b'What experts sayHarald Nikolaisen, Director-Generalof StatsbyggHarald Nikolaisen is the Director-General of Statsbygg, which is the Norwegian governments building commissioner, property manager and developer. Statsbyggs projects typically involve a lot ofbudgetary pressures along the way? A good brief different stakeholders. How do you deal withshould therefore also communicate priorities. conflicting interests? How do you bring theseWhat is essential for a projects success and together in a single, coherent brief? where is there room for manoeuvring?Well, we dont think in terms of conflicting interests. Interests need to be aligned and weEarlier in your career, you have been are in a unique position to do so because weresponsible for infrastructure projects. Are engage with all stakeholders in the value chain.there lessons to be learned there in relation to It is our job to cover all perspectives and to askbriefing?the difficult questions. What does a user reallyIt is a difficult comparison. Infrastructure projects need? What are the needs behind the demands?are characterized by even longer timelines and And what is possible within the projectseven less flexibility. When working on a new budgetary constraints and other practicalities?road or a rail track, you cannot just change the In this, we take a long-term perspective. It is ourspecifications halfway. Building projects are more responsibility to ensure that buildings have aflexible. You can for example still make changes in long-term value, that they are sustainable, andthe specifications for the buildings interior when can adapt to future changes. It helps that we alsoits structure is already being built. This allows for a manage and operate our buildings. This is not amore iterative briefing approach, which is good.conflicting role, but an advantageous one. WeWhat is interesting about infrastructure, know how buildings work in practicefrom bothhowever, is that there are advanced models for an operational and a functional point of view assessing the economic benefits of a project at and we can incorporate that knowledge into thean early stage. It would be great to have similar briefing process. models for building projects.How does Statsbygg see the briefs status andHow do you see the future of briefing?role in a construction project? Do you see itThere is a clear shift taking place: the definition as a detailed delivery contract or more like aphase of a project is becoming more important starting point that is open to interpretationand more iterative. Traditionally, organizations and refinement?like ours would spend a lot of time on creating a It depends. For relatively simple projects, the briefvery detailed brief, and then present it to market, can indeed act as a delivery contract. It is differentsaying Build this!. We are now moving towards however for large and complex projects with longa more interactive process in which architects, timelines. For sure, things will change in suchengineers and contractors get involved at an projects, so it doesnt make sense to create a veryearlier stage. With their input, we are able to get a strict or rigid brief at the start. There, we see thebetter grip on risks, costs and timelines before we brief more as a road map or guideline that helpsactually start the project.with decision making during later phases.Any recommendations for construction What makes a good brief? clients?A good brief translates user needs into actionable,As said, it is important to involve design teams realistic requirements. This can be a challengeand contractors at an early stage. Furthermore, obviously. A university may, for example, ask forI recommend thinking carefully about user a building that supports world-class research andinvolvement. User involvement is essential for a teaching. A valid demand, but how do you breakprojects success, but there is a risk that you go that down into concrete requirements in a brief,too early into details such as furnishings or the knowing that there will be surprises, changes anduse of colours. Especially in projects with long 184'