Professional Practice and Contract Administration
Delivery and agreements
Know design-bid-build, construction management (agency and at-risk), and design-build, including how risk and responsibility shift in each. Owner–architect agreements (AIA B101 style) define scope, schedule, compensation, and standard of care - the architect owes reasonable care and skill, not a perfect result. Compensation may be stipulated sum, hourly, percentage of construction cost, or cost plus fee. Consultants are engaged by separate agreements with defined scope and coordination duties.
Bidding and construction administration
Bidding produces bids, not a contract. During construction the design professional reviews submittals and shop drawings for conformance with design intent, responds to RFIs, evaluates pay applications, and documents observations of the work. Submittal review is not a guarantee of dimension or quantity accuracy - that belongs to the contractor.
Changes and completion
A change order is a signed modification of contract sum or time agreed by owner and contractor. A construction change directive orders work before agreement on price. Substantial completion is the point at which the work is usable for its intended purpose, triggering warranties, punch lists, and retainage release in part; final completion closes all remaining items.
Risk and ethics
Understand insurance types (general liability, professional liability, workers' compensation, builder's risk), indemnity, lien rights, and record retention. Ethical practice includes competence, confidentiality, conflict-of-interest disclosure, and honest representation of qualifications.
Traps
Questions swap change orders with construction change directives, or substantial with final completion. Another common trap is assuming the designer certifies the contractor's means and methods.
Rule of thumb
Retainage of 10% on a $400,000 payment application withholds $40,000; check the agreement, since rates typically run 5–10% and are often reduced at substantial completion.