Module 8 · Live Session Recap

A recap of the September 10 call, for anyone who could not attend.

Module 8 Live Discussion · What the Cohort Covered

A recap of the eighth live discussion, part 1 of 2 on managing execution. The hour covered what proves work is done, how to set expectations without micromanaging, and where a PM should spend limited time. This summary carries the substance of the full call.

Meeting RecordingFull September 10 discussion · about 1 hour
September 10, 2026~9 minute readLive Discussion · Module 8
← Back to Module 8

Where the Room Started

3 questions from the feedback, and one objection

Module 8 is part 1 of 2 on managing execution. This session covered what the PM does. Part 2 covers reading project data, and it waits until after the BST session so it matches how Grace uses BST. The module’s core idea: compare where the project is to where the plan said it would be, then turn each gap into an action.

ScalingHow does this work across several projects?

What does a weekly review look like for a PM running more than one job? What fits a small, a medium, and a large project?

DoneHow do you know how far along something is?

What proves a task is finished? What do you do when finished work keeps coming back?

The rulesWhat if people don’t work to the plan?

Team members who can’t bring work in on time, and principals who want more involvement than the project can pay for.

The objection“Seems like it would take a substantial chunk of each Friday.”

One line from the survey. More so for a PM with more than one project.

Monitoring takes time. Spend it where it pays you back.

Managing the work of several parties working in parallel takes time. A method that costs nothing doesn’t exist. The room was asked to set aside “I don’t have time” for 45 minutes and ask a different question: how do I spend this time so it returns more than it costs?

What Proves It’s Done

Only 1 of 4 answers proves an estimate package is finished

The survey asked what evidence proves to a PM that an estimate package is finished. The group was split. Most of the chat picked the first answer.

Proves itYou read the estimate

You check it against what you know about the whole project.

Doesn’t prove itThe dashboard shows it done

The dashboard shows what someone entered.

Doesn’t prove itThe hours are spent

Spent hours say the budget is gone. The work can still be open.

Doesn’t prove itThe person in charge says it’s finished

People don’t know what they don’t know. They can believe it’s done when it isn’t.

Then the pushback. Does that mean a PM can never trust the team? The room said it depends on the task and the person.

Trust, check, move onA drafter you’ve worked with for years

Plan details from someone who has delivered them many times before. A quick check is enough. A full review of everything would fill the whole Friday.

Look at it yourselfAn estimate, or anything about to leave the office

The PM knows the most about the project and can see what’s missing, such as a material change that never reached the writer.

Ask to see itA new team member

One line from the room: “Make me the PDF and send it to me.” Some teams also send key packages to a studio leader or principal for a final review.

Be close enough to the work to know where to probe

Every check in, formal or informal, is a form of monitoring. The PM’s job is to know which work needs a personal look, which needs a few questions, and which needs only the person’s word. The aim is one system that joins those check ins into a single picture of the project.

Monitoring Without A Plan

How do you know a 50% set is 50% done?

One practice from the room: pencils down print sets at 50%, 75%, and 90%. The project lead reviews each one for what’s missing and what isn’t needed. QA/QC joins at 75% and 90%, and the 90% set goes to the owner before the permit submission.

The follow up: without a documented expectation, what does 50% look like? The answer was experience. Know what a typical CD set holds, cut it to the scope (an interior renovation has no exterior elevations), then look for legible drawings, general notes, annotations, and dimensions.

$500,000 phase, 10 months long
Month 5 check: half the fee is spent
The work is 40% done, 10% behind

How do you make up 10% in the second half if the only check is at 50%? The room’s answer: work with the team through the first half. Know who needs more help, keep QC constant, and be in the model and the drawings yourself.

A baseline set at the start makes the comparison possible. Halfway through the phase, with half the fee spent, the work should be half done. If one of those 3 numbers disagrees with the others, you have a gap.

The Weekly Check In

Why “Who has been working on what?” is a warning sign

Weekly check ins came up as a practice that helps a lot. One participant looks at the model first, then asks the team who has been working on what, and whether anyone needs help. The question put to the room: who should already know who is working on what? The PM.

That opened the real debate. Is spelling out the work micromanagement?

Loose“Can you help me out with the roofing details?”

It feels respectful. It also leaves the scope, the time, and the finish line to the other person.

Specific“You have 24 hours for these details, to the standard from this other project. I’ll check in halfway.”

Some call this micromanagement. The session called it a PM who owns the work of the project.

  • 1
    Assign areas of the setDesigner A takes sheets X and Y, designer B takes the rest. People know what they own, and you know who to ask. Without it you hear “I thought they were picking it up.” One team with 6 or 7 clinics per person held weekly check ins of 30 minutes to an hour.
  • 2
    Ask people what they want to work onSomeone who just finished 3 roofs will be faster on the next one. Someone still learning may not want to learn on a fast project. Telling a senior person you can’t afford their rate on a task can be a compliment.
  • 3
    Watch the postureMicromanagement is mostly how you come to people. The words matter less.

Clear expectations give people freedom

The person knows exactly what you need and exactly when it’s done, so they know when to put it down and move to the next thing.

The 4 Expectations

If you’ll ask about it later, set the expectation now

If all you ask is “How’s it going?”, you’ll hear “Fine.” Any question you plan to ask about progress needs an expectation attached before the work starts.

  • 1
    What is the work, and who is doing it?Most PMs do this well.
  • 2
    When does it need to be finished?Most PMs do this well too.
  • 3
    How much effort can it take?Hours, time, or fee. A task can be done well and on time and still be behind, if it took more effort than planned. This is where trouble usually starts.
  • 4
    How much of the work is it?How will we know we’ve earned this portion of the fee?
The alternative conversation: “Why did this take so long?” “You didn’t tell me how long it was supposed to take.”

Where Your Time Goes

Spend your time on the gaps

Each week, ask where you thought the project would be, where it is, and where the gaps are. Collect the gaps across all your projects. That list is your PM Plan. Work that’s on track, and people who are doing well, get no extra time from you.

A gap you don’t address this week comes back next week, larger. The best time to act on a gap is before it happens. The second best time is the moment you see it.

Then the hard part. Your own critical path task sits on your list, and 3 people are waiting on you for something. Which comes first? One answer from the room: give the others what they need first. Consultants need time to produce, and short time means late or weak work.

You are the most limited resource on every project, and the one with the most reach

A 15 minute decision from you can start 4, 8, or 40 hours of work for someone else. Put first the item that starts the most work for the most people. Your own task can often wait until you have time for it.

A schedule makes this possible. It shows when consultants need information, such as reflected ceiling plans finished so the electrical engineer can start lighting. The same logic covers candid conversations: a team member who needs examples or support, or a principal who is too busy to meet the client when the project needs it.

The Principal In Charge

When a principal wants more time on the project than the budget holds

  • 1
    State what the project planned for their timeThey decide how they spend their time. Your job is to say what the project can pay for, based on the plan and the conversations you’ve had.
  • 2
    Raise the gap as soon as you see it“You’re spending more time on this project than we budgeted. Let’s talk about what that means for the budget and how we handle it.”
  • 3
    Let them decideIf they choose to stay involved, you’ve done your job. You show them the effect on the project, and the decision stays with them.
The worst choice is silence, and hoping they see the cause when the project closes over budget.

The Open Question

One consistent method across every office

The room kept returning to the same needs: a plan, a schedule, what happens when, and clear expectations for every team member. As Grace grows into studios that serve market segments across locations, a person in Phoenix who joins a team in Florida should find the same method. How to do it, where it lives, and how to keep the learning curve short are still open.

A few points came up after the formal close.

  • 1
    The end point already existsGrace has checklists for what a complete phase set holds, such as design development for a healthcare project. The PM’s work is the path from the current state to that end point.
  • 2
    Plan by the weekAsk what needs to be done at the end of week 1, week 2, and week 3, then attach a portion of the budget to each. The process repeats from project to project. Each plan is new.
  • 3
    The payback is in the check insPlanning adds effort at the start of a phase. In return, a check in that took an hour takes 15 minutes.
  • 4
    Some firms make it a ruleAt one engineering firm larger than Grace, a project without a filed plan can’t take charges. Everyone knows the rule, and the expectations for a PM are clear.

Take It With You

Module 8 already has the Friday routine

The room asked how to do this quickly. The PM Planner is built for a 30 minute Friday.

The tools

Run the Friday review, then plan the week

The PM Planner runs the Friday routine on one page and prints the week as 2 sheets. The Quick Reference Guide is the job aid behind it.

PM Planner Quick Reference Guide

What they cover

  • The four Friday questions. the weekly review that finds next week’s priorities
  • The four line comparison. where the project is against where the plan said it would be
  • The gap route. move on, carry it as a Priority, or escalate it now
  • The 7 fields. the PM Plan for the week, with a worked example

The Takeaway

The quality of your plan sets the cost of every check in

A good plan makes monitoring easy. With no plan, every check in turns into an investigation, and investigations are the first thing dropped when a project gets busy.

  • 1
    Plan up front, and tie every check in to the planThe plan is the baseline you compare against.
  • 2
    Try one thing this FridayFor your next assignment, state all 4 expectations before the work starts: the work and who owns it, the date, the effort, and how you’ll measure how much is done.
  • 3
    Protect your timeYou’re one person managing many. Put first the work that starts the most work for others.
  • 4
    What comes nextBST Technical Session 2 is next Thursday. Managing execution part 2, the data side, follows the week after.