Why design meetings need different minutes
A progress meeting tracks work. A design team meeting changes the design: a detail is accepted, an option is dropped, a responsibility moves from one consultant to another. Months later the question is usually "who agreed that, and on what information?" Minutes that answer that question save a lot of argument.
What to record
| Item | What to write |
|---|---|
| Stage | The RIBA Plan of Work stage the project is at, for example Stage 3 Spatial Coordination or Stage 4 Technical Design |
| Information reviewed | Drawing and document numbers with their revisions |
| Decisions | What was decided, who decided, and any conditions |
| Changes | What changed from the last revision, and why |
| Responsibility | Who owns each design element or package, especially where it moved |
| Technical queries | Raised, answered, or still open, with owners |
| Actions | Owner and date, only where agreed |
Keep it traceable
Reference every decision to the revision it was made on. "Accepted the stair detail" is not traceable; "Accepted stair detail on drawing A-210 rev P3, subject to the structural engineer confirming the fixings" is.
The RIBA Plan of Work 2020 sets out eight stages, 0 to 7, and a design responsibility matrix in its toolbox; using the stage names and the matrix in the minutes ties the record to the project's own plan.
Higher-risk buildings and the golden thread
On a higher-risk building in England, the client, principal designer and principal contractor must keep a digital record of information about the building, the golden thread, kept secure, available when needed and in a usable form. The Construction Leadership Council's guidance explains what that means in practice. Design team minutes are not the golden thread themselves, but the decisions and changes they record often need to reach it, so write them so they can be found and understood out of context.
Questions
Who should chair and minute the design team meeting?
Usually the lead designer or the design manager, depending on the procurement route. Whoever it is, one person issues the minutes and handles corrections.
Should commercial matters be discussed in design meetings?
Keep commercial positions for commercial meetings. Record the design decision and note that its cost or time effect is to be dealt with elsewhere.
How do I record a decision someone disagreed with?
Record the decision and that the person disagreed, with their reason if they gave one. A record of dissent is still a fact.
Sources
- RIBA, Plan of Work: the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 overview, template and toolbox
- GOV.UK, Keeping information about a higher-risk building: the golden thread: who must keep the digital record and how it must be managed
- Construction Leadership Council, Golden thread guidance (PDF): the industry's technical guidance on the golden thread for higher-risk buildings
- CIOB, Code of Practice for Project Management for the Built Environment, 6th edition: design management within project management
Our summaries of these documents are not their wording: read the source before relying on it. This guide is general information, not legal advice for a particular case. Note Metric and AI Metric Ltd are not affiliated with or endorsed by any body named here.