News + Ideas

Sourced from Design Cost Data, page 55
By MGAC | Stonemark’s Bart Mendel, May 2025

Professional project management is a structured and strategic practice that facilitates the planning, coordination, and control of a project from inception to completion. At its core, it is about driving operational and cost efficiency, minimizing risk, and maintaining control over every phase of a project — all while representing clients’ best interests. Imagine you’re building your dream house. You have a plot of land, a budget, a completion date in mind and an idea of what you want it to look like. Perhaps you even have an architect picked out. But have you thought about all the details? Permits, HOA’s, inspections, weather-related mishaps, contractor change orders, coordination between architects and designers, factoring things like interior design and landscaping into the budget, etc. That’s where a project management team comes in.

Strategic Oversight
One of the most critical aspects of project management is cost management. Managing a project’s financial health goes well beyond initial budgeting; it includes risk assessment, contingency planning, and value engineering to maximize efficiency. A project management team provides oversight so that costs remain aligned with objectives, identifying opportunities for savings while maintaining quality and performance standards. They provide strategic oversight and expertise overseeing budgets, schedules, and communication among all stakeholders. They ensure that time, cost, and quality are met with precision, and by applying deep industry knowledge and a step-by-step approach to managing each phase of a project, they maintain control over both high-level strategy and operational details.

Beyond financial oversight, project managers play a crucial role in risk mitigation. Construction projects — from museums to schools to hospitals to custom-built luxury homes — are inherently complex, with potential risks ranging from unforeseen site conditions to uncontrolled scope creep to design and construction errors. A strategic project management approach identifies and addresses these risks early, implementing contingency plans that prevent minor challenges from becoming costly setbacks. By continuously monitoring progress and addressing issues as they arise, project managers help keep projects on schedule and within budget.

Communication and Coordination
When evaluating the benefits of project management, whether it be for a commercial or residential project, it is important to distinguish between project managers (sometimes called owner’s representatives) and construction managers. While construction managers focus on supervising the day-to-day building process and coordinating subcontractors, project managers oversee the entirety of the project lifecycle — from preconstruction planning to post-construction closeout. Their role is to ensure that every phase of a project is executed efficiently, on budget and schedule, and to the highest standard of quality.

Coordination is a fundamental pillar of project management, as modern construction projects require collaboration between clients, architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, and regulatory agencies. Without a dedicated team overseeing these relationships and interactions, miscommunication can lead to costly errors, inefficiencies, and delays. A Project Management team acts as the central point of communication, ensuring that all stakeholders remain aligned with the client’s objectives. They also facilitate regular progress updates, resolve conflicts, and streamline decision-making, ensuring that momentum is maintained throughout a project’s lifecycle.

Anticipating Challenges as Industry Experts
Project managers apply leadership, skills, industry expertise, and technological capabilities across a wide range of diverse project types and construction methodologies. They remain at the forefront of evolving technologies and advanced project management tools, allowing owners to focus on their broader objectives while the project team handles the complexities of management and execution. In addition to cost management, effective project management requires mastery of two other core elements: scope and schedule. Scope encompasses the client’s vision, the architect’s design intent, and the detailed roadmap for delivery. Clearly defining roles and responsibilities from the outset is crucial, as ambiguity can lead to delays and additional costs. Schedule management, on the other hand, requires foresight, proactive problem-solving and adaptability. Changing program requirements, evolving regulations, and unforeseen conditions, are all examples of challenges that are inherent to any built environment project. A project manager’s role is to anticipate and address these challenges efficiently, and see that progress remains on track and disruptions are minimized.

Quality Assurance
From the initial design phase to final inspections, every aspect of construction must meet industry standards and project specifications. Project managers implement quality control measures at every stage, coordinating inspections, ensuring regulatory compliance, and verifying that all work adheres to established benchmarks. This oversight reduces the likelihood of costly rework and ensures that the final product meets both functional and aesthetic expectations. At its core, project management in construction is about reducing risk, and therefore increasing the certainty of an excellent project outcome. From idea conception to groundbreaking to ribbon-cutting, every decision must be orchestrated with strategic foresight, efficiency, and control, so that owners can focus on the bigger picture and the assurance that their investment is in expert hands.