The scenarios

Throughout the series five projects of different scale, sector and complexity have been used to illustrate the practical impact of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013. These look at how different projects may need to deal differently with a range of issues that could arise. These are not intended to be definitive examples of what to do, or what not to do, but to aid understanding of the plan of work and how different approaches may be adopted at each stage to support better project outcomes. They are:

• Scenario A: An extension to a four-bedroom house in a rural location. This project is for a private client and has a budget of £250k. The design team have been selected by recommendation from friends and are appointed to help the client develop the brief. The chosen procurement route is the traditional procurement of a contractor by the client.
• Scenario B: A small scale housing development for a local developer on the outskirts of a large city. The value of the project is £1.5million and the client is a small but well established family business. Both the design team and the contractor are to be selected by informal tender with previous experience and pricing core evaluation factors. The procurement route is also traditional.
• Scenario C: The refurbishment of a teaching building for a University which has a large portfolio of buildings. The value of the project is between £5million – £6million. The design team are selected following a mini competition. The procurement route is single stage design and build with the design team being novated to the contractor.
• Scenario D: A new central library for a medium sized Local Authority. Following the development of the brief including Feasibility Studies produced by a directly appointed team on the Council’s Consultant Framework the project is tendered to select the design team for the next stages. The contractor is to be selected following a two stage design and build process and will appoint their own design team. The original design team is to be retained by the council as advisors.
• Scenario E: A large office scheme for a high tech internet based company wanting to establish themselves as major players in the industry with a high profile new base. Valued at £18 million - £20 million this project is procured using a management form of contract due to the urgent need to occupy the building.

At the end of each Stage in the book there is a status check on the five projects where the impact of the work and decisions made during that stage are illustrated. Within each chapter these scenarios are used to identify key points and examples.