Here are five tips on how to create a playbook for your construction project management.
1. Align your business strategy with the playbook
Before jumping to the playbook itself, you first need to go through your business objectives and goals. Keep in mind that the playbook should be aligned with your business strategy. This will help you to ensure that the strategy and daily operations are supporting each other.
2. Start by documenting your current processes
The best operating models are rarely something totally new. In many cases, the best models are already followed but a clear documentation is missing or the operating models might not be implemented throughout the whole company.
The first step is to spend time documenting your current project processes. Talk with your team members and go through everyones responsibilities. This should include everything from how they manage projects, what tasks they need to do during different stages, what documents they create, and how they communicate.
Write everything down. Keep in mind that there might be multiple different ways to operate, but don’t worry about that yet. In this step, you just need to document everything.
3. Make first version of your project playbook
After all operating models are collected, it is time to start standardizing the best ones. Continue the talks and pick the best models and think if some important processes are still missing a clear operating model.
The playbook should make sure that everyone is able to be successful in their role by just following the standardized operating model aka the playbook. Make sure that your playbook is easy to follow, accurate, realistic, and achievable. It is critical that everyone understands the operating models and has the necessary training and resources to operate them.
4. Ensure that responsibilities are clear
An operating model/playbook without clearly defined roles and responsibilities is always a mess. Assign every task, document, and part of the process to a specific role. This will help everyone to understand what is expected of them and increase transparency.
After this is don, everyone will be on the same page and working towards the same objectives. Communication will become easier and unnecessary hassle will be minimized.
5. Remember to update your playbook regularly
Finally, review and update your playbook regularly. As you gain better insight and learn from your mistakes, your processes and procedures may need to change. Also, gather feedback from your employees to identify areas where the playbook could be improved. As time goes on, your playbook will improve and your business will grow more profitable.
In conclusion
Creating a playbook for your construction business can help you improve your operations and ensure consistency in the way everyone works. By identifying objectives and goals, documenting processes, establishing standards, assigning roles and responsibilities, and reviewing and updating regularly, you can create a playbook that will guide your business toward success.
Written by
Toni Martikainen
Toni wants to help construction companies take advantage of the opportunities brought by digitalization. He is interested in understanding how the industry works and is always ready to talk about technologies in the industry.