Every architectural project moves through a sequence of design phases, and each phase produces specific documentation that captures the project's evolution from concept to constructible reality. These documents serve multiple audiences: the owner who approves direction, the design team coordinating across disciplines, regulatory agencies reviewing for code compliance, and eventually the contractor who builds from them.

The typical sequence runs from predesign or feasibility studies through schematic design, design development, and construction documents. At each stage, the level of detail increases. Schematic design drawings communicate general scope and spatial relationships. Design development documents fix the size, character, and systems of the project. Construction documents provide the precise instructions a contractor needs to build.

Beyond drawings, each phase also produces written deliverables: outline specifications that grow into full specification sections, cost estimates that become progressively more accurate, and engineering reports that document structural, mechanical, electrical, and civil design decisions.

The project manual, which houses specifications and contract conditions, carries the same contractual weight as the drawings. This is a point many candidates overlook. Knowing what documentation belongs to which phase, at what level of completion, and how deliverables from different disciplines must coordinate at each milestone is a core project management skill tested on the ARE.