Communication and Documentation
Communication and Documentation
This domain tests how you convey design and record decisions. Expect questions on drawings, reports, presentations, public meetings, minutes, correspondence, graphic standards, and project records.
Core rules
- Match the communication tool to the audience: technical drawings for contractors, clear graphics for boards, concise memos for clients, and structured reports for agencies.
- Meeting minutes record decisions, action items, responsible parties, and deadlines. They are not transcripts, but they must be accurate and distributed promptly.
- Keep a project record: RFIs, submittals, change orders, emails, meeting notes, and photographs. Contemporaneous records carry more weight than later reconstruction.
- Public engagement should explain tradeoffs and show how comments influenced the design. Document the process, not just the final plan.
- Graphic standards improve legibility: consistent symbols, scale bars, north arrows, legends, and readable type sizes.
Worked example
At a public meeting, residents object to a proposed path alignment near a wetland. The landscape architect records the concern, explains the buffer constraint, and commits to evaluating an alternate alignment. The minutes list the concern, the constraint, the action, the responsible staff member, and the date. The reasoning: this creates a defensible record and gives the public a clear next step. A vague statement like "residents commented on the path" would lose the substance and the commitment.
Traps
- Relying on verbal agreements instead of written confirmation.
- Minutes that omit action items or responsible parties.
- Graphics without legends, scale, or north arrow.
- Presenting only the preferred alternative without tradeoffs.
- Failing to distribute records to the project team.