Step 2: Align Goals

In an integrated design and delivery project, team members mutually define the desired outcomes of the project and work together to set performance goals. These goals should reflect the integrated nature and open-ended potential of an integrated project. In other words, whereas conventional goals are different for each team member, integrated goals are shared and project-centric.

One way to jump-start the goal-setting process is through the “touchstone exercise” outlined in The Integrative Design Guide to Green Building (7group and Bill Reed, 2009). Each team member answers the question, “What are the key needs this project must address?” and the selection and ranking of performance goals can be handled through discussion or an actual vote. The sequence is as follows:

1. Owners come in with certain needs and aspirations.
2. Team input enhances those needs based on shared values.
3. Team collectively translates general needs into specific, measurable performance goals.

The results of the touchstone exercise can be used to prioritize performance targets as well as form the basis for the “Owner’s Project Requirements” document, which details the functional requirements of a project and the expectations of how the completed building will be used and operated. These goals are then used to generate a “Basis of Design” document, which describes in general terms how the goals will be achieved in the project. Alternatively, goals may be documented in project team charters, conditions of satisfaction, or project goal agreements.

Advantages of aligning goals (Wilson 2014):

• All team members go through the same learning curve together at the beginning of the project (Figure 3).
• The team and the project can proceed much more quickly and efficiently and there is reduced risk of misunderstandings and missteps.
• Team members can assess if they truly have the capacity to deliver what is being asked, instead of signing on and finding out too late that they might not have the needed expertise.
• The owner will feel in control and happy.
• The architect will avoid redrawing.

Figure 3: Common understanding of a project team throughout the duration of a project

Case Study: Edith Green–Wendell Wyatt Federal Building