GRACE · Module 5 · Part A Reference

From scope to budget

Planning answers five questions in order. This module is the first three, turning scope into work, roles, and a price. The last two, When and Who, are Part B.

Question 1

What is the work?

Decompose scope into a WBS: phase → deliverable → work package → task.

Tool · WBS hierarchy

Question 2

Which roles?

Soft-resource each task to the lowest level that can do it right.

Tool · Soft-resource guide

Question 3

How much?

Assign hours, price by role, roll up against the fee.

Tool · The budget builder

Question 4

When?

Sequence the work: Logic-Based Planning, critical path, float.

→ Part B

Question 5

Who?

Hard-schedule the role demand onto real people.

→ Part B

Planning Studio · Where this guide gets used

This guide is the reference. Planning Studio 1 is the practice. Everything below runs live on Oakhaven’s Design Development phase: the hierarchy, the builder logic, and the rates. There, draw the scope boundary, build the 9-deliverable WBS, then staff $224,000 of labor across the eight-role roster and commit it. Keep this page open while working the Studio. Open Planning Studio 1 →

The WBS hierarchy

A Work Breakdown Structure decomposes the project in four levels, each more concrete than the last. Decompose down to tasks small enough to assign and price.

Major Project Phase

A billing phase. SD · Design Development · CD

Project Deliverable

A physical output. Floor Plans · Elevations · RCPs · Outline Specs

Work Package

A major component of a deliverable. Partition layout · Egress overlay · MEP coordination

Task

Assigned to one role. Draft partition types · Run egress calc · Tag wall ratings

Decomposing real DD scope language, the quick version of the Module Overview walkthrough:

Contractual scope clause	Deliverables → sample tasks
“…prepare Design Development Documents to fix and describe the architectural character: plans, elevations, sections.”	Floor Plans → draft partition types, run egress calc, dimension to grid. Elevations → material & opening layout. Sections → cut key building sections.
“…coordinate the structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems within the documents.”	Structural set → reconcile arch grid with framing. MEP set → locate mech rooms & chases, coordinate dispatch power & clearances.
“…together with outline specifications and material selections.”	Outline Specs → draft CSI section outline. Materials → select assemblies & finishes, assemble DD board.

Planning Studio · The live version

The Oakhaven DD WBS inside the Studio is this hierarchy made real: phase 3.0 → 9 deliverables → 14 work packages → 40 assignable tasks, verbatim from the project’s filed WBS. Stage 1 makes you earn it. Five packages from other phases are shuffled into the deck, and each one let in spends fee the phase does not have.

The budget builder

A live version of the 2026 Project Budgeting Spreadsheet. The phase is seeded with a real Oakhaven Design Development package. Change a role, move hours, or add a task, and the margin moves in real time. This is Questions 1 to 3, made tangible.

Phase fee (fixed)$

Task (WBS)	Role (soft-resource)	Hours	Cost

Total hours

Planned cost

Fee

Profit / margin

Planned cost as a share of fee0%

Rates are the 2026 Grace Hourly Rate Schedule (effective 01/01/2026). Profit shown is fee minus planned labor cost, before consultants and reimbursables.

Planning Studio · The builder with a spine

Stage 2 of the Studio is this budget builder wired to consequences: live margin against the $280,000 fee, a hard 15% commit floor, and flags for the classic failures. Those flags catch QC unbudgeted, PM effort too thin to control the phase, and Principal hours crowding the rate mix. Committed numbers carry into Part B and, at the end of Studio 2, onto the BST screens exactly as they would be loaded on a real project. Build the budget →

Soft-resource guide

“Lowest competent level” is the rule. Match the nature of the work to the floor at which it is still done responsibly. That floor is neither the cheapest body nor a Principal doing production work.

Nature of the work	Typical floor role	Do not use a…
Production drafting, plans, RCPs, schedules	Architect / Design Professional	Principal
Discipline & consultant coordination	Senior Architect / PM	Design Intern
Schedule, fee, scope & client decisions	Project Manager	Design Professional
Code, egress & life-safety judgment	Senior Architect	Design Intern
QA / QC review & sealing the set	Principal / Senior Architect	Architect (unsealed)
BIM standards, model setup & auditing	BIM Manager	Design Intern
Document formatting, proofing, assembly	Administrative (APC)	Project Manager