Design managers: it’s your time to be in the spotlight

A new handbook, conference and training are on the horizon for design managers, explains John Eynon, chair of the CIOB’s  design management working group.

Over the last twelve months we’ve had a working group on Design Management meeting occasionally. The group has arisen out of discussions that we’d been having on the board of the Faculty of Architecture and Surveying about Design Management. Composition of the group is quite diverse including industry professionals, academics, institutions and a business psychologist! It has been great fun – sharing experience and ideas, discussions have at times been challenging, engaging, huge in scope and never short!

The CIOB DM project has four objectives:

• The publication of the Design Manager’s Handbook

• The holding of a conference in 2012

• Development of an education and training framework

• Formation of a cross industry Special Interest Group for Design Management

So to update on progress so far:

The Handbook – is nearly complete and currently in final draft undergoing editing and finishing touches before being submitted to the publishers in early March.

The Handbook discusses the use of design management processes and generally accepted tools, also aspects of procurement affecting DM and value management for Design Managers, touches on people dynamics and aspects of leadership, considers quality issues, includes some biographies and case studies and in the final section discusses issues affecting the future of Design Management, and naturally this includes star of the moment “BIM”.

Several short papers are included as appendices, to expand on areas of potential interest such as process, value and leadership. A bibliography provides an eclectic list of further reading to provoke some thinking and to suggest ideas for further development.

Also there is guidance that suggests the hallmarks of a best practice DM approach for projects.

The Conference – working title “Connecting DM” is planned for October 11^th 2012 at the Skinners Hall in London. Planning the programme is under way and it is hoped this will provide varied perspectives from different viewpoints – Client, Designer, and Contractor, together with an opportunity for discussion, networking and a breakout session. We hope to have an overview on the current progress on UK Government BIM strategy as well as also providing some time for feedback and discussion.

Training – As we’ve worked together we have considered the training and education components for the professional Design Manager. It is important to recognise that people enter this role from all sorts of backgrounds and at different points in their career path – from the green graduate to the seasoned project manager and probably everything in between. Also the fact that titles, roles and profiles vary considerably. (As you’re reading this you might be a Design Manager, Design Co-ordinator, MEP Services Manager, Technical Manager, BIM Manager, Design Leader and so on!) The fusion of industry, academia and institutes works well and out of this we will develop a learning framework for Design Managers of the future – potentially leading to a CIOB qualification, which will form part of the CIOB suite of qualifications going forward as has recently been discussed in CM.

Cross industry Special Industry Group – We are now in the process of developing the working group into the next stage, to set up a platform for a cross industry SIG for Design Management, that enables people to connect – to share experience, knowledge, ideas, gripes, best practice and to just get together, perhaps developing into regional networking and CPD events.

I’ve always felt that Design Managers needed a voice and a home – I’m hoping that the work we’re doing at the CIOB together with other organisations will provide a platform to achieve that.

For more information about the CIOB DM Project, contact Dr Sarah Peace at the CIOB or visit the Design Managers Forum on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), now over 1500 members worldwide.