Chapter 5
Project Outcomes
How does the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 encourage consideration of Project outcomes?
Operating costs are, of course, just one aspect of the whole life cycle of a building and just one of a number of Project Outcomes. Project Outcomes are all those changes that take place as a direct result of a project, bringing benefits not just in relation to cost but to a number of other subjects, including social and environmental factors. It is becoming increasingly important to give full consideration to Project Outcomes and they are therefore given due prominence in the RIBA Plan of Work 2013.
The successful achievement of the Project Outcomes stated in the Initial Project Brief will be particularly obvious where a client is commissioning a new building and moving from one facility to another, as direct comparisons can be made, but it is not always so easy. Project Outcomes that might be stated in the Initial and Final Project Briefs might include:
- • reduced reoffending rates in a prison
- • reduced post-operative recovery times in a hospital
- • better exam results in a new school, college or university
- • increased footfall for a shopping centre
- • an increase in borrowing in a library or increased diversity of users
- • more use being made of community spaces
- • an improvement in collaboration between departments, or
- • better environmental performance.
From the list above it can be seen that the number of potential Project Outcomes is endless. Determining the desired Project Outcomes is an essential briefing skill and stating them in the Initial Project Brief provides added focus to the design stages as the design team considers how the Project Outcomes can be achieved. Indeed, Research and Development may be required in order to assist in the design process. For example, recent research in relation to hospitals has considered how colour influences hospital environments and how the recovery of patients and infection control are improved by single-bed patient rooms. Project Outcomes, however, must be focused: too many might mean that design activities fail to target the most important aspects, and too few could lead to opportunities to harness the design process more effectively being lost.
Well defined Project Outcomes are an essential part of a circular design process, providing Feedback to help inform future projects, and clients who undertake repeat projects understand their benefits. In these circumstances, further rigour needs to be applied as the Project Outcomes must be measurable in order to determine if they are successfully achieved and capable of being benchmarked against other similar projects to allow increasingly robust outcomes to be stated in successive briefs. Measuring also facilitates sharing of information and continual improvement.
Measuring can be objective or subjective. For example, energy usage targets can be objectively measured, whereas the success of a play space is a subjective topic, although user surveys can provide a more objective evaluation if they are carried out in both the old and the new environments. Design Quality Indicators are another example of bringing objectivity to bear on aspects of Project Outcomes and Project Performance and allowing trends or comparisons across a number of projects to be made.
Successful Project Outcomes in certain areas may be the result of a number of factors. For example, where teaching has improved in a new school (in line with the Project Outcomes stated in the Project Brief), is this improvement a result of the new environment, the quality of the new environment, the methods of a new head teacher or a combination of all three?
How does the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 encourage consideration of Project Outcomes?
There are four important activities in the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 that encourage the use of Project Outcomes as well as ensuring that, once the desired outcomes have been established, they are achieved.
Writing the Initial Project Brief
Developing Project Outcomes, as part of the briefing process during Stage 1, for inclusion in the Initial Project Brief is a core RIBA Plan of Work 2013 requirement. In determining the Project Outcomes it is essential to consider how they might become obligations that are included in professional services contracts or in the Building Contract. Whether they are contractual obligations or not will depend on how easy it is to ascertain compliance once the building has been handed over. For example, subjective topics, such as the quality of space, will be difficult to enforce contractually. Conversely, stated environmental parameters may require monitoring over a period of time before compliance can be determined.
Project Outcomes sit within three broad categories: environmental, economic and social. They might be considered in the Initial Project Brief as follows:
- • Environmental: the brief would set out the key energy performance targets to be measured in the post-occupancy period once the seasonal commissioning process has been completed. These measurements will be essential as we move towards a lower carbon economy.
- • Economic: as well as measuring the capital and operating costs of the completed building, the costs of the building in use will be measured. These costs might include direct staff or other costs associated with the operation of the business.
- • Social: the social outcomes of a building are harder to set and even harder to measure. The key is to consider ways in which these outcomes might be measured (for example, by undertaking surveys or interviews) in order to determine the effectiveness of the design and how such metrics might be compared between similar buildings.
Review of Information Exchanges
As the design progresses, it important to review the Information Exchanges against the Project Outcomes stated in the Initial Project Brief. This is particularly important at the end of Stage 2 as it is essential that the Concept Design is aligned to any Project Outcomes stated in the Final Project Brief.
Reviewing Project Outcomes
While stating that the desired Project Outcomes provide a useful briefing tool that can be used in isolation, it is only by measuring the finished building, or output, against these outcomes that the true success of a project, regardless of any contractual obligations, can be assessed. For this process to be effective it is important to consider how each of the desired Project Outcomes will be measured. This should be carried out during the briefing stage to gain maximum benefit. Stating the means of measurement ensures greater focus during design and construction, as each party considers how their contributions will be measured post occupancy.
Considering Schedules of Services
Greater focus on Project Outcomes is a relatively new issue. It is therefore essential that when Schedules of Services are being considered the right tasks are included as part of assembling the project team to ensure that adequate fee allowances are made and to make certain that each party is able to contribute to this valuable process as necessary.
What is the relationship between value and outcomes?
Of course, the consideration of outcomes in general is not new. For some time both the RIBA and CABE have stressed the importance of considering the value of a finished project and how good design can add value to a completed project. This underlines the fact that good design is an essential component in the pursuit of better Project Outcomes.
RIBA Value toolkit
The RIBA Value Toolkit has been developed to assist practices to articulate the benefits of well-conceived design and the value that it can add to a project. It is downloadable free to RIBA members and chartered practices. While it is a standalone tool, it is a companion to the RIBA Quality Management toolkit. The RIBA Value Toolkit references the six types of value set out in the CABE Value Handbook. These are:
- • exchange value (economic value)
- • use value
- • image value
- • social value
- • environmental value
- • cultural value.
CABe Value Handbook
The CABE Value Handbook is a practical guide, showing how public sector organisations can get the most from the buildings and spaces in their area. It brings together essential evidence about the benefits of good design and demonstrates how a clear understanding of the different types of value created by the built environment is the key to realising its full potential (see www.cabe.org.uk/files/the-value-handbook.pdf).
Conclusion
In summary, Project Outcomes are an essential briefing tool for the design process. If they are properly considered they can be measured once a project has been handed over and the effectiveness of the design and construction processes can be analysed. In some instances, the Project Outcomes may be contractual and included in the Building Contract or the professional services contracts. This practice is more commonly used where the outcomes can be objectively measured. The successful consideration of whole life costs and Project Outcomes results in reduced costs to a client and, just as importantly, better social and environmental results can be achieved in parallel with these reduced costs.