STAGE 1	
Preparation and Brief	

Job no		
     	
Job Title		
     	
Team members		
     	

© RIBA Publishing 2020

This document may be downloaded, stored, modified and distributed by the downloader in pursuance of the downloader's architectural business requirements, namely for the purposes of creating project plans and managing those projects. For full details, please refer to the Licence Agreement published on http://www.ribabookshops.com/jobbook

Instruction for use

This checklist is an rtf (rich text format) form, optimised for editing in Microsoft Office Word. Parts of it have been temporarily locked to preserve the default wording found in the RIBA Job Book (Ninth Edition). The parts that are not locked are the check boxes, the ‘notes’ fields and the ‘completed on’ fields. In other words, it is possible to add your own text and subsequently edit these fields. 

It is recognised that the default wording, which is currently locked, may need to be added to and edited. To unlock it, please follow the instructions below:

Microsoft Office Word 2003

•	Select View>Toolbars>Forms from the main menu. The Forms toolbar will appear.
•	Click the Protect Form button  to unlock the checklist. To lock it again, click it again.
•	If needed, click the Form Field Shading button  to hide the grey shading that appears around the editable fields. To show it again, click it again. 

Microsoft Office Word 2007
•	Click the Office button   to bring up a menu. Select Word Options from the bottom of the menu.
•	The Word Options dialog window will open. Select the Show Developer Tab option. At the bottom of the window, click OK.
•	A new Show Developer tab appears at the top of your screen. Click on it.
•	In the Protect group, select Protect document. A window will appear on the right-hand side of your screen. 
•	In this window, select Stop protection from the bottom of the list.

Microsoft Office Word 2010

•	Click the File tab to bring up a menu. Select Word Options from the bottom of the menu.
•	The Word Options dialog window will open. Select the Customize Ribbon option.
•	Select Developer box in the right hand side menu and click OK on the bottom of the screen.
•	A new Show Developer tab appears at the top of your screen. Click on it.
•	In the Protect group, select Restrict Editing. A window will appear on the right-hand side of your screen.
•	In this window, select Stop protection from the bottom of the list.

	
1.1	Client team			
				
1.1.1	Review the scope of work for Stage 1, assess the office resources needed and ensure that they are available and adequate.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.1.2	Identify the client representative, project team and authorised agents.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.1.3	Check that the client has made organisational arrangements to deal with questions, supply information and take decisions.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.1.4	Review the project requirements, budget and timetable and any other project data being supplied by the client. Alert the client to anything that is missing and that will need to be addressed in the initial Project Brief.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	0/N4
1/N2	

1.1.5	Advise the client on the need to appoint a cost consultant and other consultants or specialists. Prior to the start of Stage 2, confirm who will make the appointments, the basis of agreements and the scope of such services. List the other consultants in the appointment agreement and any project quality plan.
Be clear about the professional services needed. If other consultants and specialists are needed, be prepared to explain their roles and responsibilities.
Try to ensure that all professional appointments have similar, if not identical, contractual conditions.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	 

1/N3	
				
1.1.6	Advise the client on statutory and other legal obligations, including:
• the need for various approvals under legislation concerned with planning and building, and the additional requirements of any local legislation or legislation for the particular building type which might apply
• the fees payable to the relevant authority at the time of these applications
• the obligations of a client under the CDM Regulations, and other Health and Safety legislation, as appropriate
• the duties of the client as building owner under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, including the possible need to appoint a party wall surveyor and the rights of adjoining owners to appoint their own surveyors
• possible duties of the client under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, if it is possible that the site may contain contaminated land.
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 defines, within England and Wales and Scotland, the fundamental structure and authority for waste management and control of emissions into the environment.
Enter notes here	

   Completed on	

1/N4

1/N5	

1.1.7	Check whether any information provided by the client is confidential, and enquire whether the client wishes to ensure confidentiality for the project.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	
				
1.1.8	Establish procedures for the client to sign off briefs, designs, etc. at relevant stages.
Be strict about meeting deadlines for reports and other submissions to the client.
Set firm dates for approvals, instructions to proceed and the supply of information.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.1.9	Consider the project’s risk profile in terms of the town planning process, the Project Programme and the proposed form of procurement.
Refer to ‘2/N4 Assessing Project Risks’.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	

2/N4	
				
1.1.10	Explain to the client the options for procurement and note any matters which could affect any particular choice.
Enter notes here	

   Completed on		

				
1.1.11	Arrange for regular reports to be provided to the client on fees and expenses incurred, and for accounts to be submitted at agreed intervals.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		

1.1.12	At the end of the stage, obtain the client’s approval to start Stage 2.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		

1.2	Design team	   Completed on		
				
1.2.1	Consider the likely composition of the design team and discuss this with the client.
Which consultants are first to come on board will vary depending on the nature of the project. If there are complicated planning issues, a planning consultant may be necessary; if there are key environmental matters to be considered, an environmental engineer may be required; or if transport is a factor, a traffic engineer may be needed at an early stage to establish the viability of the project.
Usually the first consultants to join the architect are project managers (who are sometimes appointed before the architect) and cost consultants (generally with more experienced clients). If the project is engineering-led, such as an infrastructure project, then civil, structural or other engineers will be involved and may undertake the lead designer role.
Sometimes the client will be reluctant to appoint further consultants until the viability of the scheme has been tested or even until planning permission has been granted, to keep costs down. It is important to emphasise the value that other consultants can bring to the process, even if their input is relatively light at the initial stages of a project.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	1/N3	
				
1.2.2	Assemble the project team and define the members’ roles and responsibilities.
The importance of properly establishing the project team cannot be overstated, given the increasing use of digital technology and BIM. It is essential that the project team is assembled before Stage 2 can begin.
Define and establish the project team during Stage 1 to ensure that the roles and responsibilities of each organisation are clear before commencement of Stage 2 Concept Design.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.2.3	Agree the Schedule of Services, Responsibility Matrix and Information Exchanges.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.2.4	Establish or review project quality management procedures, together with relevant quality procedures for all design team members.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.2.5	Identify the need for a Project Execution Plan and agree its format with the client and design team.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		

1.2.6	Check the scope of professional services agreed with other consultants as they are appointed.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.2.7	Establish arrangements for communication between the client’s representative, the Principal Designer, the Project Lead and the lead designer.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.2.8	Establish a programme for design team meetings.

Enter notes here	   Completed on	2/F1	
				
1.2.9	Establish procedures for regular reporting to the client.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		

	Note that these steps represent planning of the pre-construction phase. This is an element of the Principal Designer’s duties under the CDM Regulations.
		1/N5	

1.3	Cost			
				
1.3.1	Together with the other consultants, review the client’s budget and check it against the brief.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.3.2	Review the Client Requirements, programme and budget and, if these cannot be reconciled, seek clarification on the client’s priorities. 
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.3.3	Provide information for financial appraisal.
The report on cost implications should be structured under appropriate headings.
It will normally be prepared by the cost consultant, if appointed. On jobs where there is no cost consultant, cost estimates may need to be prepared by the architect – the appointment must make this clear.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4	Other activities			
				
1.4.1	Assist the client to develop the initial Project Brief.
Preparation of the initial Project Brief is the most important task undertaken during Stage 1 and the time required to prepare it will depend on the complexity of the project.
When preparing the initial Project Brief, it is necessary to consider the project’s Spatial Requirements, the desired Project Outcomes, which may be derived following Feedback from similar earlier projects, the site/context and the budget.
Refer to the RIBA Briefing Template and Tracker which can be downloaded free of charge by RIBA Chartered Practices from www.architecture.com.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	1/N2	
				
1.4.2	Develop the Project Outcomes, Quality Aspirations, Sustainability Outcomes, Project Budget, Project Risks and other parameters or constraints.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.3	Undertake Site Appraisals and collate Site Information, including building surveys.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.4	Set up the in-house project team.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.5	Establish who will lead the project within your practice. Identify personnel, roles, accountability and lines of communication and reporting within the office and with the external project team and the client.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.6	Establish office administration procedures.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.7	Open project files and allocate a job number to the project in accordance with office practice.
Check with the client the full project title to be used.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.8	Set up a project directory of all key personnel involved, including addresses, phone numbers, email, etc. Circulate to all concerned.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	 	
				
1.4.9	Review how in-house quality management procedures will be applied to the project.
These may include the preparation of a Project Execution Plan in an appropriate form.
A Project Execution Plan provides a mechanism for linking the specific requirements of the project to an office quality management system, which might already exist. It will not necessarily mean the development of a new document or procedures over and above those that already exist.
Refer to the RIBA Quality Management Toolkit, which can be downloaded free of charge by RIBA Chartered Practices from www.architecture.com.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	

1/N7	
				
1.4.10	Review the Site Information and undertake Feasibility Studies.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.11	Monitor office expenditure against fee income. If not already in place, set up office procedures for recording time spent on the project, by whom and the rates chargeable, and for noting expenses and disbursements incurred.
Set up procedures for regularly checking expenditure against the office job cost allocation.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.12	Identify the scope of, and commission, surveys and any investigative reports necessary.
Advise the client about other surveys that may be needed and act as authorised. If independent surveyors are to carry these out, brief them fully.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		

1.4.13	Obtain maps, studies and other contextual material.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.14	Make an initial visit to the site or existing building. Make a photographic record, notes and sketches as appropriate. File information and make an initial appraisal.
Enter notes here	   Completed on	1/N6
1/F1	
				
1.4.15	Check for any reference in previous use or history of the site to contamination or the presence of hazardous substances, geological problems, underground services, etc. In particular, be aware of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and guidance document HSG 264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide, which describes the two types of asbestos surveys (management or refurbishment and demolition (R&D)) that are required for buildings constructed before 2000. Commercial properties should have a management survey in place but an R&D survey is needed to inform the design and planning of refurbishments, alterations, demolitions, etc.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.16	If necessary, advise the client to authorise surveys to investigate potential Health and Safety problems.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.17	Develop the Project Programme.
It is important to develop this tool and to refer to it regularly throughout the life of the project. It will start as a ‘high-level’ strategic tool, but more detail will be added to it as the project progresses. It can be used to assess the in-house resource requirements and the overall durations of each stage in the design process. It can then be used to measure progress, particularly if activities are linked and a critical path set out as a result. It can also be linked to other project team members’ programmes and, where the design team is working collaboratively, a single, integrated Project Programme can be developed.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.4.18	Regularly check progress against the Project Programme.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		

1.5	BIM and digital technology			
				
1.5.1	Where appropriate, and in accordance with the project’s Technology Strategy, appoint an information manager, whose role should include the following:
• explaining to the client the benefits and implications of implementing BIM
• advising on the extent to which BIM should be used on the project
• determining the roles and responsibilities of each member of the project team with regard to the BIM process and the model
• leading the other consultants in preparing the BIM project plan
• defining and communicating the BIM inputs and outputs
• in conjunction with the other consultants, reviewing and signing off the model at agreed stages
• issuing data from the model at the appropriate times
• liaising with the contractor, subcontractors and suppliers to integrate their design data into the model
• arranging for the model to be passed on to the client’s facilities manager at Practical Completion (unless the architect is to maintain a role in this regard).
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.5.2	If appointed as information manager, prepare BIM protocols and agree them with the other members of the design team. Define the responsibilities of the other members of the design team in this regard.
Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.5.3	Define long-term responsibilities, including ownership of the model.

Enter notes here	   Completed on		
				
1.5.4	Define BIM inputs and outputs.

Enter notes here	   Completed on