an investigation into prototypes and precedents, initial site visits, and other preliminary research.

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Inventory and Analysis

Once the preliminary stage is complete, an inventory and analysis is typically done.

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Conceptual Design

During this stage, a general design concept is proposed.

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Design Development

During the Design Development phase, the design concept is further articulated and refined.

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Construction Documents

During the Construction Documents phase, the design is developed in detail. At this point, the design should be well developed, and efforts are concentrated on producing the Contract Documents. A high level of technical knowledge and ability is required to develop a thorough set of Construction Documents. Additionally, the documents need to be coordinate with all disciplines in the design process.

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Bid Period

Once the Construction Documents are complete, the Documents are issued for bid. During the bid period, the Contract Documents are made available to potential contractors. The contractors then take the documents and establish a bid for the project. The bid is then submitted, and a contract is awarded to the selected contractor. During the bid period, contractors may have questions regarding the documents. In order to maintain a fair bid environment, designers can not provide information to individual contractors. To prevent an unfair bid environment, contractors must submit a formal ((Request for Information )) (RFI) to the designer. The designer may either issue a formal response to the RFI, which is made available to all bidders, or the designer may opt to address the inquiry in an Addendum.

Pre-Bid meetings

For certain projects, a pre-bid meeting may be scheduled. A pre-bid meeting is often held at the project site, and includes the designer, bidders, and possibly the owner/client. Topics covered a pre-bid meetings usually include any special conditions or restrictions a project may be under and clarifying anything in the bid documents.

For public jobs, if the pre-bid meeting is mandatory, failure to attend may result in the bidder being disqualified from bidding.

Addenda Period

After the Construction Documents have been issued for bid, if the designer wants to make a change, an Addendum is issued. Addenda must be made available to all bidders in order to ensure a fair bidding environment. Addenda are also included as the Contract Documents

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Awarding of Contract

After the bids have been submitted, a winning bid is selected. For public projects in some jurisdictions, law requires that the lowest monetary bid be accepted. For private contracts however, this is not the case.

Once the contract has been awarded, changes to the Contract Documents that involve a change in money or timeframe must be made through a Change Order or a Contract Change Directive. Both Change Orders and Contract Change Directives then become part of the Contract Documents.

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Construction Administration

Once a bid is accepted and a contract is awarded, the Construction Administration period for a project begins. During the Construction Administration phase, regularly schedule project meetings are typically held to coordinate work efforts and ensure the schedule is being met. Project meetings usually include the client/owner, designer, and contractor. In addition, subcontractors, owner representatives, or consultants may also occasionally attend regularly scheduled project meetings. In addition to regularly scheduled project meetings, designers may be required to visit a project at certain times or milestones to observe work, clarify intent, coordinate work, etc.

Pay Requisitions

During construction, contractors are typically entitled to incremental payments of the contract sum. The payment schedule is usually referenced in the contract. A typical payment cycle is one month. During this cycle, the contractor submits a Pay Requisition (or payreq) to the client/owner. The client/owner will usually forward the payreq to the designer for review. After reviewing the payreq, the designer will either inform the client/owner that the payreq appears fair, or alternatively request clarification from the contractor. Once the payreq is reviewed by the designer, the owner then fulfills the payreq and pays the contractor the stipulated amount listed on the payreq.

Payreqs are established to incrementally pay a contractor during the course of a project. Payreqs typically include a schedule of values for each item in the contract. A percentage of completion is then assigned to each element by the contractor, and the contractor is paid that percentage of the completion, minus the retainage. Retainage is a specific percentage, established in the contract, that is withheld until Final Completion. For example, if a contract includes $100,000 of bituminous concrete paving and a retainage of 10%, then a payreq lists 50% of the bituminous paving has been complete, the contractor is owed $100,000 x %50=50,000 minus 10% retainage = $45,000 for that payreq.  The contractor is then paid the final $5000 after final completion has been met.

Substantial Completion

Substantial completion of a project is a deadline set prior to work commencing. When substantial completion is met, all major contractual obligations should be met. Typically, the only outstanding issues should be punch list items.

Punch List

A punch list is a list of items compiled by the designer that need to be addressed prior to the designer accepting final completion. Punch list items usually include items such as finishing any outstanding contractual issues, touching up any items that may have been damaged during construction, (for example, touching up chipped paint) and general site cleaning (IE the removal of left over stock piled material).

Final Completion

Final completion of a project occurs when the contractor has meet all contractual obligations. Every part of the contract has been successfully executed, including change orders, field directives, contract change directives, and punch list items. After final completion, the contractor is awarded the balance of the sum stipulated in the contract, including retainage from previous pay requisitions.  

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Project Closeout

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Post Occupancy Evaluation

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