Attitudes and experiences of user involvement in early stages of residential building projects

Other conference contribution, 2012

One factor influencing quality development in the building industry is the ability of users, such as residents, to identify and express their requirements for the product, i.e., the residential building. Drawing on a study of the development of user involvement in designing, producing, and managing building projects, this paper focuses on user participation in the front-end activities of residential projects. To map current perceptions and approaches, building industry actors met in four focus groups. Group participants were asked to reflect on the definition of user, how communication is handled, how information from users is used, and challenges and opportunities in involving the user. Regardless of level of experience, participants agreed on the importance and potential of user involvement and on the need for specific methods to acquire useful outputs.