Running a project smoothly

Running a Project Smoothly

With so many spinning plates, it can be difficult to keep a project on track. In this lesson, I will show you the methods and tools I use to run my projects as smoothly as possible. Download the actual documents for Oxford Gardens, containing all fabrics, paint colours and most of the other items, from links in the workbook.

Digital Moodboards

We used to do physical moodboards for our clients, but found they didn't last very well, so now we create digital boards for every room.

These act as a great visual reminder of what has been decided for a room, as well as what still needs to be chosen. The boards include:

• Swatches of fabrics and wallpapers being used or considered
• Pictures of furniture and accessories that will be installed
• Floor plans

Not only do they enable you to keep track of where you are, but they also help you to see how the decoration of different rooms relates to each other.

The benefit of doing a moodboard digitally is that it's very easy to update and send out to clients.

Take time to lay them out nicely and check the picture quality is crisp; these boards should be enticing and sell your vision to the client.

Once the boards are completely finalised and all decisions have been made, we will print these into a book so that it is easy to reference when it comes to installation.

Schedule Documents

In addition to moodboards, you also need schedule documents to ensure everything arrives on time and on budget. These are detailed spreadsheets that detail the type of product, its finish or colour, and its delivery date or lead time.

A project manager will often ask for specific schedules depending on the timeline, so you may need to create a schedule solely for hard finishes, and a different one for lighting.

It's important to check that everyone on site has the most up to date information, and that the schedules being circulated are correct. Number the versions of any schedule, so that you can keep track of which one is the most up to date.

The Shipping List

If you are working on a project abroad, you will need to create a shipping list of all the items being sent over. For every product you need to include as much information as you can, for example a picture of the item, the cost, a description, the dimensions and information on where it came from.

These are also incredibly useful for keeping track of which pieces of furniture are going into which room. We give every item of furniture a code, which corresponds to its location on the floor plan.

EstiMac

This is a piece of software designed specifically for interior designers and handles all of the administration for a project, just as estimating, ordering, invoicing and reporting.

I would highly recommend using it for both professional and personal projects, as it's an invaluable tool for keeping everything organised and on track.