Have you ever been faced with the dilemma of delivering a project to the highest possible quality standards, with an immovable deadline and a defined budget? Managing time, cost and quality outcomes of any project is where the rubber hits the road. If you are in the business of managing and delivering projects to meet client expectations these three chestnuts are really what the game is all about.

I have found that if you talk to your client early in the project set up about managing these three, sometimes opposing, forces that you can set an expectation and provide your client options. In this way the issue of managing time, cost and quality can become an inclusive and collaborative process with shared understanding rather than an ‘us verses them’ relationship.

 

MODERN DAY PROVERB

There’s a modern day proverb that goes something like this…

There are three suitcases. In the first suitcase is time, in the second is cost and in the third is quality. Here’s the deal. You can only pick up two of the three suitcases.

If you apply this wisdom to any project delivery process there are three possible outcomes that await you and your client.

 

1. Pick up the two suitcases with time and quality and leave cost.

If your project demands that time is of the essence and maintaining high quality is an absolute imperative, it stands to reason that it will cost more.

 

2. Pick up the two suitcases with time and cost and leave quality.

If your project needs to be delivered within a short period with an immovable deadline and cost reduction or minimisation is a key driver then it is likely that the quality of the delivered solution will suffer or at best be compromised.

 

3. Pick up the two suitcases with cost and quality and leave time.

If you want to protect the quality of your project and do so while constraining cost chances are it will take more time to source and deliver the solution.

 

MANAGING COMPROMISE

Most projects will involve some sort of compromise along the way. This is especially evident when there are multiple stakeholders involved. On the client side there is the marketing and communications department driving design and brand consistency (quality) there is property or facilities responsible for managing the rollout (time) and there is procurement and finance presiding over cost of change (cost). By nature these three departments have conflicting performance criteria against which they are measured.

On the contractor side you have a mix of creative consultants (architects, interior and graphic designers), project advisors (quantity surveyors and project managers), and a range of contractors, manufacturers and suppliers. On this side of the table there are multiple design disciplines and the tension between design creativity (representing innovation and design leadership) and the built reality (representing the pragmatic and what is actually possible).

If you imagine all these competing forces and agendas at work with the planning, development and delivery of a retail space or a showroom you can see how managing compromise can be the keystone to a successful project outcome. The imperative is to reach agreement on what can or must be let go for the project to be delivered and what, at no point, can be yielded.

The ability for this to occur in a timely, reasonable and smooth manner can at times be seen as achievable as reaching Utopia. On any given project, no matter what role you are playing, this compromise will need to be managed. Bottom line – the earlier the issues are flagged the better. It is best to try and get all the critical information, agendas, ideals, limitations, possibilities and performance criteria put on the table for discussion and debate as soon as practicable. Just as importantly, someone needs to put up his or her hand and own this process. The best party to do this is probably someone that is independent of the client stakeholders and of the creative team and suppliers.

A good example of how this can work is the recent ANZ Bank brand identity project. Being a rebranding project of global scale, the ANZ Bank brand was rolled out across over 4,000 physical assets and 32 countries. At the outset of the project the marketing, property and procurement departments of ANZ collaborated with the external creative design and project implementation teams to develop an overall project execution strategy. The brand elements were tightly documented to protect the integrity of the design and also to ensure affordable and timely execution.

In the built environment the new ANZ Bank brand has been applied to sky signs, airport foreign exchange kiosks, retail branches, ATM’s, corporate offices and sports stadiums. Continuous collaboration between internal and external project parties has ensured the brand attributes have not been diluted as the project passed through various client-side stakeholder groups.

The ANZ Bank Foreign Exchange kiosks located in international air terminals example a heightened level of communication between the client principal, third party authorities, designer, architect, project manager and suppliers. The appointment of an independent project manager to oversee the project deliverables and liaise with all stakeholders and suppliers helps to control the project outcome.

 

STRATEGY AND TACTICS

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu writes, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” 1. Obtaining a balance between design innovation and practicality, or the risk and return equation, does require project team members to consider long-term strategic goals as well as short-term tactical ones. Engaging the technicians in the strategic process and exposing the strategists to the tactical issues will go a long way towards creating a collaborative project environment.

On a smaller scale to ANZ Bank the design and fit-out of the new corporate offices for Diageo in Sydney and Brisbane featured early collaboration between the client principal, architect, designer, construction manager and contractors. The project structure for Diageo is interesting in that a flat structure was developed that combined design services with construction management under a single project responsibility. What this enabled is the design to be undertaken in an environment where concepts are continuously being tested against performance criteria such as buildability, lifespan, cost and ongoing maintenance. The outcome is a finished solution that has not been overly compromised.

With a flat design and construction project structure Diageo has bee able to control the quality of the design through the delivery process without compromise. 

The design of the interiors, environmental graphics and signage for the Diageo fit-out were married with construction management in a packaged plan, develop and deliver project solution.

 

WEIGHING UP THE COST OF IMPLEMENTATION

It is widely broadcast that the physical cost of implementing a brand outweighs that of the creative services by a factor of at least 20:1 and in some cases up to 40 times. What that tells me is that it is vitally important to ensure that the creative process is not undertaken in a vacuum. What normally happens is the creative work is done up front and then passed from the brand guardian to those with control over delivery-based objectives. Typically what this process results in is a ‘lost in translation’ moment where the strategic brand platform and communications alignment goes astray. At best this delivers a sub-par return on investment or maybe a design adjustment. At worst it can result in a whole redo.

To me it makes a lot of sense to bring the creative process together with the operational elements from the start to the finish of a project. Only then can one manage the inevitable compromise that will arise and achieve a great solution.

1. The Art of War, Sun Tzu, sometime around 500 BCE.

Lost in Translation blog written by Kelvin Taylor.

Find out more about Kelvin at Kelvin Taylor | LinkedIn.webloc

 

 

 

Some people don’t understand design. Others don’t perceive its value. We do however live in a world where design and branding is playing an increasingly vital role in helping us differentiate one service or product from another.

Brand Guru Wally Olins has summed it up nicely by asserting “brands represent clarity, reassurance, consistency, status and membership – everything that enables human beings to define themselves.” #1.

Maybe this definition appears a bit lofty or perhaps self-serving but the reality is that as consumers we are all impacted by design in one form or another, whether that is good design or bad design, conscious or unconscious.

Perhaps you have come across Tom Peters and his ‘Essentials’ book series. There are four titles in the series. It’s easy to read. There’s lot’s of visual examples and his trademark exclamation marks are everywhere. In the ‘Design Essentials’ book Peters states “design is so critical it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department.” #2 Peters argues that it is through design that companies can create differentiation and gain competitive advantage. He talks about selling (and buying) the brand experience. This in turn translates to companies competing less on price by leveraging the user experience and the emotional aspects of a brand.

I particularly like his viewpoint that Harley Davidson doesn’t sell motorcycles and that Guinness doesn’t sell beer. Club Med doesn’t sell vacations and Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee. (To find out what they do actually sell you need to read the book.)

                                                

Add to this the research based data that comes from the UK Design Council.

Their research suggests that a group of design-aware companies outperformed the FTSE 100 Index by more than 200%. *3 Good design is a direct source of competitive advantage. Companies that invest in their design capability and develop a reputation for innovation can avoid competing on price alone. In the UK, 45% of firms that don’t use design compete mainly on price as opposed to 21% of firms where design is significant. #4

The experts say we are presently in an economic period called ‘The Knowledge Economy’. This is a world where innovation, ideas and creativity lead consumption. New processes, products and services are a critical part of economic growth. According to PwC, top innovators generate over 75% of revenue from products and services not in existence five years ago. #5

So design, it seems, is key. But what is design and how do you measure it? Design is often viewed ambiguously as a new product. This is a narrow view and fails to capture the benefits of investing in design that relates to other aspects of an enterprise such as marketing and communications, branding and environments. And then there is the marketplace and the customer where design has the greatest impact. It stands to reason that the customer should be placed at the centre of design decisions. This is probably not an innovative thought but I often wonder when products or services fail to deliver or just plain don’t work whether this is the case.

Let’s take Giant Bikes as a good example of customer centric design. Truly a global innovator, Giant Bikes was originally founded as an OEM supplying bike frames to known retail brands and is now the world’s largest bike manufacturer selling over

5 million bikes per year and over 80% of the world’s bike frames.

Giant’s aim is simple – to inspire adventure in all riders from casual to competitive. The Giant tagline, ‘Ride Life. Ride Giant.’ reflects an aspiration, from kids and families through to performance riding, to embrace cycling as a lifestyle. With over 200 individual bike styles to choose from Giant Bikes is attentive to the diverse needs of its customers.

Giant Bikes Sydney MC Cyclery workshop – the concept of bringing the workshop to a front of house activity rather than hidden behind the scenes provides a heightened customer experience. Clients are engaged in the process. A customised fitting and testing facility that immerses the customer with the brand complement the workshop.

 

Giant Bikes Sydney MC Cyclery showroom – bikes are displayed according to the user criteria with Giant appealing to families right up to performance cyclists. Giant has over 200 bike styles that target individual sectors reflecting the tribal nature of the cycling audience.

 

In my opinion, Giant Bikes is a great example of customer-centric design. This is reflected in Giant’s passion to promote the healthy, environmentally friendly virtues of the new cycling lifestyle. The fundamental objective of their retail plan is to improve the customer experience by elevating the professionalism of the retailer, improving product knowledge and energising the look and feel of the retail space.

Giant Bikes Marketing Manager, Martin Clucas states “design plays a pivotal role in the fit-out of the Giant Bikes stores with product display, layout and visual merchandising contributing greatly to our success today.”

Giant Bikes Belconnen showroom 

 

Customised racking systems and merchandising displays have been developed to accent the attributes of each bike style and appeal to each customer segment.

 

In Australia Giant is partnering with like-minded retailers to embrace the quality and innovation of Giant and translate this into a retail and customer experience. Innovative concepts such as bringing the service and repair elements from back of house to front of house and the development of bespoke bike specification with personalised testing and fitting areas place the customer at the centre of the Giant Bikes experience.

For Giant, customer research, robust retail partner selection and a focus on design have translated to uplift in sales for new stores.

I recently attended a marketing summit involving senior marketers from over 80 of Australia’s and New Zealand’s leading enterprises. The event featured US business mentor Seth Godin via satellite who presented an animated viewpoint based on the ‘tribal’ nature of customers.

Godin partitions in this tribal environment that difference and uniqueness both thrive and are celebrated. It’s true that designing customised products and services for clusters or tribes of consumers can be expensive and time consuming. On the other hand the demand for new products and services from a more discerning and selective customer base is forcing enterprises to invest in customer-centric design. Investing in design and ensuring that the customer is central to that process leads to competitive advantage and economic growth.

The UK Design Council states that applying good design will help companies develop new products and services that respond to changes in consumer behaviour. Design has a direct link to business performance. 86% of UK firms report that design helps them compete internationally. #6

The bottom line – Design can increase market share. Design can increase revenue and profit. Design can help develop new markets. Design can increase employment and assist to become an employer of choice. Design adds value.

 

#1. Wally Olins, Brand Handbook, 2008.

#2. Tom Peters, Essentials, Design 2005.

#3. UK Design Council briefing, 2008.

#4. UK Design Council briefing, 2009.

#5. UK Design Council, Design in the Knowledge Economy 2020, 2010.

#6. UK Design Council briefing, 2009.

 

Lost in Translation blog written by Kelvin Taylor.

Find out more about Kelvin at Kelvin Taylor | LinkedIn.webloc

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