Practise English for an architectural project kick-off meeting. Learn to clarify tasks, confirm responsibilities, and agree on deadlines.
Your situation: Your team is starting an office renovation. You need to agree on the drawing updates and the information needed from the client.
Your goal: Finish the meeting knowing who is doing each task, what they need to produce, and when it is due.
Work through the activities in order. Say your answers or write them in a notebook, then open each answer key to check. Nothing is submitted or scored.
1. Vocabulary
Match each term to its meaning. Write a number and a letter, for example, 1–C. Use each letter once in each group.
Group A: Planning the work
- scope
- deliverable
- deadline
- responsibility
- budget
- The latest time a task must be completed.
- A task or duty that someone is expected to carry out.
- The work included in a project or phase.
- The money available for the work.
- Something the team must produce and submit.
Check answers — Group A
1–C · 2–E · 3–A · 4–B · 5–D
The revised drawing is a deliverable. Friday at noon is its deadline. Preparing the drawing is someone’s responsibility.
Group B: Information and changes
- approval
- revision
- constraint
- consultant
- outstanding decision
- A specialist who advises or contributes to a project.
- A decision that has not yet been made.
- Formal agreement that something is acceptable.
- A limit that affects what the team can do.
- A change made to a drawing or document.
Check answers — Group B
6–C · 7–E · 8–D · 9–A · 10–B
Here, outstanding means not yet resolved. It does not mean excellent. A fixed budget or a tight deadline can be a constraint.
Check the meaning
- The client requests a new survey that is not included in the agreed work. Do you need to discuss the scope or the deadline first?
- The client has not chosen between two layouts. Is this an outstanding decision or an approval?
Check answers — Meaning
- Scope. First establish whether the additional work is included. Its timing and cost can then be discussed.
- An outstanding decision. The choice is still needed.
2. Read: Start with clear agreements
A kick-off meeting gives the design team a shared plan for a project or phase. The team confirms the scope, the deliverables, and each person’s responsibilities. A clear agreement is more useful than a general request such as “update the plans.”
The team also needs to discuss constraints. A limited budget may affect the work that can be included. A consultant may need the revised drawings before checking the design. The architect should identify outstanding decisions and explain when the client’s approval is needed.
Before the meeting ends, confirm each task, the person responsible, and the deadline. Record the agreement and share it with the team. If a revision affects the agreed work or timing, discuss it rather than assuming everyone understands the change.
This original teaching summary draws on the planning themes in Archtoolbox’s Architecture Project Planning: Kick-Off Meeting. The dialogue and exercises below are created for Construction English.
Check your understanding
- Which three things should you confirm for each task before the meeting ends?
- Why might a consultant need the revised drawings before the project’s final deadline?
Check answers — Reading
- The task, the person responsible, and the deadline.
- The consultant needs time to check the design. One person’s work may depend on another person’s deliverable.
3. Language in use
Leah is the project architect. Mina is the designer. Omar represents the client. Read their conversation and notice how they make the tasks clear.
Leah: Let’s confirm the scope for this phase. We’re updating the ground-floor furniture and partition layouts.
Omar: Does that include the reception desk?
Leah: Yes, its location, but not its detailed design. Who is responsible for updating the layouts?
Mina: I am. Do you mean the furniture layout only, or the partition layout too?
Leah: Both. We need the revised drawings by Thursday at noon so that the services consultant can review them on Friday.
Mina: I can meet that deadline if we get approval of the reception desk location by Tuesday at noon.
Omar: That’s still an outstanding decision. I can confirm the location by Tuesday at noon.
Mina: Just to confirm, I’m updating both ground-floor layouts and sending them to the consultant by Thursday at noon.
Leah: That’s right. I’ll record those responsibilities and deadlines in the meeting notes.
Notice the four functions
Find the bold expression that does each job: (a) identifies the person doing the work; (b) clarifies the task; (c) states a deadline and its reason; (d) checks an agreement.
Check answers — Four functions
- Who is responsible for updating the layouts?
- Do you mean the furniture layout only, or the partition layout too?
- We need the revised drawings by Thursday at noon so that the services consultant can review them on Friday.
- Just to confirm, I’m updating both ground-floor layouts and sending them to the consultant by Thursday at noon.
Patterns you can reuse
Identify responsibility
Who is responsible for + noun / verb-ing?
Who is responsible for preparing the door schedule?
Clarify the task
Do you mean X only, or Y too?
Do you mean the plans only, or the elevations too?
State the deadline and reason
We need + item + by + time + so that + person + can + action.
We need the updated schedule by Monday so that the contractor can check the quantities.
Check the agreement
Just to confirm, I’m + verb-ing + task + by + time.
Just to confirm, I’m sending the revised schedule by Monday morning.
Language note: “By Thursday” means no later than Thursday. “On Thursday” identifies the day when something happens.
Useful combinations: confirm the scope · submit a deliverable · meet a deadline · obtain approval · issue a revision
4. Practise
A. Complete the expressions
Use each item once: by · confirm · for · mean · so that.
- Who is responsible _____ preparing the door schedule?
- Do you _____ the ground floor only, or the first floor too?
- We need the drawing _____ Wednesday at noon.
- Please send the layout today _____ the consultant can review it tomorrow.
- Just to _____, I’m sending both layouts.
Check answers — Expressions
- for — responsible for preparing
- mean — ask what the other person intends
- by — no later than Wednesday at noon
- so that — explain the purpose
- confirm — check your understanding
B. Make the request clear
Your colleague says, “Please update the plans soon.” Which reply best clarifies both the task and the timing?
- Okay. I’ll update them when I can.
- Do you mean the ground-floor plans only, or all floors? When do you need them?
- Who is responsible for the budget?
Check answer — Clear request
B. It checks which drawings are included and asks for a deadline. A leaves both points unclear; C changes the subject.
C. Build a short exchange
Task: Prepare the ground-floor door schedule.
Person: Mina.
Deadline: Tuesday at noon.
Reason: The contractor checks quantities on Wednesday.
Use the notes to complete these three sentences. Say them aloud before checking.
- Who is responsible for _____?
- We need _____ by _____ so that _____.
- Mina: Just to confirm, I’m _____ by _____.
Check sample answers — Short exchange
- Who is responsible for preparing the ground-floor door schedule?
- We need the ground-floor door schedule by Tuesday at noon so that the contractor can check the quantities on Wednesday.
- Just to confirm, I’m preparing the ground-floor door schedule by Tuesday at noon.
Other wording is possible if the task, deadline, and reason stay clear.
5. Use it yourself
Your project architect asks you to “update the elevations by Friday.” You need to clarify whether this means the external elevations only or the internal elevations too.
After you ask: The architect confirms that only the external elevations are needed. Send them by Friday at 10 a.m. so that the client can review them that afternoon.
Write or say a short exchange. Include:
- Your question to clarify the task.
- The architect’s answer, including the deadline and reason.
- Your final confirmation of what you are doing and when.
See a sample exchange and checklist
You: Do you mean the external elevations only, or the internal elevations too?
Architect: The external elevations only. We need them by Friday at 10 a.m. so that the client can review them that afternoon.
You: Just to confirm, I’m updating the external elevations and sending them by Friday at 10 a.m.
Check your answer: Did you clarify which elevations, give the exact deadline, explain the reason, and confirm your responsibility? Your wording does not have to match the sample.
Take it to work: Think of one current task. Practise saying who is responsible, what they need to produce, and when it is due.
