If you have ever wondered why things are done a certain way, it stands to reason that at some point there was a compelling method to the madness. But over time, processes must evolve in order to keep up with demand and improve customer service. As an organization that strives for institutional effectiveness, we all should be consistently monitoring existing processes to identify opportunities for improvement.

Such is the case with Capital Planning and Space Management and Facilities Design and Construction. In 2015, both offices independently engaged the services of Strategic Consulting (GTSC) to help document, assess, and ultimately streamline their respective, current processes and identify tools to help maximize efficiencies. During the course of the two projects, it became apparent that the two organizations were faced with similar challenges – especially related to the capital project delivery process – and it became abundantly clear that an integrated, streamlined process between the two offices and a single technology system would be beneficial to Georgia Tech. The leadership of these two organizations, along with GTSC, decided to dedicate resources to a joint project, which would build on the work already completed.

The goal of the project, which the team has named the "Yogi Berra project" for relevant quotes attributed to the baseball legend, is to improve the campus planning, design, and construction process. The project involves:

• Understanding and documenting the current process, including its strengths and weaknesses,
• Designing a fully integrated future process, and
• Selecting (a) new tool(s) to automate and support the enhanced process.

As a part of evaluating the current processes and designing the future, the team is conducting interviews and surveys with internal and external stakeholders with experience ranging from large and complex research buildings to relatively simple renovations of existing campus space.

During this survey period, the team is documenting existing processes, using staff feedback, and identifying best practices from outside organizations. To date, more than 80 campus partners have been involved in this discovery process. The team will use all this qualitative and quantitative data to help guide the future planning, design and construction process for Georgia Tech.

The intent is to begin implementing the new process this summer and define the supporting technology in fall 2016.

For more information, contact Andrew Billing at andrew@consulting.gatech.edu in Strategic Consulting.