A recap of the September 24 call, for anyone who could not attend.
Module 10 Live Discussion · What the Cohort Covered
A recap of the tenth live discussion, on managing change. The hour covered the gray zone between a request and a change, what to say first, what a small free change really costs, and how to raise changes early without harming the relationship. This summary carries the substance of the full call.
Everyone wants to talk about change. Few raise the small ones.
PMs often ask for help with change. In practice, it is also the topic most easily set aside. Large changes are obvious to everyone. The small request that doesn’t feel major in the moment is the one that gets let go.
5 themes came from the feedback.
1
Set up the change process at the startWide agreement that early work makes change easier later, and one request: tell me the words to use.
2
Agree how to handle scope changes before they happenThe earlier the agreement, the less emotion when a change arrives.
3
Change is a normal part of creative workA client can want something one way, see it, and want it another way. Be comfortable having that conversation.
4
Tone, delivery, and creditCome to the conversation as a partner. Get credit for the work, even when the credit isn’t money.
5
Thank the client for the extra workIt lowers the temperature. It tells the client “this is extra, and I’m glad to talk about it.” The client could also take the work to someone else.
Mindset first, then the words
There are 2 sides. Early in the project, set the table: change is normal, and you will handle it openly. When a change comes, use a plan for the conversation. The words help only when the PM already believes the extra work deserves to be raised.
The Gray Zone
“Just start. You know how we work.”
The scenario: the CD phase just started. A repeat client asks to reopen a major layout decision made early in DD. You start to discuss it, and the client says, “Just start. You know how we work.” Is it a change?
Clients rarely say “revisit a major layout decision.” They say, “There was that second option we ruled out. I’d like to look at it again.” The room gave 4 answers.
YesA textbook change
The phase closed and the work goes backward, often through the consultants too. One exception raised: a request during the owner review period of the last phase.
Not yetA request to revisit is not yet direction
Use it to explain why the team chose the current layout, and that changing it now is a change to the project.
Check the contractStart with the additional services paragraph
Know what the contract says before you push for an additional service. The terms assume both sides mean the same thing, so talk through what they mean with the client.
Show the workMake the hours visible
For example: “We have worked 3 weeks and about 80 hours in this direction. Changing it means going back and starting a new path.” Clients respond better when they see a number.
The room also raised the hard case: inherited relationships. Some long term clients, including some public agencies, don’t accept design phase changes as additional services. That pattern was learned over many projects and may not be fixable. It can be prevented on the next new client by setting expectations early.
Consistency matters. If a team absorbs every small change without a word, the first request for payment on a large change comes as a surprise. If you consider work additional, say so every time, even when it is small.
The First Words
You don’t have to decide in the room
The pressure in the moment is to commit or to push back hard. A third option is almost always open: look at the request first, then answer.
A first sentence that commits to nothing
“Thanks for asking us to look at that. Before we do, I’d like to see what it involves and talk with the principal on the project. Then I’ll come back to you.” It treats the request as a normal part of the work. The answer can come the same day or the next.
Bring in the principal
PMs don’t decide these alone. The principal in charge can guide the approach, contact the client, or decide to do the work at no charge.
Find out if it is a change or a question
A client exploring options is different from a client giving direction. A 15 minute sketch on trace paper in the meeting can answer the question. Rebuilding that part of the Revit model takes 8 hours.
Check the schedule and the consultants
A layout change can reach structural, civil, food service, and every other discipline. On a school, the opening date doesn’t move.
Tie the fee to the scope
If the change adds area or cost, link the fee adjustment to that increase. The reverse also happens: a free rework that reduces the project also reduces the fee.
One more option from the room: an hourly, not to exceed additional service. It shows good faith while the team studies the request. If the request grows, a full additional service with consultant fees follows.
Design tools make options faster to produce, and the team can use that. Be careful how much you advertise it. A client who thinks options are easy will ask for more. Be flexible, and keep the boundaries.
Where Is The Threshold?
One free day costs more than one day
Most PMs size up a request and weigh the effort against the risk of a hard conversation. Where does the line sit? One answer in the chat was 1 day. Others said it depends on the client, the relationship, the history, and how much rework is involved. One participant couldn’t name a single line.
A survey answer put the line at 1 day: “If it can be done in a day or less, I don’t typically ask for it.” The arithmetic on that day:
1 day at the $110 break even hour
$880 of free work
At 15% to 20% profit, another project earns $4,400 to $5,900 to cover it
Free work is paid from the profit of another project. When a PM skips the conversation, another PM has to run a project profitably enough to cover it. Few PMs would give away a $5,000 change. Asking for $880 is easier.
A counterpoint from the room: manage each project to stand on its own budget. Unexpected work still lands there. On one project, a Grace sub consultant went out of business, and the time spent replacing them came from the project budget. Whether a consultant is hired by Grace or by the owner changes who carries that cost.
Language In Your Back Pocket
3 moments, 3 sets of words
At kickoffName change before it happens
“This is a creative process. You may like something now and want to reopen it later. If it is a change, we’ll tell you right away and work out together how to handle it.”
The first small requestTake care of it, and log it
“Thanks for bringing this up. It’s small, and we’ll take care of it. We’ll add it to the list we track. If the list gets large enough, we’ll talk about it then.”
A clear request under time pressureLet the client choose
“We’d love to help. This is an hourly additional service. Give us approval by email and we’ll start, or we can pause and send you a written proposal.”
The client is part of the decision
If the team does the work without a word, the client never sees the full facts. They may not know it was a change, and they may expect it every time. Part of the job is to show the client the effect of the decision, including the cost.
Death By A Thousand Cuts
The 4th small tweak in the first month
The scenario: a new client, first month of the project. Each request took under 2 hours, but this is the 4th, and together they total a day. Nothing was said about the first 3.
1
Raise it nowExplain the hours behind each small change, and set the structure for the next ones. The first 3 are in the past. The next one is still yours to handle.
2
Treat each change on its ownMissing the first few doesn’t give up the right to raise the next one. The best time is the earliest one you still have.
3
A new PM can reset the termsIf the last PM never asked, you don’t have to follow that. For example: “We won’t go back over past work, and going forward we’ll handle changes this way.” It is only confrontational if the client makes it so.
4
Watch the phaseIn programming or SD, change is part of the work. In DD, the consultants are on board, and a 2 hour change can spread through every discipline.
5
Keep track of the past effortOne participant said their teams record the effort they absorb and sometimes recover it later. Absorbing a change to keep the project moving doesn’t mean the team agreed it was free.
Do We Work For Free?
If the work has value, someone pays for it
A question from the room went to the core: if Grace values its work, why is free work even on the table? One answer: nobody in the industry works for free. Consultants and clients don’t either. How much depends on the effort, 1 hour or 8.
Get creditIf not money, then goodwill
Lean toward naming changes and getting credit for them. A client can’t thank you for a favor they don’t know about.
Market positionStrong firms can choose their clients
Grace’s position lets it be realistic about cost and still flexible with the key clients that built the firm.
Business decisionA favor can protect a sole source client
A small favor to a client who gives repeat work, year after year, can cost less than chasing a new client. That is a business decision for a few clients. It is not the default.
It starts with the PM saying “this is extra”
If PMs tell clients more often that a request is extra, even when the answer is “we’ll do it,” that is progress.
Track It, Then Decide
A log turns small requests into a conversation you can have
The detailed monthly statement
One participant, working as a consultant, listed every task on each monthly statement, including items marked no charge. The architect passed it to the client. The client saw the work, and the no charge items built goodwill.
The change log on a large project
A team of about 5 ran CA on 45 buildings at once, with requests from many client project managers. Every request was logged with the email, the date, the time, and who asked. Near the end, that record supported the conversation about additional services and what it cost to finish.
Track it, get credit as you go, and decide later what to do with it.
Take It With You
Module 10 already has the log and the words
The tools
Log every request, then use the words
The Change Log Template records each request as it comes in. The Quick Reference Guide has the four part conversation and the two path script word for word.
The Change Log. every request, with the Oakhaven example filled in
The five steps. the change process you build at kickoff
The four part conversation. acknowledge, check, return, and choose, always in that order
The Additional Service Request. the field resource for writing the request
The Takeaway
Name the extra at the moment it is extra
1
Say it every timeThe next time a request is outside the agreement, tell the client it is extra, even if the answer is yes.
2
Log every requestSmall ones too. The log is what turns 4 small tweaks into a fair conversation.
3
Use the first sentenceThank them, say you’ll look at what it involves and talk with the principal, and come back with an answer.
4
What comes nextModule 11, QA/QC, was next, with its live discussion on October 1. The virtual program then runs to an onsite project simulation that uses all 12 modules.
PM Excellence