ARE 5.0 Project Management Exam Prep

It's just been really, really great to do something like that in the city that I live in. I would describe the ARE as grueling, to say the least. It is something that is formidable enough that most people put it off longer than they would like to and longer than they should.

In Section 4, we'll discuss some specific instances where project managers need expertise in order to deliver quality services for their clients. We'll start with cost of work estimates, how to verify if your design is aligned with your client's budget, and what to do if it's not. We'll also discuss what happens when scope changes are proposed, how to prepare quality contract documents that allow for clear communication during construction, and how to submit your design to the authorities having jurisdiction, or AHJs, for approval.

ADG's interior design philosophy on the Performing Arts Center was to incorporate similar materials to the existing high school. The major systems used and materials used on the PAC were gleaned from the other buildings on their campus. So, OCS has an extensive campus.

Section 1 of the project management exam tests your ability to assemble a project team and track the progress of an architectural project. We'll talk about what you should consider when assembling the architect's in-house team, as well as choosing which consultants to work with. We'll also cover how to evaluate the progress of the project in terms of schedule and budget in order to ensure a successful venture for your firm and your client.

Some of the challenges of staffing a large complicated project with a vertical organization are considering the number of staff members at each one of those levels and who they're going to be, what their levels of expertise are, and how they're all going to interact as a team. Obviously, you need a project manager, obviously, you need a designer, you need somebody to produce the drawings, and all of them need to work in concert to deliver the project from beginning to end. Some of them maybe lateral where they are peers, and some of them maybe in that more vertical organization where they are kind of answering to one another.

The internal team consists of the staff members at the firm, while the external project team is everyone who contributes to the project who's not a part of your firm that's the owner, consultants, the builder or construction manager, and their subcontractors. We'll talk more about external teams in the next video. In this video, we'll focus on the architect's internal team and how firm organization affects staffing decisions.

During the design development phase, myself as the project manager, I would be working closely with Robert the project architect, and Curtis, our model manager, to make sure that the drawings are progressing well, that our consultants are keeping up on the project, and then internally at ADG, our design team, led by Scott with help from his assistant Brian, would be working on the exterior design, selecting materials, working out the look of the outside of the building, and then Leigh Ann as our lead interior designer, would be selecting finishes and getting preparation to show to the client. Under our basic services, ADG as the architect of record, we hired an engineering firm that offers all of engineering disciplines structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. They had a wonderful track record and we've really enjoyed working with them.

When selecting a project team, the principal must fully understand the scope of the proposed project the size, quality, deliverables, the schedule, and the budget in order to select the right project manager. They should consider how experienced each PM is in the project's typology, as well as their utilization rate, which indicates their availability to take on a new project. You're likely to see questions like this on the ARE you might be provided with the project's jurisdiction, typology, and scope, then be asked to choose the most appropriate PM based on those criteria.

Alternatively, if the design development phase stretched an extra two weeks because a staff member was projected to work 30 hours per week on your project, but they only worked 15 hours per week because they were busy on another billable project, your profit isn't necessarily impacted but the schedule is, so you may end up with an unhappy client. Managing an architectural project is more than providing design direction and marking up drawings you need to ensure that the project's fee and schedule are on track. Regardless of the fee structure and fee distribution, the project manager needs to develop a plan to produce the deliverables using the staff members available and assign work to appropriate staff members.

And as we find those things from, we'll say, the mechanical designer and the architect, we are basically looking at those details in collaboration between us and figuring out those details as the model manager, but also the standards and the details that make our set cohesive, and so making sure that our consultants have the right information. We wanna make sure that we see the big picture, so we have to step back and see if all the documents, all the drawings from our consultants to the in-house is coming up together. So we're managing, and we're QA and QC-ing internally.

In Objective 2.2, we'll expand your knowledge of scheduling by talking about what outside factors could affect the project schedule, as well as what the architect's responsibility is if these conditions occur during a project. A classic question for this objective might test your ability to account for uncertainty in the schedule by asking how much contingency should be included in a design schedule of a certain length. In Objective 2.3, we'll discuss communication protocol on a construction project.

However, in the CM as constructor or CMc, delivery method, the CMc develops and maintains the overall project schedule from design through construction. When preparing your design schedule for a CMc project, you'll need to do so in close collaboration with the CM to ensure your internal design schedule aligns with the overall project schedule. In a fast track project, contract documents such as the drawings and project manual are issued in multiple phases or bid packages there might be different bid packages for foundations, superstructure, facade, and then interiors.

Similar to how firm leaders use a profit-loss statement to track success of a firm as a whole, the project manager uses a work plan to keep the project on schedule and on budget, from the time they negotiate the owner architect agreement until final completion. The work plan created before an agreement is signed is typically a first draft if you created a fully built-out work plan for each project you're considering working on, you'd spend a lot of time work planning for projects that you don't ultimately win. After an agreement is signed, the PM can add more detail and finalize the work plan.

When the design phase begins, the project manager monitors the work plan by tracking the labor actually spent on the project against their projected labor hours. In our example, we estimated that the staff designers would work a total of 770 hours during schematic design, but let's say they actually worked 920 hours. Reviewing the other staff members, we can see that their actual labor hours equal their estimated labor hours.

Throughout the project, external factors can affect the project's schedule and therefore the work plan the client's requirements about the delivery method, the schedule, the permitting process, the length of the bidding phase, and construction delays all affect the schedule, and therefore the architect's work plan. The project manager needs to accurately account for these elements in the work plan, and react accordingly if and when they change. The initial project schedule is outlined in the work plan, after considering the owner's requirements and your staffing capabilities.

During the design phase, the responsibility for maintaining the schedule is really up to the project architect, who was Robert in our case. And then once we get into construction, the responsibility for maintaining the construction schedule, that falls to the construction manager. In Robert's case, it's imperative that we're meeting those intermediate milestones that make up, for example, a construction document schedule.

The project manager solicits client decisions during executive sessions and project design meetings, and then shares them with the design team during general project meetings. The PM should document the client's decisions at the executive sessions and project design meetings, so it's easier to share with relevant project team members at general project meetings. This not only provides good communication between team members; it's essential in the event of a disagreement.

Project kickoff meetings are a standard way for the project manager to introduce the project to consultants with all project team members present. The group establishes how often they plan to address the client's projected goals, agrees upon responsibilities for various tasks, and discusses consultant communication logistics how frequently other types of meetings will occur, how project documentation will be shared, and the project schedule. Some project teams may decide that the project's complexity requires weekly meetings, while less complex projects may only require bi-weekly or monthly meetings.

If the architect is on site, the constructor can show the architect exactly where the unforeseen pipe is, and together they can discuss options for relocating it based on both the construction documents and the existing conditions. The architect, now thoroughly familiar with the conflict, can discuss solutions with the plumbing engineer. After a possible resolution on how to proceed is reached, the architect should document the resolution in writing, and issue clarifying sketches if necessary.

It's really important that all those players are kept up to speed as we progress through the design phases because if they're out of the loop and they don't know that that could be a very costly to the owner, it could delay the delivery of our documents and in the end, could delay the delivery of their building and cost them a lot more. Depending upon the specific issue, our communications with the client, in this case of the Performing Arts Center, tend to go through their owner's representative. He's our primary point of contact.

In Objective 3.3, which makes up about 6% of the exam, we cover two documents that are critical to your success on the ARE: the A101, owner/contractor agreement, and the A201, general conditions of that agreement. Although the architect isn't a party to the A101, you'll have to administer the contract for construction, and therefore have a thorough understanding of its provisions and general conditions. We'll cover every article in both documents, with a focus on the architect's responsibilities.

When planning a project, you need to consider the owner's key objectives: budget, schedule, and scope of work. These factors plus other factors such as review periods, software, consultants, and your scope of services all affect how you will deliver the project. Sections 1.1.4 and 1.1.5 of the B101 establish anticipated project milestones and identify the project delivery method.

The B195, A195, and A295 transitional agreements are most similar to traditional project delivery, where the architect and contractor have separate contracts with the owner, but they're more collaborative in nature: responsibilities are shared throughout the design and construction processes.

When the architect commits to a project with a client and has signed an owner/architect agreement, like the B101, they agree to provide basic services, which include structural, mechanical, and electrical design, in addition to architectural services, all while meeting the project's scope and schedule. They also agree to a standard of care, which defines how well the architect is expected to perform their duties. When you hire a consultant, you'll want to ensure that they are committed to the project with you and are agreeing to the same terms about the scope, schedule, budget, and quality of work that you agree to with the owner.

Incorporating the prime agreement allows the consultant to assume the same obligations and responsibilities that the architect has assumed toward the owner. For example, while the architect is permitted to rely on owner-provided site information like a geotechnical report, the consultant is permitted to rely on other initial information provided by the architect, which in turn was provided by the owner. Article 2 lists the consultant's responsibilities to the architect.

Also included with that in the AIA family of contracts, is the A232, which is the general conditions, which further outlines what each party does, whether it's the owner, the CM, or the architect. The A132 and the A101 are similar with all of the things that are listed as far as what's going to be done. The difference between the two really is the CM being brought on board earlier and taking some of the responsibility.

This method usually includes a guaranteed maximum price commitment by the construction manager to build the project for a specified price while the architect is still in the design phase. CMC projects offer the opportunity to fast track the project schedule the contract documents are issued as multiple bid packages, so that work can start before the design is fully complete. This scheduling method makes sense to owners who want a shorter project schedule, but it comes with an increased risk of uncoordinated items because of the speed with which the design documents need to be produced.

The architect's responsibilities for payment applications and dispute resolution outlined in the A101 are also reflected in the A133, another type of owner-contractor agreement used in large projects where the construction manager is the constructor of the project, or the CMc. In this agreement, the form of payment is cost-plus fee, which is the actual contractor's cost plus a negotiated fee with a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP. Here, the construction manager acts as an advisor to the owner during the pre construction phases, and then transitions to the role of constructor to complete the construction.

Even if the contractor emailed the owner before signing the contract to say that they expect to complete the project by May 1st, if the contract lists the substantial completion date as June 1st, then that's the only requirement that matters. In addition to listing the architect's contract documents, Article 9 notes that Exhibit A, Insurance and Bonds, the A201 General Conditions for Construction, and E203, the BIM and digital data exhibit, are all part of the agreement between owner and contractor. Unlike the architect's contract documents, these are all included automatically in the A101.

It outlines construction payment procedures the contractor receives incremental payments until the project is complete, and the architect needs to verify that the payments align with the amount of work completed. Dispute resolution procedures between the owner and contractor are similar to those found in the B101 with one difference: the initial decision maker. The architect is the initial decision maker for disputes between the owner and the contractor, attempting to resolve issues before they proceed to lengthier and more costly options.

The A133 defines the CMc responsibilities during preconstruction, which include two key tasks that the architect is usually responsible for: cost of work estimates and the design schedule. Familiarity with A101 will be helpful when you need to assist your client in preparing and executing the A133 agreement.

As the central point of communication between the owner and contractor, you will review and approve the contractor's applications for payment, reject work that does not conform to the contract documents, review and approve submittals like shop drawings, product data and samples, prepare change orders and construction change directives, determine dates of substantial and final completion, and review and respond to requests for information about the contract documents. It's very important during construction administration to understand as the architect what our responsibilities are and what they are not. It's also important to then convey that to my whole project team.

If the architect agrees that the contractor has failed in one or more of these areas, the owner may terminate the contract after seven days' notice. In this case, the contractor doesn't receive a termination fee. If either party is terminating or suspending the contract, they should provide written notice to the other party.

Although the architect isn't responsible for directly coordinating the work of the owner's consultants as a part of their basic services, the architect could take this on as a supplemental service. This is a popular request from owners. It takes the burden off of them to coordinate their consultants, and the architect is responsible for coordinating all of the consultants on a project.

You should also be familiar with the different survey types: boundary, ALTA, and topographic surveys, and what types of information they provide. Being able to succinctly explain to a client which type of survey is most appropriate will lead to a smooth start to the project.

The geotechnical report, they will go through, and working usually with us, just so we know where the new building is going to be, but in working with us, they'll go through and do four or five borings. It's usually one on each corner. Looking through, they give you a log of each boring, and basically it's three foot of grass and topsoil and then it's reddish browning clay, some more sandstone, and then they quit drilling at 15, because they know we won't go any deeper than that for piers.

In Objective 4.3, which makes up about 7% of the exam, we'll introduce the content of construction documents, which we'll discuss in depth in our PA, PPD, and PDD videos. We'll cover the level of detail expected at each of the design phases, best practices for creating construction documents that are clear and concise, and how the architect uses their own drawings during the bidding and construction phases of a project. A classic question for this objective might ask about what content needs to be included in an architect's contract documents for a given project.

Section 6.3 of the B101 says that, "The architect's estimate of the cost of the work "shall be based on current area, volume, "or similar conceptual estimating technique." By contrast, a GC or cost estimator would produce a detailed cost estimate by calculating square footage of each material used on the project and assigning a cost per square foot for each. Generally, a detailed cost estimate would include a line-by-line budget broken down by spec section of materials or products required to construct the project, including the cost of labor to install. The architect doesn't go into this level of detail when performing estimates for the cost of work as a basic service.

If the initial information about the size, program, schedule, or budget changes, this is an additional service because the parameters of the building you're designing have substantially changed. Let's say you're designing a community recreation center, and the client wants to add an indoor children's play area to the program and expand the building footprint. Because you have to adapt to the new building size and design the added program, this is an additional service.

When the cost of work or the construction schedule changes, these need to be documented by either a change order or a construction change directive. By definition, minor changes in the work can't change the schedule or the cost. You can use a construction change directive if all parties don't yet agree on the revised cost or schedule, or a change order if they do.

I think a large change that might happen during construction, like beam size changes or beam profile changes really kind of need to be vetted with all of our consultants. You know, we have mechanical ducts moving through these spaces. If those have conflicts with that beam, now those elements need to be adjusted as well.

In order to fulfill your contractual obligations to provide drawings for the different design phases of a project, you need to understand the appropriate level of detail that is required for each phase. You also need to be careful not to get ahead of yourself before the owner approves the design, since that can lead to rework and lost profits. The associated drawings for each phase will become more detailed and complex as additional design decisions are made.

In a traditional design-bid build, or DBB project, the contract documents package typically includes more than just the construction drawings and specifications. It can include other documents, like the project manual, general requirements, like Division 01 of the specs, general conditions for construction, like AIA A201, and supplementary conditions. This delivery method allows the design team to fully coordinate the documents before they're released for bid.

As you can see here in the dressing 131, we have millwork and so we have to provide those elevations, those the design intent elements and the contractor towards the end of construction will provide us a submittal and making sure that that conforms to our documents. So within our millwork, we just give the design intent. We don't give them the finite details.

So I had to really review and coordinate basically just the overall dimensions of the shaft and the cab to make sure that was aligning with our design intent and then make sure that each individual consultant was reviewing their scope of work to make sure that our MEP was working with the design drawings that the elevator contractor submitted, but then also coordinate back with structural, again, to make sure that we were all on the same page there because the structure was going to go into place first, of course, and once the structure was built the dimensions of that space are kind of fixed without very large cost overruns. So we had to make absolutely sure that the shop drawings were meeting the structural design intent as well. So at the end of the day I spent a lot more time coordinating and communicating with all of our consultants than I did actually kind of reviewing our own drawings because, from our design intent standpoint, all we needed to ensure was that it was going to look nice inside the elevator cab and look nice on the outside and get the kind of door and door frame that we wanted.

For example, if the local zoning ordinance specifies a maximum height of 80 feet, and your building code analysis suggests your building can be a maximum of 65 feet, then making your building no greater than 65 feet will comply with both. Conversely, the requirements might state a minimum dimension, perhaps the building code specifies a minimum of 80 square feet per habitable room, and local housing guidelines require at least 100 square feet. In that case, making all the habitable rooms at least 100 square feet will comply with both requirements.

In addition to zoning compliance, the building inspector will inspect the project to confirm compliance with building code requirements. More frequent inspections are necessary for compliance with building codes than zoning ordinances because the code stipulates requirements for aspects of the building that involve individual components, processes, and sequences that may not be visible at later stages of construction. For example, rebar is inspected prior to concrete placement and plumbing, electrical, and mechanical components are inspected prior to enclosure behind finished walls.

And then what do I do with them once I get them out of the building?" As you're working through your design, you've really gotta make sure that you meet all of the ADA and the ANSI standards, whether it's a drinking fountain that has a height, you can always refer back to the front and know what that height is but ultimately you've gotta be able to have all the clearances when you're working on it in a plan. So it's the same, it's the same with door clearances, it's the same with stairs versus ramps. So you really gotta be cognizant through schematic design of, "Hey, if we've got a stage here in a lower area here or an orchestra pit, you've gotta be able to get people down to the orchestra pit whether it's a ramp or an elevator or whatever it is." For the city of Edmond, it's actually on an I-35 corridor.

We'll talk about additional regulations your project may be subject to such as environmental regulations, best practices for performing quality assurance and quality control reviews, and how to consider constructability and communicate design intent when preparing construction documents. This section makes up just under a quarter of the exam and has four objectives. You should expect three to five questions from each of these objectives to show up on the exam.

In this video, we'll review common additional AHJs, what types of requirements they have, and how to coordinate their reviews with the rest of the project schedule. Other than the building department, which governs zoning and life safety, your project might be overseen by additional AHJs that govern other physical aspects of the project, such as historic preservation commissions, development committees, and homeowners' associations. There could also be an agency that governs the environmental impact of your project, which we'll cover in the next video.

Environmental regulations, standards, and recommendations are increasingly common factors that impact building design. To satisfy these requirements, you'll need a thorough and strategic approach to design, and effective communication of design intent through CDs. In this video, we'll discuss the types of environmental agencies that you might interact with, as well as provide typical concerns that these agencies have.

We were very lucky here at ADG we had a person that was actually on the design committee, so she would have to recuse herself from the review process whenever it was our projects. But really her insight into the committee's understanding of the codes and understanding of the guidelines of the committee really helped move projects forward. DDRC has lots of aspects that they deem important to the development of downtown.

In many ways, the quality of these phases is dictated in part by the quality of the contract documents that the architect and consultants produced, underscoring the importance of QA/QC processes during design. You can also analyze the CA phase to determine how well you performed QA/QC during design, specifically by considering the amount and types of requests for information received from the contractor. RFIs are a useful communication tool for both the architect and the contractor.

Before each milestone submission, the architect should check if the consultant's documentation has been completed satisfactorily that it aligns with the project decisions made, and the owner-provided direction, and that it's coordinated with the work of other consultants and the architectural design. You can use meeting minutes from your discussions with the consultant to verify if their design is in accordance with the agreed upon design direction. The consultants' documentation should also be at an appropriate level of detail for the current milestone.

So, they're out there looking at details on a daily basis in our sets and making sure that it's actually built that way, and if not, they'll come back as a constructability issue and say, "Hey, we really need to do it this way." It's really looking at structural elements fitting inside of walls or everything that goes on above a ceiling but below deck like mechanical ductwork and sprinklers and wiring for electrical and things like that. Just making sure that everything is placed where it needs to be and we can still get the ceiling heights that we need. On this particular project, it was Chris Jarvis.

That way, any design issues that need to be addressed can be resolved before the contractor purchases all of the materials, minimizing the impact on the project, cost, and schedule. Every architectural project starts with a design that will hopefully end in its successful construction. Understanding how to ensure the constructability of your designs is an important aspect of managing an architectural project.

The preconstruction meeting offers the opportunity for the owner, architect, contractor, and subcontractors to get together prior to building construction and review the overall project, expectations for construction, and the architect's design intent. You should also discuss CA procedures, what submittals and inspections are required for the canopy, and the general construction schedule for it. Then, prior to construction of the canopy, a preinstallation meeting would be held with the architect, contractor, consultants, and pertinent subcontractors like the concrete contractor for foundations and the electrical contractor for lighting, and the canopy fabricator and installer.

In Section 1, we discussed how to assemble the project team and the considerations to take into account when managing an architectural project, including assembling the in-house architectural team, determining which consultants to work with, and how to evaluate if the project is on track in terms of schedule and budget. In Section 2, we did a deep dive on the work plan and how the project manager uses it to keep the project on schedule and on budget. We also discussed how the project team should communicate and document communications in order to ensure a successful project.