what to do

[chef]

How is you German new?

Better than your english, I hope.

Besser, danke

[EternalOptimist]

How about a proactive strike.
spend the week liasing with infrastructure (or whomever) along the lines of 'If this goes ahead, will you be able to support x,y,z ? and what will you need from me

[Old Greg]

I find looking busy usually helps.

And logging lessons learned

[Freamon]

client co have stated that the design doc is a milestone and therefore build phase cannot begin until this is signed off.

Sounds pretty German.

Don't you need to hold walkthrough sessions of the documentation with the reviewers to ensure the review process is thorough and that everyone is fully bought in to the strategy and direction set out within, mitigating the risk that any assumptions are made by either side that later prove to be incorrect and cause avoidable additions to scope and timescales?

Or do all the reviewers just read the docs in isolation, not fully understand them, send you a few comments back on minor grammar/punctuation issues, then complain 3 months later that their sign-off "doesn't really count anymore" as they didn't really understand the docs in the first place?

[vetran]

Facilitate,Facilitate,Facilitate

you know it makes sense.

[Chaffinch]

I'd reach for the Prince II handbook and find the bit on Phase Start / End Design. Pretty sure there's lots you can be doing that's relevant, productive and billable