A RED Master Project Execution Map allows single page view of the critical areas of the project lifecycle.
After creating the RED Canvas (see Part 1 article in June issue), the real estate developer/investor needs to organise all the real estate development (RED) activities into a development process flow and input them into a master project implementation or execution plan covering the full development lifecycle from project initiation to project completion and handover (see a snapshot of a project execution plan in Diagram A).
DIAGRAM A
RED PROJECT EXECUTION PLAN
When reviewing the execution plan, the main concerns and challenges facing the key stakeholders, i.e., the project owner/CEO and the property buyer need to be addressed. Some of the key concerns are the profitability of the business, obtaining the required approvals from the authorities, sale launching date, legal completion timeline, quality issues and the possibility of project delays or abandonment.
Often, these issues and concerns are discussed at the monthly management meetings wherein each department head will present his department project status report. However, this traditional management reporting system has certain drawbacks, i.e., the various department reports are not well coordinated before presentation to management, there are variances in the different department reports and the submitted information may have lapsed at the time of presentation.
A better way to present project status reports to management is to capture all the key issues and present them in a single page integrated map. An example of this Management/CEO Project Information Map is illustrated in Diagram B.
DIAGRAM B
MANAGEMENT/CEO PROJECT INFORMATION MAP
The Management/CEO Project Information Map allows the Project Owner/CEO to have an overall snapshot helicopter view of the project status and enables him to make timely decisions relating to the project’s key performances. In addition, this information map can be uploaded and accessed online as a corporate communication tool to be presented either at the boardroom or across multiple devices such as computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones.
Using the Project Information Map as a guide, the writer has developed a RED MASTER PROJECT EXECUTION MAP that captures the entire RED lifecycle with embedded development process flow across the various stages of the project lifecycle. The various development stages are labeled as K-Blocks (K1 to K9) consisting of RED activities and document templates such as flowcharts, forms, procedures and checklists. The K-Blocks are organised and linked in sequence as a process flow to allow the key stakeholders to monitor, review and track the critical areas of the project lifecycle in a single page view. Any non-compliance to the project performance in terms of cost, time, quality and risk can then be highlighted by the project director or project manager for the management/CEO to make appropriate decisions and take remedial actions (see Diagram C).
As illustrated in K1-K4, one of the critical milestones is the *Sales Launch, without which the developer/ investor will not be able to obtain any development revenue. In order for the Sales Launch to take place, the following critical activities (critical path) must be completed:
1) Project Feasibility
2) *Product Fit
3) Authority Approval of the Building Plans
4) Arrangement for mortgage loan (end financing) to purchasers
DIAGRAM C
K1 – K4 PROCESS FLOW
Once the Sales Launch is successful, the key stakeholders’ next priority focus will be to monitor, review and track the project performance and delivery timeline covering K7-K9 (see Diagram D).
As illustrated in K7-K9, in order to meet the delivery timeline for the handover of the property units to the purchasers, the following critical activities (critical path) must be completed, i.e.
1) Tender and appointment of a competent contractor
2) Arrangement of construction/bridging loan
3) Managing, monitoring and tracking the construction work progress, sales collection and cost expenditure including all variation costs
4) Coordinating with the project consultants to ensure all legal documentation relating to the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) are obtained within the legal completion timeline
5) Arrangement for delivery of Vacant Possession (VP) and Strata Titles (for non-landed properties) to the purchasers.
By using the master project execution map, the project owner/CEO and the investor can effectively monitor, control and implement the project delivery timeline and project performances, relating to cost and quality benchmarks, while ensuring that the profitability of the project is maintained.
An illustration of the RED Master Project Execution Map is shown in Diagram E.
Once the critical development activities are identified in the Master Execution Map, the CEO or project director can then input these critical activities into a Key Milestones Chart as a project monitoring tool to ensure that the project delivery timeline is met (see Diagram F).
The Master Project Execution Map is therefore a detailed Management/CEO Project Information Map and is one of the best project management tools for the key stakeholders to address the main issues, concerns and challenges relating to their RED projects while enabling the top management and CEO to prioritise and focus on the critical areas and take appropriate and timely actions to ensure that their projects are on track.
DIAGRAM D
K7 – K9 PROCESS FLOW 
DIAGRAM E
MASTER PROJECT EXECUTION MAP
DIAGRAM F
KEY MILESTONES CHART
Ar. Eric CL Gan is an architect turned cloud entrepreneur. His mission is to empower anyone to be a knowledge-centric real estate developer and investor on a DIY accelerated learning platform. He is reachable at www.ericgan2.com or google “ericgan2”.