One of the biggest challenges people have when thinking to change/renovate the interior of their homes is decision making.
The main problems being:
A decision is not taken at all; the decision is the wrong one; it is too late when the decision is made or the constant change of mind generates countless and harmful challenges.
These problems do not just affect the logistics of the project but the client’s emotional wellbeing and financial resources.
Does it sound familiar?
Would you be surprised to know that this tends to happen much more in residential projects than in commercial ones?
Why is that?
What can you learn from the way those projects are managed that can help you with your new home?
Is this comparison fair?
Let me try to help.
As you know my expertise is in the area of residential projects and as such, probably you met me. However I have been working on some commercial projects, thanks to the trust of those who recommended me and of those that hired me.
This has given me an understanding of why commercial projects tend to be more fluent in their process.
Here are some reasons.
Focus
In commercial projects there are specific reasons why interiors have to be changed: Attracting a specific audience and secondly increasing the sales as a consequence.
There are other reasons too but being so focused allows the client to find the right professionals and develop the right strategies.
Planning
A parallel concern to the goals above mentioned is productivity how does he/she go where he/she wants to go being as effective and efficient as possible?
The answer?
Planning.
Only in this way can resources: professionals, money and time be managed adequately.
Trust
The Client knows that he/she needs a team for developing the project.
Choosing the right professionals and trusting on their expertise will protect the client’s interests.
On the other hand, ignoring that expertise can bring financial and time loses. This is why commercial clients tend to give full responsibility to their team which in return brings clarity to the project: It brings control.
he Client knows that he/she needs a team for developing the project.
Choosing the right professionals and trusting on their expertise will protect the client’s interests.
On the other hand, ignoring that expertise can bring financial and time loses. This is why commercial clients tend to give full responsibility to his/her team which in return brings clarity to the project: It brings control.
Time Schedule
In commercial projects time is of the essence, it means money. As simple as that.
The more control you have on the time schedule the more control you have on your project and how it is performing.
Because of this awareness, the client will do his/her best not to alter, change or delay unnecessarily the progress of the project and if it has to happen, the consequences will be easy to measure.
Of course a good time schedule considers the start of the process at the right time, at the right moment (not just financially) but when it needs to go from the architect/builder to the interior designer and from here to the project manager on site.
Project Management
All projects look great on paper, making them real demands a huge effort, an effort that has to be taken care of and the professional who can do that on site is the project manager.
Project management will take care of keeping the integrity of the project as it was conceived but it will also manage the time that was allocated and will make sure the human, technological and logistic resources are in place for achieving the desired outcome.
These pictures are from a commercial project I just started to work on.
Most if not all the points we have discussed will apply to this project. Some have already been discussed with the client, others will develop as the project progresses.
We are aiming, all of us, for the success of a rounded project. All the professionals involved have a role to play, focus and discipline will be there not just from us but from the client, as he is aware of the challenges ahead which will be managed with clarity and vision.
This approach is perfectly feasible to reproduce in a residential project. Why not?
