The planning and monitoring of the design phase is crucial to ensure the aimed time, cost, and quality performances of the project are met. In this context, monitoring the progress of design is tightly related to the way design is being planned. In other words, the measures taken into account while planning the development of design; whether time, cost or quality measures, are themselves used to monitor the progress of design throughout the project. In this regard, this study sheds light on the methods used to manage design projects, highlights their shortcomings, and suggests new ways to properly manage the progress of design using BIM as a data repository of design information and management decisions. The study reviews current methods used to plan and monitor design projects and suggests improvements in needed areas. Results show that the reviewed methods differ in the way they approach design management and they do not fully represent all design characteristics. Nonetheless, measures used in these methods can mislead managers in detecting the actual progress of design. In this regard, this study suggests a comprehensive framework that builds on existing methods to enhance the management of design and to better control its development.