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Role of Language in Productive Proj. Mgt.

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William M Hayden Jr Adjunct Assistant Professor| University at Buffalo, School of Management, Operations Management & Strategy Buffalo, Ny, United States
"The design quality management process must ensure that a high-quality set of construction plans and specifications are created . . ."

The use of the expression "high-quality" is misleading.
e.g., Might we also have "Average" or "Minimal" quality requirements?

This expression is being used for a seminar in one of our largest engineering/construction societies. And the speaker is a P.E. with a Ph.D.!

Language. . .spoken and written. . . is a critical part of our ability to collaborate, cooperate and communicate with each other. And in many of our organizations we have technically grounded staff who do  not have "American English" as their native language.
Cheers,
Bill

 
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
Most engineering requirements are in fact the minimum required, rather than > X is required but > Y would be very nice. It is a fundamental aspect of GD&T.

I believe however that the speaker is referring to requirements in terms of whether they exhibit qualities such as complete, correct, non-ambiguous, succinct, measurable, and traceable. Simply replacing the word "should" with "shall" makes the difference between whether something may be contractually binding.

Some systems engineers dedicate a large portion of their careers to requirements standards and management as a scientific field of study. The entire left side of the classic systems engineering "V" model is top-down requirements decomposition and validation. (see also Blanchard and Fabrycky).
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William M Hayden Jr Adjunct Assistant Professor| University at Buffalo, School of Management, Operations Management & Strategy Buffalo, Ny, United States
Thanks Keith.
Re: "Most engineering requirements are in fact the minimum required. . ."

Many years ago, a structural engineer told me of the following.
Engaged to design the structural support for an office building, some 3-stories,
he advised the client that given the large 2nd floor open space for large groups, it was advised to use stronger floor beams.

Client asked: "Does the town require that?"

SE said "No."

"Then, just do the minimum required."

The structural engineer then resigned from that project.
Cheers,
Bill
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1 reply by Keith Novak
Jul 04, 2024 7:22 PM
Keith Novak
...
Bill,
You just provided an example of the difference between minimum acceptable requirements per code and and why someone quit their job due to low quality requirements in the operational context

Might we also have "Average" or "Minimal" quality requirements?

To answer your original question: Yes and very much so. That is why ensuring the quality of the requirements is important, especially in safety critical environments.
Keith
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
Jul 02, 2024 4:07 PM
Replying to William M Hayden Jr
...
Thanks Keith.
Re: "Most engineering requirements are in fact the minimum required. . ."

Many years ago, a structural engineer told me of the following.
Engaged to design the structural support for an office building, some 3-stories,
he advised the client that given the large 2nd floor open space for large groups, it was advised to use stronger floor beams.

Client asked: "Does the town require that?"

SE said "No."

"Then, just do the minimum required."

The structural engineer then resigned from that project.
Cheers,
Bill
Bill,
You just provided an example of the difference between minimum acceptable requirements per code and and why someone quit their job due to low quality requirements in the operational context

Might we also have "Average" or "Minimal" quality requirements?

To answer your original question: Yes and very much so. That is why ensuring the quality of the requirements is important, especially in safety critical environments.
Keith

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