Understanding the project delivery team

Your project delivery team will reflect the skills you need to help you deliver a high quality project.

Understand how the project delivery team and your client team input together into the brief and the design.

Once you have an agreed vision statement you need to start preparing to assemble the group of people who will deliver it – your project delivery team. This is usually an external team that includes:

• a design team who designs the project
• project manager/s who run the project
• contractors and subcontractors who build the project
• specialist consultants and advisors who help with the project.

In smaller projects, one person may carry out many roles. In more complex projects, many more people will be required. . Increasingly these different roles are grouped together, to encourage both ease for the client, and better communication between, for example, the design and the construction. You should ensure that the size of the project delivery team suits the scale of your project.

Decisions about when to appoint different members of your project delivery team will depend on your specific project circumstances. Traditionally, the delivery team was appointed in stages. However, increasingly, all team members are being appointed at the same time. For example, if you are following the Design, Build, Finance and Operate procurement model, you might agree on the contractor before you have even developed a design.. Similarly, the detail of your chosen procurement route will govern whether each member of the project delivery team will be employed for the duration of the project.

See effective selection for much more information on this.      

How do I select the project delivery team?

1. Selecting your design team
   In many situations, you will select the design team as part of the same process as selecting the construction team.
2. Selecting your contractor
   The calibre of the contractor and their working relationship with the rest of the project delivery team is crucial for the long-term quality of your project.
3. Selecting any advisors you may need
   The choice of advisor needs careful consideration, and the selection process may be similar to that for the design team.

Example of understanding the project delivery team

Completion checklist

• You understand the different project delivery team roles and how they fit together.
• The different roles within the project delivery team reflect the skills your  project needs.
• You are clear about how your specialist advisors fit into the overall direction of the project.