This publication summarises the findings of a confidential report (CIRIA Funders Report IP/34) circulated to benchmarking club members in March 2003. It is aimed at those managing design teams in construction companies of all types who are interested in promoting the concept of performance management within their organisations. It describes the work that CIRIA has undertaken to investigate the key issues relating to performance measurement of design activities carried out by construction companies in the UK. The book concentrates on the conclusions drawn and recommendations for good practice. Some background information is also presented to help the reader put the findings into context. A benchmarking club of 15 of the leading design consultants and contractors in the UK participated in the benchmarking study, which took place between January and April 2002. The aims were to investigate how these organisations were managing design and to confirm the robustness of the framework of key indicators with which to measure performance of key design activities.