The 30-Minute Weekly Project Review for Architects

Why a short weekly review works

A 30-minute weekly project review catches problems while they are still small: a stage burning fee faster than it progresses, a decision the client has not made, a consultant who is late or an invoice that should have gone out. Monthly reviews usually find the same problems a few weeks too late.

Most overruns are not sudden. A stage that ends 30% over budget was usually 10% over a month earlier, and the signs were visible in the timesheets. The point of a weekly review is to look at the same few numbers every week, in the same order, and to leave with named actions.

Keep it short and regular. A meeting that takes 30 minutes and always happens is worth more than a thorough one that is often cancelled. In a small practice, one review can cover every live project; in a larger one, each project lead runs their own and the results feed a monthly director review.

The review is not where problems get solved. It is where they get noticed, owned and given a date.

A 30-minute agenda

Use the same agenda every week so the review becomes routine. The timings below suit one project; for several, give each project five to ten minutes and keep the numbers on one page.

Who attends: the project lead, the director responsible and, where useful, whoever handles invoicing. Keep the group small. Design discussion belongs in a separate meeting.

The five numbers to bring

Five numbers give a reliable picture of project health: fee burn against progress, hours planned for the next two weeks, open RFIs, decisions needed and invoices due. Prepare them before the meeting so the time is spent on what they mean.

1. Fee burn against progress.For each live stage, the percentage of hours used compared with the project lead's estimate of percentage complete.
2. Hours next two weeks.Planned hours by person against the work due, to spot overload or idle time early.
3. Open RFIs.How many are open, how many are overdue and the oldest one. Mainly relevant from Stage 4 onwards.
4. Decisions needed.Client and consultant decisions outstanding, with the date each one is needed by.
5. Invoices due.Invoices that should be raised this week or month, and any that are overdue for payment.

Fee burn

Stage 3: 70% of hours used, stage estimated 55% complete. 15 points ahead.

Hours ahead

Two people planned at 45 hours each next week; one other at 10.

Open RFIs

Not applicable at Stage 3.

Decisions

Client to confirm façade material by 28 November; planning submission depends on it.

Invoices

Stage 2 invoice paid. Stage 3 monthly instalment due to be raised on 30 November.

The example is illustrative. For how to work out fee burn properly, see the guide to tracking time against RIBA stages.

Red, amber and green rules

A red, amber or green (RAG) status is only useful if everyone applies the same rules. Agree simple thresholds once, write them down and use them for every project.

Use the worst signal

A project takes the status of its worst signal. A stage on budget with a missed planning submission is amber or red, not green. This stops good news on one number hiding a problem on another.

Do not punish red

If project leads expect blame for a red status, they report amber until it is too late. Treat red as a request for help, and recognise people who raise problems early.

The actions log and the monthly director review

Every review ends with actions, and every action has an owner and a date. A simple actions log, carried from week to week, is what turns a conversation into results.

The monthly director review

Once a month, directors look across all projects at once. The weekly reviews make this quick: each project already has a status, a fee burn figure and an actions log. The monthly review should cover red and amber projects in detail, total unbilled work and overdue invoices, staffing for the next two to three months and any projects where a fee conversation with the client is needed.

• ✓Every live project with its current RAG status and the reason.
• ✓Fee used against progress for each live stage.
• ✓Unbilled work and overdue invoices across the practice.
• ✓Staffing and capacity for the next eight to twelve weeks.
• ✓Additional services to be priced or agreed with clients.

For the practice-wide numbers, see the guides to architecture practice KPIs and WIP and unbilled fees.

Questions practices ask

Short answers to the questions practices ask most often about project reviews.

What should be on a project review meeting agenda for architects?

Last week's actions, the key numbers (fee burn against progress, planned hours, open RFIs, decisions needed and invoices due), the programme, a red, amber or green status and new actions with owners and dates. Thirty minutes is enough for one project if the numbers are prepared beforehand.

How often should architects review project health?

Weekly at project level and monthly across the practice. Weekly reviews catch fee overruns and missing decisions while the stage is still running; the monthly director review looks at all projects, cash and staffing together.

What is a project health check in architecture?

A regular check of whether a project is on track for fee, programme, information and client relationship. It usually compares hours used with progress for each RIBA stage and records a red, amber or green status with actions.

How do you set red, amber and green thresholds?

Agree simple rules based on fee burn against progress, overdue decisions, missed milestones and overdue invoices, and apply them the same way to every project. A common approach is to give the project the status of its worst signal.

Who should attend a weekly project review?

The project lead and the responsible director, plus whoever handles invoicing if billing is on the agenda. Keep the group small and keep design discussion for a separate meeting.

Where Avoice fits

Avoice has the review numbers ready before the meeting, because time, fees, staffing, RFIs and invoices already sit in the same project.

In Avoice, timesheets roll up against each fee stage, so fee burn is current. People and staffing shows allocation for the coming weeks, RFIs and instructions are tracked in contract administration, and the project invoicing schedule shows what is due. Financials and cash flow give directors WIP, margin and cash forecast for the monthly review, checked against Xero. Actions can be kept in tasks and boards, and decisions in the Project Record. The Avoice AI side panel can answer questions such as which stages are running ahead of progress.

To see a project review set up on your own projects, book a demo.