My Plan

My Plan is a platform co-designed with architects and clients, for architects and clients. The platform is aimed at anyone wishing to facilitate the co-management of an architectural project – renovation or new build, in Belgium or elsewhere – in a single-family context. These projects naturally involve the participation of many other stakeholders: contractors, surveyors, engineers and other construction experts. The My Plan platform offers a comprehensive solution that brings together all stakeholders and facilitates their interactions.

The My Plan platform facilitates collaboration and co-management of single-family housing projects. It brings together architects, clients and other stakeholders (contractors, engineers, experts) in a single, clear and structured digital space. With My Plan, you can: • define requirements and budget, • organise and monitor each stage of the project, • centralise and share all documents, • centralise and streamline communication between all stakeholders.

If you are an architect: For architects, My Plan offers a monthly subscription per agency, with unlimited users, at £49 per month or £499 per year (all prices exclude VAT). Are you an architect and new to the platform? You can enjoy a free 3-month trial period! If you are a client: The initial contact questionnaire is free for everyone, forever. To access all of the platform's features, each client receives free access through their architect, provided that the architect has a subscription. If you are a contractor, engineer or other construction expert: You also have free access via the architect you work with, provided they have a subscription.

The My Plan platform allows you to manage as many projects as you wish at the same time, whether you are a client or an architect!

The architect in charge of a project must create an "identity card" for each project (from the "My Projects" interface and after validating their subscription). Some general information about the project (type; start date; address with indication of region, country, etc.) will enable certain components of the platform to be automatically adapted (e.g. updating the deadlines for obtaining planning permission, depending on regional and/or national specificities). The architect will also be able to configure how the architectural process will be presented to the client: stages, deadlines, generic list of tasks, etc. The architect responsible for the project can then create a list of stakeholders involved in the project (main client, associate architects, external collaborators, etc.) with whom the project will be shared and who will have access to the messaging tools, task management, library, etc. Once the project has been created and configured, and once the participants have been added to the project, all registered users will be able to use the Path (and its booklets); Messaging; Calendar and Tasks; Library; and Budget tool. Do you have any questions about these features? See below!

The architect in charge of the project can configure each project at several levels: • Choice of location, in one of the five countries currently covered by the platform (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; the time required to obtain a permit will be automatically updated); • Selecting the status: renovation or new construction project (a series of links and tips will be automatically adapted, as will the Process); • User selection – within an agency; from a list of professional partners and clients associated with each project. Each type of profile has different rights and access levels. • Adjustment of durations for each stage of the process – according to the habits and preferences of each agency; • Option to show or hide certain stages of the process, to adapt to each project or simplify the format for certain clients; • Definition of tasks – project by project or generic for each project, and automatically linked to the calendar according to start dates to be specified.

The MyPlan platform is currently available in four languages — French, Dutch, German and English — and is adapted to the regulatory contexts of five countries (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and France). Our content is adapted to the specific regulations of each country and their respective regions, particularly with regard to the time required to obtain a licence or updating links to local regulations on renovation, etc. For example, in Belgium, you will find up-to-date information for the three regions: Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels. When setting up each project, you can easily indicate in which country it is located – and in which region, if there are any regional specificities. Have you noticed that some data is missing or out of date? Please do not hesitate to contact us!

This questionnaire, freely accessible from the My-Plan.app website, is intended for clients, whether they are prospective builders or renovators. It helps customers to structure their desires, needs and budget in just a few questions, thereby facilitating initial meetings with their (future) architect. It provides structure and transparency for those very first exchanges, ensuring a smooth relationship throughout the project! You will find it in the "Contact" menu, under the link "First contact – Me & My Architect".

The My Plan Process is at the heart of the platform: it provides an overview of the different stages of an architectural project, the associated deadlines, the reasons for potential delays, the people involved at each stage, and more. The Process can be customised: the architect in charge of the project can decide to grey out certain stages; adapt deadlines according to the project or the agency's practices, etc. In addition, a generic version of the Process is always available for download: in paper or PDF format, it provides a flexible medium on which everyone can jot down their comments or questions during a meeting, for example. By clicking on a stage (e.g. "Initial meetings"), platform users immediately have access to the Library dedicated to that stage (where they will find all the relevant documents associated with the stage in question), as well as the Tasks associated with that stage. Please note: all documents and tasks are also compiled, regardless of the stage, in the "Calendar and Tasks" and "Library" features accessible via the side menu. By clicking on the round, numbered dots (e.g. "02"), users can access useful resources specific to the stage in question (description of the stage; advice; questions to ask themselves, etc.).

Once the project has been created, the architect can share it with as many fellow architects, external collaborators, clients, etc. as desired. Once shared, the main parties involved appear as contacts in the Messaging section, allowing each person to decide who they wish to communicate with. If a message needs to be sent to all parties involved, it can be sent via the "General" tab. Please note: only a customer identified as "main" will be able to receive messages as a customer, for ease of communication management. Furthermore, the platform does not yet allow messages to be sent to separate subgroups (only a "General" message can be sent to contact everyone at once). Would you like to associate a message with a specific document in the Library? You can do so in the Library tab!

Each project has a schedule: when a project is created, the architect in charge of it sets a presumed start and end date, which structures the schedule. Within this schedule, each user can create tasks: either associated with a single date (a specific deadline) or associated with a period, or even general tasks associated with the entire project but without a specific date(s). When creating a task, the user can assign it a start date (and possibly an end date, if it is a period); a responsible party; a priority level and possibly a stage in the Process. In this case, the task will also appear in the Process by clicking on the relevant stage. Finally, each user can decide who has the right to see (or not) the task appear in their own task list. Task completed? Mark it with a green tick with a single click to show your progress to other users.

If you have a subscription to the My Plan platform, and if your agency regularly performs generic tasks regardless of the project, we have good news for you! You can generate default tasks once and for all, which will always appear in the same way within each project, and in line with the planned start/end dates for each of these projects. To do this, go to "My Profile" and "Default Tasks" (via the side menu). You can create your generic tasks, assigning each one: a title, an associated stage in the Process; a start date (in number of calendar days after a start date that will be specific to each project); a responsible profile or even a priority. Once generic tasks have been created, they will now appear in the task list of any newly initiated project! You will see them appear in "Calendar & Tasks", and they will be associated with a deadline, in accordance with the generically defined deadlines but also in line with the start date of the project in question.

The My Plan Library is the place on the platform where all important documents related to the project are stored (except for documents related to the Budget, which are stored in the feature of the same name). These documents can be added easily; they can be tagged to make them easier to sort; they can be associated with specific stages of the Journey and can be read either by all users of the platform or only by certain users selected by the person submitting the document (note: in order to associate read access rights with a profile on a document, you must first create the profile in question on the platform using the "Share" button). Once the document has been uploaded to the Library, you will find it both in the Library and in the stage of the Process to which you have potentially associated it. Each document can be commented on with a single click: the "Leave a comment related to the document" feature allows you to draw the attention of one or all of your contacts to this particular document. A message to this effect will appear in the Messaging section. Don't want all documents to be visible to all users of the platform? Nothing could be simpler! When adding your document to the Library, enter the names of the "Users who can view the document". If you do not fill in this field, the document will remain accessible to everyone by default.

The "Budget" feature (via the side menu) provides access to two tabs: "Budget versions" and "Other documents". Via the "Budget Versions" tab, users will have access to the different versions of the budget, as generated and adapted over time. Clients will be able to view them in read-only mode, while the architects in charge of the project will be able to download the template to update it, upload new versions, delete old ones, etc. Via the "Other documents" tab, users can also secure other documents deemed important and associated with the Budget (e.g. quotes). When adding a document to the Budget, the user is prompted to assign a title to it, as well as a list of other users authorised to access this document. Please note: before access permissions can be managed, all profiles associated with the project must have been added by the architect in charge of the project. Finally, a "Learn more" button provides access to a booklet containing useful information and advice on managing a budget in general.

All data is stored on secure servers; only individuals invited to join a project have access to it.

Do not panic! The teams responsible for maintaining the platform can still recover your data. Please contact us!

We suggest that each architectural firm have a single subscription for easy, centralised management of all projects (past, present and future). A subscription can be used by all members of the same firm. The architect in charge of the subscription can easily add colleagues by clicking on 'My Profile', then 'My Architects' (via the side menu). Do you belong to several different agencies and prefer to manage separate subscriptions? That's entirely possible! All you need to do is sign up for a new subscription, using a different email address from the one(s) you used previously.

By default, the Mollie payment interface automatically renews all active subscriptions without sending a prior email or notice. Each customer can view the next due date directly in their customer profile. Each customer can cancel their subscription (monthly or annual) in accordance with the Terms and Conditions established and accepted at the time of subscription, by simply sending an email notification to info@my-plan.app.

Before closing your subscription, you can download all documents from the Library, all tasks, or even Calendar content with a single click! Once a project or subscription is closed, you will no longer be able to access the associated information and documents. Have you closed a project or subscription by mistake? Contact us! We will certainly be able to help you via our "admin" interface.

This platform was developed as part of a research project by the Inter'Act laboratory (in architectural engineering) at the University of Liège. It was developed through a co-design process, during which several architects and clients shared their experiences, identified their points of friction and proposed their own solutions to improve and facilitate their day-to-day collaboration. My Plan was directly inspired by your everyday life. The profits generated by the platform are invested exclusively in its improvement and in funding architectural and construction research conducted at the University of Liège.