Katie Robinson, Principal | Marketing & Communications Officer

Interview Description
In the realm of data collection, the value of recording project metrics is hard to overstate. The amount of data associated with an architectural project is immense; for LS3P, that amount of information grows exponentially when spread across multiple projects, more than 330 team members, eight offices, three states, and over five decades. To manage this vital information, the firm has created a “Data Manager” project role on every project in the firm. In this Deep Dive session, Katie will share tips and tricks for establishing a firmwide “Data Manager Program” including lessons learned, capturing institutional knowledge from senior leadership, managing change, significant benefits of the program, and strategies for implementation.

Speaker Bio
As LS3P Principal | Marketing & Communications Officer, Katie Robinson plays a vital role in the firm’s Practice and Business processes, working closely with the Executive Committee to ensure the firm’s goals are fully supported. From a practice standpoint, Katie manages the firm’s internal and external communications including all media platforms and digital presence. She creates and implements marketing collateral, brand management strategies, and marketing budgets by fostering collaboration among the firm’s marketing staff throughout its eight offices. As part of the firm’s Business Team, Katie leads LS3P’s knowledge management efforts.

Interview Summary

01:05 Data in Service to Design: Strategies for Managing Project Metrics
01:10 Introduction to LS3P
02:10 Data + Analytics + Marketing + Communications
03:20 Data Collection Background
05:05 Outlining a Solution Through Deltek
06:58 Assigning Data Collection to Project Managers
07:53 Engage Emerging Professionals
08:09 Database Access + Field-Based Security
09:18 Tracking Data Collection Time
10:28 Closed Project Data Collection
12:28 Defining the Data Manager Role
13:38 Communication and Training
14:25 Automated Reports & Check-Ins
14:35 Initial Results
16:17 Targeted Quarterly Data Collection
17:27 2020 Shifted KM to Admin Professionals
19:56 Impact and ROI
22:10 Creating Nex-perts
22:57 Where to Start?
23:09 Find Your Data Champion
23:53 Get Full Support from Leadership
24:10 Start Small
25:53 Get New Team Members on Board
26:08 Communicate
26:42 Celebrate & Reward

29:58 Do you have any recommendations for what you did with data prior to Deltek?
30:04 Utilize the Admin Team
31:18 Focus on Past 20 Years

31:45 What skills and qualifications make good candidates for Data Manager?
32:00 Emerging Professionals (Tech Savvy & Curious)

33:03 How do you deal with projects that have multiple project numbers?
35:00 Projects with Tasks, Check Your Reporting

37:40 What does Project Closeout look like at your firm?
37:52 Year End Data Review
38:35 Data Complete Field

39:55 How do you think about metrics that are relevant for all project types versus those that are market specific?
40:10 Use Existing Fields

42:33 How to you capture project stories?
42:40 Marketing Tab

44:18 Do you currently track project sustainability metrics for AIA 2030?
44:34 Sustainability Leader & Knowledge Team

47:35 How much of this data is captured automatically vs manually? Do you use Business Intelligence (BI) to gain additional insights?
48:56 Opportunity Info Center Data Capture
49:25 Project Number Request Process
51:16 Power BI Integration with Vision

52:33 Do you plan to go to VantagePoint in the next year or two?
52:45 Vantagepoint Sandbox (Planned for 2020)
53:40 Custom Dashboards

54:20 What are some of the most valuable data points you are collecting?
54:56 Estimated vs Actual (cost, completion, etc)
55:38 Consultant Fee Percentages

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

Read Notes