In order to generate benchmark and initial reports using N3 you need to configure your project by entering the requested information into the platform.

​
Details

This section is all about the basic details of the project. You can use a postcode to find the latitude and longitude of the project so the platform can recognise its location. A map visual is made available so you can check the location fits your expectations.

​
Parties

This section is all about the companies involved in the project, to form a project directory. Information provided will be included in the initial report, and you can add a point of contact for each party involved.
It is important to add a Funder, a Borrower and a Principle Contractor to each project. Your “Funder” should not have a “parent” and therefore will be at the top of the hierarchy chart.

​
List

This is the list of party members. You can add new party members here and remove them.
When adding a new party member you will be asked for the following details:
  • Company name (selected from a dropdown of companies from the environment)
  • Role in the project (dropdown, though other is available)
  • Descriptor (this is the description of the role and will replace its name in charts and tables)
  • Parent (This is the party who manages the entity and will be higher in the hierarchy chart)
Additionally you will be able to provide point of contract details that will also be included in initial reports.

​
Hierarchy Chart

N3 can generate a node chart of your project directory to display relationships. This can be saved as a PDF or image to be included in reports as an attachment.
The action bar above the chart provides various controls to save the chart, expand/collapse nodes and change zoom settings.

​
Expected

This is an upcoming feature where N3 will be able to show you the expected contractors/skillsets required for the project based on data provided.

​
Schematics

Information captured here concerns the site and dimensions of the construction. This information is important for benchmarking as many factors here have significant impact to the cost calculations of the project. Number of units is a value that is important for certain projects, for example, residential apartments. When using the show by functional unit view option of projects, this value is used to show the footprint or construction costs per unit.

​
Features

These items include key elements of a project which contribute to the risk metric score and benchmarking tooling used throughout N3. The more features you can identify for the project, the better the analytics will be.
These features will be used for comparison against other projects to try identify similarities and characteristics between them while evaluating risk and budgets.
More than one feature and purpose can be added to a project so be mindful of which are selected.

​
Programme

Times and dates of the project are recorded here. A basic gantt chart is generated once dates are provided to visualise the programme. The “duration” of a project is an important metric for benchmarking and risk analytics.

​
Appraisal

This is the data from the developer of the costs involved in the project. This will be used for comparison as a baseline for the cost benchmarking. Providing the GDV and loan facility will also allow for more comparison metrics to be available.
Table data can be exported as CSV.

​
Benchmark

Once you have added enough information into the platform you will be able to generate benchmark reports.
Minimum project data required:
  • Latitude and longitude
  • Start date
  • Total GIFA
Appraisal data required:
  • Footprint construction cost
  • External works and non “footprint” construction costs
  • Professional fees
  • Contingency sum
To improve the effectiveness of the benchmarking, make sure you have added all the project features correctly. These are used to find appropriate projects for comparison.

​
Executive Summary

This is the final step of project configuration.
You need to provide a risk assessment for the project and key text information for the initial report. You will then be able to save the executive summary. Once it has been saved, you will see the item as shown above. You will be able to download the PDF report from these items or delete the summary by expanding the item and clicking on the specific button.