Our Tools for Outstanding Results: CDC and Project Navigator
Updated: Oct 21
People often ask me what sets KRC apart.
Michele has a clear answer: “It’s really the CDC, the navigator, and then just that attitude that we have.”
I spend much of my week inside both systems. Rich built the CDC, and I manage it day to day. Project Navigator is something I built myself, and I manage it too.
So here’s a look at how each one works. More importantly, here’s how they work together.
By the numbers 1,000+ projects successfully delivered 100% on-time store openings 100+ active industry partnerships
The Order Matters
Before construction, I was a teacher. In the classroom, the lesson plan always came first. Then the lesson.
Our process follows the same logic. We use three steps:
Learn: We deep dive into your business and how your teams work.
Map: We build your Critical Dates Calendar.
Launch: We run the build through Project Navigator.
Michele explains it simply: “We get everybody involved first. Then when we manage the project, we manage the project through project navigator.”
“One feeds the other.” — Michele Barnes, President and Founder
Step One: The Critical Dates Calendar
The CDC aligns every person who touches your project.
That reaches well beyond construction. Inside your company, it includes real estate, operations, store opening, facilities, and design. It includes the team that orders product and the team that runs the numbers. Outside, it includes the landlord, architect, general contractor, permit office, inspectors, vendors, and logistics partners. Michele takes it all the way down. Even the person who orders the back-of-house water cooler has a place in the calendar.
In her words, “every single person who touches a store opening project is represented in a critical dates calendar.”
Why so detailed? Every role connects to another. A permit filing shapes the construction start. A drawing detail shapes the bid. When everyone sees those links, the whole team moves together.
Here’s what the CDC tracks:
Status, with real-time updates
Detailed timelines from kickoff to closeout
Clear task assignments, so every task has an owner
The critical path, so we see how each date shapes the schedule and every step that follows
Brand-specific requirements, built into each client’s calendar from kickoff
Dates also update automatically based on task dependencies. When one milestone shifts, the dates that follow adjust with it.
Then we manage every project against it, whether that’s one store, one project, 50, or more.
Sara Amorosino, former Director of Field Execution at Sephora, saw that scale firsthand: “KRC delivered exceptional results managing our construction program for 20-30 concurrent projects.”
Step Two: Project Navigator
Once the team is aligned, Project Navigator manages the build.
It connects KRC and your general contractor in one dashboard. Budget, schedule, and documentation all live there. Michele calls it “the interactive piece,” and the CDC feeds it.
The goal is simple. In Michele’s words, we “ensure that the project starts on time and ends on time.”
I built the first version of Project Navigator on Smartsheet.
My first version had polished dashboards. They looked great in a presentation. Then I watched how Michele actually works. She lives in the grid view, every day.
So I refocused. I built for daily work instead of demos.
That taught me what people truly need: one place to find things. One home for every project detail. That lesson now guides the next generation of Project Navigator.
“People need one place to find things. That’s the whole design brief.” — Michael Rollins
What’s Next for Project Navigator
Project Navigator is entering its next chapter. I’m building it into a standalone app for desktop, phone, and tablet. The CDC lives inside it and drives reminders and project health updates. AI-powered insights, real-time dashboards for clients and leadership, and one communications hub are on the way. Our team is piloting it now, and I look forward to sharing more soon.
Built to Fit Your Team
Every client operates differently. So every Project Navigator looks a little different.
If a client already manages RFIs in-house, we leave that tool with them. If they need an OFI delivery schedule, we add one. The dashboard follows your workflow.
Depending on your needs, it can include:
Communication and documentation: RFIs, submittals, bulletins, site-specific resources, weekly construction reports
Management and controls: change orders, budget tracking, schedule monitoring, inspection tracking, risk management
Quality, closeout, and accountability: punchlists with photo validation, a damaged fixtures log, closeout documentation, warranty tracking, installation and fixture resources
The CDC is tailored the same way. Both systems are shaped around your team structure and how you manage your projects.
What I’ve Learned
Building and managing these systems has shaped how I think about projects. Three lessons stand out for me.
Alignment comes first. When every stakeholder sees the same dates, execution gets smoother.
One source of truth gives time back. Teams spend their hours on the work itself.
Systems should fit the people. The best tool is the one your team opens every day.
The Third Ingredient
Michele named three things that set us apart: the CDC, the Navigator, and our attitude.
The tools give us structure. The people bring them to life.
Happy to show you how it works. Just reply to this email.
Michael
KRCrossing Consulting
