Onsite #1 · Quick Reference

The Kickoff Field Guide

The standard in one page: the three behaviors, the roles and utilization targets, the SMEs to leverage, and the two maps built in the session.

Quick reference · three core behaviors · role & utilization matrix · SME leverage · the two maps

The one idea

Good delivery is three behaviors, owned by one accountable PM, in service of “Design that Defines. Impact that Endures.”

A companion to the Onsite #1 working session. The session itself is built by the participants, in the room, so this page does not teach the day in advance. It holds the standard’s vocabulary, the role and utilization targets, and the reference scaffolds used live, and it stays available for all twelve modules that follow.

The five outcomes the standard drives:

Defined Scope & Aligned CommitmentsControlled, Predictable DeliveryProtected Design & Technical IntegritySustained Financial HealthDeveloped Teams & Collaborative Leadership
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The standard

The three core behaviors

The whole standard, on three cards. Tap one to see what it asks in practice.

Core Behavior I

Establishing Clarity

Define the finish line before the team starts. Clarity milestones:
  • Comprehensive scope estimation
  • Fee determination aligned to complexity and profit goals
  • Strategic plan from inception to closeout
  • Proposal & contract finalized and risk-mitigated
  • Primary client-liaison protocol established
Tap to expand
Core Behavior II

Controlling Advancement

Own daily momentum across four areas:
  • Client budgets: manage margins, adjust for shifts
  • Schedules: primary and internal milestones
  • Programs: design stays within functional constraints
  • Team assignments: allocate roles for efficiency
Tap to expand
Core Behavior III

Protecting Integrity

Guard quality with five exhaustive checks:
  • Code & regulatory compliance
  • Consultant integration (structural, MEP, engineering)
  • BIM & model integrity
  • Construction feasibility
  • Technical documentation accuracy
Tap to expand

Behavior → outcome

Clarity powers defined scope & aligned commitments. Advancement powers controlled, predictable delivery. Integrity powers protected design & technical integrity. Compounded and applied through people, they sustain financial health and developed teams. The behaviors are how the outcomes get produced.

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The sharpest distinction

Owner vs. coordinator

A coordinator passes information along. An owner is accountable for what happens next. Lead the workflow. Do not become the clerk for it. Predict the owner’s move, then reveal it.

Coordinator move
Forwards the consultant’s clash report to the team and asks everyone to “take a look.”
Owner move: predict, then reveal
What does the Accountable Owner do instead?
Convenes the decision, names who must resolve the clash, sets the date it is resolved by, and confirms the fix before work advances past it.
Coordinator move
Spends the afternoon formatting and proofreading a draft submittal package.
Owner move: predict, then reveal
What does the Accountable Owner do instead?
Delegates the formatting and proofing, and spends the time on profitability review, coordination, and the open decisions only the PM can make.
Coordinator move
Relays the client’s new request straight to the team as a to-do.
Owner move: predict, then reveal
What does the Accountable Owner do instead?
Tests it against scope and fee first, decides whether it is a change, and has the contract conversation with the client before the team spends an hour on it.
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Lead the workflow

SME leverage: who to engage, and when

PMs lead the workflow. They do not solve every problem alone. Engage the right specialist early to mitigate risk.

Construction Administrator (CA)

Engage early so documents are insurable and constructible. Rely on site observations to resolve claims, disputes, and QC issues during CA.

BIM Director

Proactive technology quality reviews and the strategy for resolving complex digital conflicts across disciplines.

BIM Manager

Daily model management: subcontractor model integration and digital-design workflow support.

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What the day builds

The two maps, built together

The day produces two participant-generated tools that become shared references for the whole program.

The reference for both is the live Lifecycle Map. On it the three core behaviors run across the lifecycle, with Clarity up front and Advancement & Integrity through execution. The three streams (Client, Team & Business) run down every phase. Three views: Leadership Outcomes (what good looks like), PM Responsibilities (who owns what), and the Project Manager Playbook, with every Grace tool and template linked.

Project Process Map

How a GRACE project flows

A shared picture of the stages a project moves through, and the decisions that govern each one. It makes the invisible process visible so the firm can agree on it.

Build it by asking: what are the real stages, and what must be true to advance past each?

Project Responsibility Map

Who owns what, at each step

Laid over the process map: for every stage, who is accountable, who contributes, and who decides. It ends the “I thought you had it” failures by naming ownership before work starts.

Build it by asking: at each step, whose name is on the outcome, not just the task?

✓

Before the session

Readiness self-check

Tick what is true today. The gaps are what the day is for. There are no wrong answers.

0 of 6. Bring the gaps. The session addresses them.
A·Z

Reference

Glossary