DesignDesign: Month two…
Is it in the deal?
The same email arrives. Sam checks it against what was agreed. It isn't. That makes it a change.
Sam: Happy to. It's extra, so it needs an instruction.
Stage 5 · Build it · Stop 6 of 13 · The right way
Changes and instructions
The back alley's bill so far: 114 weeks · See the bill
The right way
The instruction
Callum, the project manager, asks for it in writing, from the person named in the contract who can instruct it. Kofi prices it. The client agrees.
BuildBuild: Month six…
Paid
The team does the work, the data is delivered, and the cost report shows it paid. Rex has his evenings back.
Should be quickFour months of evenings, and the calculator agreed with the client.
A new order, priced firstAn instruction, a price, the work, and the money.
Now there is: A new order, priced first: a written instruction from the named person, and an agreed change.
What's going on here
When the client asks for more information than was agreed, that's a change to the order, and a change needs an instruction from someone allowed to give one and a price before the work starts. Being helpful is good. Being helpful for free, for four months, by accident, isn't.
In the town See it in the town: Should be quick. Is it in the order?
The order left Client Town in the tender pack, and the deal with the neighbours fixed what the lead firm would deliver. A friendly email from the asset manager asking for serial numbers and maintenance intervals is a new order arriving by a side door. Sam checks it against what was agreed, and if it isn't there, it becomes a change: an instruction from the person named in the deal, a price, then the work. The data the owner runs on still gets made, just not in Rex's evenings, for free.
Fix it Doing "quick" extras already? Count them, then ask.
- List every extra request since the job started, and the hours spent.
- Check each one against the order and the deal.
- Ask for a written instruction and a price before doing any more.
A note for the information manager: Keep a short list of what the order includes and what it doesn't, so the team can say "happy to, it's extra" without calling a meeting.
Try it on your job
Think of the last "can you just" request on your job. Was it in what was agreed?
ISO 19650 From a request to a new order
| ISO 19650 says | Means | In the town |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange information requirements (EIR) | What the client asks each firm to deliver, set out as part of the appointment | The order |
| Asset information requirements (AIR) | What the owner needs to know about each asset to run and maintain it | The data the owner runs on, serial numbers and all |
| Appointment | The agreement under which a firm delivers information to the client | The deal with the neighbours |
| Not from ISO 19650: the change instruction | A written instruction from someone with authority under the contract, priced before the work starts | The new order, priced first |
Based on the ISO 19650 series: the ideas come from the standard; the plain-English wording, examples and advice are InfoTown's. ISO 19650 and its UK National Annex are © ISO and BSI. You'll hear the same language across the industry. Read more for free in the Information Management Initiative (IMI) Framework guidance from BSI and nima. For the full requirements, use the standard itself.