S C R I PT

THE PAPER TRAP:

A HORROR STORY ABOUT
PROJECT DOCUMENTATION
C. Ed Sherrill
August 2005
PROJECT BACKGROUND

Status
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Project design nearing completion, but behind schedule and over budget.
Some delay due to failure of Client to resolve ROW acquisition issues.
ROW changes forced alignment changes and re-stationing on plan and profile.
Additional delay caused by design preference changes of Client.
Client requested change in specification formats after review copy delivered.
Late in design, project divided into 3 bid packages, causing additional work.
Client verbally agreed to fee adjustments for some design changes.
Client was not aware of magnitude of fee adjustment.
Labor cost beyond budgeted amount for design; into construction phase fee.
Design team had significant turnover, including PM and CAD operator.
Essentially no documentation in project files; contract, original schedule and invoices.
Client was particularly uncommunicative; verbal, not written, communication.

TASK OBJECTIVE
Locate and organize documentation to support a claim for an equitable fee adjustment.
APPROACH

Collect project documents from file cabinets, desks, work areas, and the computer
network.

Label and log documents to the extent possible (650 documents).

Sort all documents by date to produce a project chronology that:

o Identifies reasons for delay
o Identifies requests and changes as reasons for additional effort
o Provides labor hours spent on changes
o Documents the history of the project
o Gives current staff a historical perspective of the project.

Identify documents to support fee adjustment presentation and negotiations.

Code all documentation for filing in the project file.

Note: This task did not include organizing drawings and illustrations.

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WORK PRODUCT
A spreadsheet (log) of all project documentation that could be located, such as:
Contract and Scope of Work
Project estimates and original schedules
Invoices
Subcontract submittals and invoices
Transmittals
Design notes and memoranda
Meeting minutes
Project status reports
Interoffice memoranda
Submittals and deliverables
Survey records for all R-O-W tracts.
Spreadsheet Contents (column heads for log):
Consecutive document number assigned when located and logged.
Document description letter, contract, proposal, submittal, etc.
Date as found on the document or creation date from the computer file.
Responsible person: author or from-to names.
Comments (on content, especially as related to extra work or changes).
Deliverable (for coordination with scope and schedule).
Questions, if the document or a portion of it were unclear.
Project file code identifying the proper folder in which to file the document.
What the spreadsheet provided:
A list of identified project documents
A resource that could be searched to locate specific documents by:
o Date
o Type
o Key word or phrase
o Originator / To-From
A document that could be sorted to generate a chronology of the project
A resource tool for new staff on the project
A basis for filing documents in the project files
LESSONS LEARNED
By working with, organizing and studying this documentation, the following lessons became
abundantly clear.
Lesson 1. Every project requires a file index. The Project Manager should set up a project file
index; let it be a living document. Update the index as necessary, maybe once a month. The
originator is responsible for putting the proper file code on the document, not the project
secretary. The project secretary is responsible for filing the document according to the file code.

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Similarly, every project requires a network file index. The network file index tells the project
team where to put electronic documents in the system. It will be parallel to but not the same as
the hard copy file index. Every document should also contain the file path and name of the
electronic file on the first or last page. Every project needs to determine how to retain
project communications transmitted by e-mail. We will discuss this later.
Lesson 2. Every document must be dated. 20% of documents identified on this project had no
dates on them. Put a date on final documents and also on drafts, handwritten notes, and
calculation worksheets. Do not use the computer software feature that automatically dates the
document in the header/footer. When opened and then stored again, the date changes to the
current date, losing the history. (Schedules can be auto-dated because schedulers and controls
personnel always save a copy of previous schedules and dont usually have their documents
accessible on the network.)
Lesson 3. Put your name on every document, typed or handwritten. 37% of documents in
this set had no name on them. Even though in many cases, an originator could be deduced, a
third-party assignment of ownership would be useless in arbitration, mediation or a court of law.
Consequently, many of the project documents could not be used effectively.
Lesson 4. File a final signed copy on letterhead of outgoing correspondence. The Project
Secretary is responsible for producing letterhead copies, getting it signed, copied and distributed.
Some correspondence addressed to the customer pulled from the network had no corresponding
letterhead copy in the project files or anywhere. Also, there can be multiple versions of a single
letter on the network with several dated the same day. There is no way to determine which one
was issued or if any was ever issued without the official file copy on letterhead.
Lesson 5. Send all original incoming correspondence to the project file. Every document
should be stamped with the received date. Stamping incoming files with the received stamp is
the responsibility of the Project Secretary, who should be opening all incoming mail. A project
procedure could send the original directly to the files after copies are made and sent to
appropriate team members. Do not keep originals in your individual files.
Lesson 6. When replying to a question or dealing with an issue, quote the question or
clearly state the issue in any written communication. Do not just refer to previous
correspondence. Write the communication so that someone who is not on the project but is
reading the correspondence at a later date can understand the question and response without
retrieving the referenced document. This technique also helps the recipient recall the progression
of the discussion.
Lesson 7. Formalize meeting minutes immediately. Prepare a draft copy of meeting minutes
and send it to attendees within 24 hours. Allow two days for response. Incorporate changes, as
appropriate, and issue the final document within one week of the meeting. In addition to listing
the attendees, identify the author (scribe). Most of the meeting minutes on this project were
taken from individuals files and were handwritten. Some had no date.
Lesson 8. Have a reading file assembled each week for the duration of the project. Include
all incoming and outgoing communications for the week. Route the reading file folders to a
standard distribution list, including the project staff, project sponsor, and finally to the project

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file. This procedure keeps everyone informed about the project. It also becomes a resource for
locating a copy if anything happens to the file copy, including misfiling.
Lesson 9. Write up all telephone conversations. The one call or even portion of a call that
doesnt seem significant at the time will later turn out to be. Put down the general topic of the
call and any directions, commitments or action items. If necessary, follow up with formal
correspondence to confirm any additions or changes in the work. This is especially important
when dealing with a client that is generally non-communicative.
Lesson 10. Use appropriate forms consistently. This may need to be defined at the beginning
of a project. Place official form templates on the network and tell the project staff where they are
located and how to use them.
a.
Put all outgoing correspondence to client, consultants or subcontractors on
letterhead.
b.

Memos are for internal communication only. The temptation of having a PC on

every desk is for each project team member to create and use his/her own design
for memos. Then we begin to find it easy to send on to a sub or vendor.

c.

Always use a Fax transmittal form when faxing documents. Attach the
confirmation sheet. Follow up with a hard copy, if required.

d.

Use a transmittal form when documents are mailed, couriered, or hand carried.

e.

Use a telephone conversation record for phone calls incoming or outgoing.

f.

Use a calculation worksheet for calculations; not just grid paper. (The form
reminds you to provide name, date, and other information.)

Lesson 11. Print out and file a hard copy of project-related email. This is a difficult one.
See Business Practices. Develop a procedure and make it happen. For example, archive all
project-related e-mail weekly; print a hard copy of the archived file. Or, have all team members
forward project email to the Project Secretary who will print out the copies for the file once a
week. Consider including a hard copy of email with the reading files. As an alternative, do your
e-mail on a web-based document management system.
Lesson 12. Consider using a spreadsheet as a document log. Keep a record of all incoming
and outgoing correspondence. Many project secretaries are already logging documents, but
possibly on a handwritten log. Enter every document and its file code plus other significant
information. The efficient filing and retrieval of documents can easily pay for the effort to build
and maintain such a spreadsheet. Set up an electronic log using a spreadsheet and if necessary
teach the Project Secretary to use it.
Lesson 13. Make a photo log and keep it current. Shoot project-related photographs with the
date feature on. Refer to Ennis Tank issue.
Lesson 14. Avoid 13 items. Add one more lesson learned of your own if you suffer from
triskaidekaphobia.

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WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

Attack the cause, not the symptom. These are problems created by a pervasive and incorrect
attitude about what we do.
Lesson A. Instruct the Project Team regarding project documentation requirements. A
Document Management Plan is a required part of your Project Execution Plan. Go over the
DMP at the project kick-off meeting. A system must be defined for filing hard copies, computer
files, and email. You will also need a general consensus on file naming conventions. Provide
printed guidelines along with the file indices. A primary documentation task is properly
identifying deliverables and placing a copy of each deliverable in the files -- with transmittal
records.
Lesson B. Check on compliance to documentation requirements from the projects
beginning. Project manager did not make a point of verifying that project documentation was
being filed and that project team was handling documentation properly. Make it a routine to
check on implementation of documentation procedures and correct deficiencies immediately.
Consider having the reading file in the project meeting and verifying that all communications
from the previous week are in it.
Lesson C. The project manager is responsible to see that paperwork is complete. Explain
to team members the importance of completed documentation. Design staff is always more
interested in design, drawings, calculations; they are not interested in paperwork. We all need to
be reminded.
Lesson D. Be sure the project team is staffed adequately to do the whole job. If tasks have
to be dropped to meet a deadline, it is frequently the documentation that suffers. Keep the
project staffed at a level so that each person has adequate time to do a thorough job. The
referenced project may have been understaffed. No one was assigned as the project secretary.
Project manager was assigned two major projects at the same time.
SUMMARY
There were too many lessons learned from this one project. This many problems point to
a management oversight problem. But, any one of them can snare you.
It takes more effort to reconstruct a project file than to construct it initially. And
reconstruction is less everything: less thorough, less accurate, less clear, etc. It is more
uncertain.
No task is finished until the paperwork is done!
QUESTIONS COMMENTS -- SUGGESTIONS