A technology design services scope that's incomplete doesn't just create bid ambiguity. It creates a chain of downstream problems that compounds from design development through construction and into project closeout. Systems that aren't covered by any design consultant get scoped by contractors at bid – with assumptions that rarely match the project's actual requirements. Phases that are excluded from the scope leave the project without professional oversight at the moments when oversight matters most.
The stakes here aren't abstract. Industry research found that 41% of AEC professionals cited poor communication and coordination as a top cause of rework, up from 37% a year earlier.1 Scope gaps are where much of that coordination failure starts, since a system nobody was assigned to design is a system nobody coordinates. Getting the scope right at the start, before schematic design begins, is the most efficient way to prevent those problems.
In this blog, we'll explain why the technology scope matters, what a complete scope covers, the common gaps that create downstream problems, and how to define the scope before those gaps form.
On a complex institutional or commercial project, the Division 27 systems are effectively always in scope, since nearly everything else depends on them. At TMC, we’ve found that what gets added is driven by building type.
For example, a healthcare facility may pull access control and nurse call integration to the center of the scope, while a government building or airport might see Division 28 security and public safety DAS as the most coordination-intensive part of the engagement. Matching the scope to the project this way is what keeps it complete without padding it with systems the project doesn't need.
In general, a complete technology design services scope for a commercial building project will typically include these systems:
Structured cabling and telecommunications infrastructure is the foundation of Division 27 scope. It includes the physical backbone – entrance facilities, equipment rooms, backbone cabling, telecommunications rooms, horizontal cabling, and work area components – that supports all other technology systems in the building.
Audiovisual system design can include:
On projects with significant AV requirements, AV system design is among the most coordination-intensive elements of the scope.
Network infrastructure includes the active equipment design that sits on top of the structured cabling backbone:
Active equipment design coordinates with the cabling design to ensure physical infrastructure supports the network architecture.
Access control and electronic security systems (Division 28) include:
On projects where physical security is a significant requirement, Division 28 scope is as complex and coordination-intensive as Division 27.
Distributed antenna systems (DAS) provide in-building cellular and wireless coverage. DAS design coordinates with the structured cabling backbone for pathways and equipment room co-location.
In our years working alongside architecture firms, the TMC team has found that the most common gaps in technology design services scope follow a consistent pattern. These are:
The clearest way to prevent these gaps is to establish the scope before design begins, with explicit statements of what's included, what's excluded, and what deliverables are expected at each phase. A scope defined after gaps have already been discovered costs more to close than a scope that was complete from the start.
A strong technology design services scope starts with something most technology RFPs leave out: a clear statement of the business problem the technology is meant to solve. When that objective isn't clarified, whether the design actually addresses it becomes a matter of chance. From there, a complete scope defines the systems precisely enough to be estimated, accounts for the adjacent systems that are easy to forget, and names the phases the consultant is responsible for.
A complete technology design scope should address each of the following:
A scope that covers these points produces more accurate proposals, a cleaner engagement, and far fewer gaps to discover once the project is underway.
A complete technology design services scope for a building project should cover all technology systems the project requires – typically structured cabling, AV, network infrastructure, access control, DAS, and related Division 27 and Division 28 systems – and produce coordinated construction documents at each design phase.
Deliverables should include:
Exclusions should be explicitly stated to avoid scope gaps at bid.
A technology design RFP should describe the project type and technology complexity, list the systems the scope should cover, specify the deliverables required at each design phase, require vendor-neutral performance-based specifications, and request examples of construction documents from comparable past projects. The RFP should also ask consultants to identify any systems or phases they would exclude from their standard engagement – that information is often more revealing than what they include.
When technology design scope is incomplete, systems that aren't covered by any design consultant get scoped by contractors at bid. Those contractors use assumptions and allowances that rarely match the project's actual requirements – producing change orders when the gaps are discovered during construction.
Phases excluded from the scope leave the project without professional oversight at the moments when coordination and review matter most. The downstream cost of scope gaps is almost always higher than the cost of addressing them at the start.
The technology design scope should be defined before schematic design begins. Establishing it up front means the technology program, infrastructure requirements, and system coverage are built into the design from the first phase rather than retrofitted after the architectural and MEP design is underway. A scope added mid-project has to work around decisions that were already made without technology input, which is where avoidable coordination gaps and change orders come from.
An incomplete technology scope rarely announces itself at the start of a construction project. It surfaces later, as a system nobody designed, a submittal nobody reviewed, or a change order for work that should have been in the documents all along. The way to avoid that is to define the scope completely before schematic design begins, with an architectural technology consultant who knows from experience where the gaps tend to hide.
TMC has simplified technology design for architects for more than 35 years, from schematic design all the way through construction administration. We help architects and building owners define a complete scope up front, produce the coordinated drawings and vendor-neutral specifications that hold up at bid, and stay engaged through construction to keep the installed systems true to the design.
If you're defining the technology scope for a project and want to close the gaps before they reach the field, get started with TMC today.