The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) experience

The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) project has its roots in the early 1990’s when research at Loughborough University developed a possible solution to the problem of inadequate planning and management of the design process in construction projects (Austin, Baldwin & Newton, 1994, 1996). This led, in 1996, to the successful application for grant funding under the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Integration in Design and Construction (IDAC) programme and further grant funding under the EPSRC Technology Transfer programme. Both of these projects involved significant industrial collaboration from AMEC, ARUP, BAA, Boots, Laing, and Sheppard Robson. These grant funded projects closed at the end of 1999 (re Austin et al, 2000) with the ADePT project already winning a number of awards and plaudits, including: winning the Quality in Construction Innovation and Supreme awards in 1999; and an EPSRC research project top alpha 5 grading. The ADePT project team (Loughborough University, AMEC Capital Projects, Laing Limited and Ove Arup and Partners) recognised a need to capitalise on the success of the research projects and to secure deployment of ADePT into the construction industry. With this intent the ADePT project team have secured the collaboration of the Building Information Warehouse in development and provision of a web based industrial tool (portal) called PlanWeaver due for release during the third quarter of 2001

Process modelling for planning, managing and control of collaborative design

Process modelling has become an established tool whereby the information requirements of the design team may be identified, mapped, modelled and then reviewed to ensure that the final design and the design process take cognisance of all the stakeholders involved within the project. Over the last decade several techniques and products based on this approach have emerged. The ADePT technique developed from initial research at Loughborough University has been used for the management of the design of a range of infrastructure projects and engineering products. The methodology that has subsequently evolved has helped to: ensure the rigorous planning of design; control design deliverables; manage customer expectations, assist with change management; and ensure the development of robust process and control systems. Over this period the approach described in this chapter has been implemented on over 40 projects in the UK and worldwide, with a total contract value of over £4Bn Evidence of the overall impact of ADePT implementations has been gathered by ongoing research undertaken by the writers, feedback from individual project teams and by independent assessment. The writers’ close association with the initial research that led to the ADePT technique, and the subsequent methodology and its implementation have enabled them to fully monitor and review not only the development of the methodology but also its adoption and use for collaborative design across project teams. This chapter considers collaborative design to be project based design involving multi-disciplinary teams. It outlines both the ADePT technique, the original method, the subsequently developed methodology, the body of methods that have been produced, and their adoption within a collaborative design environment. Three case studies are introduced to highlight the use of process mapping, the repeatable nature of design, and the control of workflow. Lessons learned for the transfer of innovations are also discussed

Benefits derived from use of DSM as part of the ADePT approach to managing engineering projects

Papers have been presented on the ADePT planning and management approach at DSM Conferences going back to 2000. The approach is now in widespread use in industrial applications, ranging from a US$4M building fit-out project to a £4Bn urban redevelopment project, and a number of practices have been established to ensure design planning and control is undertaken in the most effective way possible. The impacts of the approach’s use have recently been assessed, highlighting a number of areas where benefit is derived and showing a significant return on the investment required to implement the technique

Analytical Design Planning for Technique (ADePT) : programming the building design process

The construction process is traditionally planned either directly with bar charts, or with network analysis techniques forming the basis of the bar charts. The success of these approaches in construction planning over the years has led to their extensive use in the planning of design. Network analysis techniques and bar charts were developed specifically to plan production processes, such as construction, that have an easily definable logic and are sequential in nature. Design, however, is an iterative processes requiring assumptions and estimates of information to be made and work to be redone until a satisfactory solution is developed. Network analysis is not therefore an appropriate basis for planning design. They cannot account for this iterative nature, they monitor progress based upon the completion of drawing work and other design deliverables and are inappropriate for monitoring the availability of key pieces of information.The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT), shown schematically in figure 1, offers an approach to planning design that accounts for the necessity to undertake work in an iterative manner, enables work to be monitored on the basis of the production of information, and allows design to be fully integrated with the overall construction process1. The first stage of the ADePT methodology is a model of the detailed stage of the building design process, representing design activities and their information requirements. The data in this model is linked via a dependency table to a Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) analysis tool2 which is used in the second stage to identify iteration within the design process and arrange the activities with the objective of optimising the task order. The third stage of the methodology produces design programmes based on the optimised process sequence. The technique requires some iteration between the DSM and programming stages. The authors have developed computer tools to enable each stage to be undertaken in an efficient manner and thus, facilitate more effective planning and management of building design3. This paper reviews current problems in design planning within the construction industry and the use of a Dependency Structure Matrix tool to order the detailed design process. It then describes in detail the representation of the optimal design sequence within a programme and the integration of the optimised design programme with procurement and construction programmes

Analytical design planning technique (ADePT): a dependency structure matrix tool to schedule the building design process

Current planning practice takes little account of the interdisciplinary, iterative nature of the building design process. This leads to a compromised design process containing inevitable cycles of rework together with associated time and cost penalties in both design and construction. The analytical design planning technique (ADePT) is a planning methodology which helps to overcome these difficulties. The central part of ADePT is a dependency structure matrix (DSM). This paper describes DSM techniques and a tool developed to optimize the design process

Modelling and managing complexity in construction projects

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is increasingly aware of the need to improve efficiency and effectiveness to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. A key discovery in their search for improvements is the benefits of repeatability in both processes and products. However, although the latter has seen significant advances, such as the adoption of pre-assembly and standardised components and systems, the industry has experienced far greater difficulties identifying ways of capturing, understanding, and replicating work processes. The identification and removal of waste can only be achieved once the process has been captured. Their repeated use and development, combined with analysis by ADePT, enable the improvement of work practices and culture in terms of integration, decision-making and reductions in re-work

Integrating design in the project process

Current engineering design planning practice takes little account of the interdisciplinary, iterative nature of the process. This leads to a compromised design process containing inevitable cycles of rework together with associated time and cost penalties in both design and construction. The Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT) is a planning methodology which helps to overcome these difficulties. This paper describes the development and application of the technique. The technique can be applied as a risk identification and change management tool, as well as its primary purpose as a planning system. It also identifies co-ordination requirements and changes to design practices in achieving co-ordination. The benefits of using ADePT to integrate the project process are also described

Modelling and managing project complexity

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, like many others, is increasingly aware of the need to improve efficiency and effectiveness to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. A key discovery in their search for improvements is the benefits of repeatability in both processes and products. However, although the latter has seen significant advances, such as the adoption of pre-assembly and standardised components and systems, the industry has experienced far greater difficulties identifying ways of capturing, understanding, and replicating work processes. The identification and removal of waste from the process can only be achieved once the process has been captured. Their repeated use and development, combined with analysis with the Analytical Design Planning Technique, enable the improvement of work practices and culture in terms of integration, decision-making and reductions in re-work

Application of the analytical design planning technique to construction project management

Current construction project planning practices take little account of the interdisciplinary, iterative nature of the design process. This, combined with work packaging devised to suit construction and other influences on design planning, leads to a compromised design process containing inevitable cycles of redesign. This paper describes the Analytical Design Planning Technique (ADePT), a project planning methodology that helps to overcome these problems by providing a structured approach based on information flow rather than the production of design deliverables. It takes in account the iterative nature of design enabling coordinated, integrated design solutions to be developed within budgetary and time constraints

Application of the Analytical Design Planning Technique in the project process

Traditionally, the building design process has been poorly understood and planned, and has been treated as completely separate from the construction process. This has resulted in a range of inefficiencies in the overall project process. This paper describes two related research projects which have produced techniques for planning and managing the design process, and improving the way the design and construction processes interface. These techniques are based around the use of process models and the application of dependency structure matrix (DSM) analysis, an optimisation tool, and have been developed through joint industry and UK government research. The research is being undertaken at Loughborough University in the UK, and the findings and techniques are being tested and applied in industry by designers and planners from the projects’ collaborating organisations