Project Management

Why Project Management is Important

Real estate investment and development routinely involves substantial amounts of at-risk capital. How that capital is put to work in our industry revolves in large measure around the traditional practice of designing and constructing a project. Historically, this process in turn has revolved around the developer hiring an architect and general contractor, and relying on that framework of professionals to produce a project, hopefully on time and within budget.

Everything about our business has grown more complex in the last twenty to thirty years: municipal planning codes have become more stringent, design and construction technologies have expanded dramatically, competition for capital has grown more intense, and, inevitably, the laws that govern our business have become far more rigorous. A single, simple mistake can yield catastrophic results: cost overruns, schedule delays, poor workmanship, and - regrettably, but inevitably - lawsuits emerge as the means of solving the problems that result.

Accordingly, management of the design and construction process has become critically important in mitigating the many risks associated with real estate investment. Our industry simply cannot take the chance that design and construction professionals will manage themselves to produce a successful project.

How We Manage Projects at Ditz Brothers

First, we believe that, as the Owner responsible for the successful deployment of investment capital and production of superior returns for our investors, we must be in charge. We do not delegate the production of successful projects to our consultants.

Second, we view the development process, that of programming, designing, and constructing projects across a broad spectrum of building types, as one of a continual exchange of information between the Owner and the Design/Construction team. How that information is exchanged is carefully - and continuously - scrutinized within our organization.

Third, we are technology-driven. Our core project management tool - Prolog - is a web-based, easy-to-use, highly interactive management system that centralizes all current and key information - what we refer to as the "shared data set" - in a single repository, and provides a diverse and highly accurate toolkit for managing the flow of information between project participants. This is the central element in our "science of information exchange".

The Core of Our Project Management Effort Revolves Around Managing Design

Over the past twenty years we have successfully completed dozens of major projects, totaling hundreds of millions of invested dollars. Our objective is simple: to work hard and focus intently on the design of each project as it unfolds. We typically meet with our Design team weekly during this phase of work. We prepare our own meeting minutes, which ensures that we maintain control over the resolution of the many issues that emerge in this process. We use PC-based scheduling software to keep a graphic representation of task interrelationships, deadlines and important project milestones in front of our team at all times. Our project management system is structured to keep the team working with a single, shared set of common data. And - we watch every detail.

The result of this dedication: our projects are easier to build. The construction process is enjoyable, not contentious. The team gets the opportunity to focus on building a great project, not establishing and settling claims. This is the central element in our "art of developing great projects".

The art of developing great buildings revolves around the science of information exchange.