Clients ask for a timeline. What they need is a weekly habit: what finished last week, what is live this week, what is blocked, and what it costs if the block holds.
The Monday note
Every Monday the project lead sends a short note - photographs, percent complete by trade, and a single sentence on cash position. No novel. No surprise invoice buried in a paragraph.
- What closed last week (with photos)
- What is in play this week (named trades)
- What is waiting on a decision - and whose decision
- Revised finish date if anything moved
Critical path versus busy work
A site can look busy and still be late. Waterproofing before finishes, electrical before false ceiling, joinery after plaster - the sequence is the product. The programme protects that sequence, not the appearance of activity.
If the critical path is wrong, every green tick on the board is decoration.
When dates move
Monsoon, municipal delay, a client change to the kitchen - dates move. The rule is that they move in writing, with the cost of the move named the same week. Silence is how “two weeks” becomes three months.
Client decisions on the critical path
Material boards and layout sign-offs belong on the programme with owners and due dates. A late tile choice is not a preference - it is a programme event.
