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The application of usability concepts in the built environment.

Alexander, K

Authors

K Alexander



Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is report to on the exploratory research into the application of usability concepts to the built environment conducted by a task group of the International Council for Building Research and Documentation (CIB TG51).

Design/methodology/approach – The objectives of the research were achieved through a series of case studies and associated workshops designed to identify and evaluate the ways in which stakeholders in projects were involved in decision making about building use and the methods and tools they used.

Findings – The research enabled a number of broad conclusions about the nature of usability as a concept and its application to the built environment and challenged the basis of conventional approaches to briefing and post-occupancy evaluation.

Research limitations/implications – The exploratory nature of the work clarified the research questions that need to be addressed in future work and raised a number of key conceptual, theoretical and methodological questions which will be explored in a further round of case studies.

Practical implications – The industrial partners, who were directly involved in the project, shared knowledge of user experience in the workplace and benefited from an independent review of the cases as a vehicle for discussing best practice. This enabled participants to receive feedback from leading-edge organisations and provided new knowledge for action.

Originality/value – The paper sets out a novel approach to understanding user experience in the built environment and introduces examples from organisations that responding to the challenge of designing and managing buildings from a user perspective.

Citation

Alexander, K. (2006). The application of usability concepts in the built environment. Journal of Facilities Management, 4(4), 262-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/14725960610702947

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Oct 1, 2006
Deposit Date Sep 19, 2007
Journal Journal of Facilities Management
Print ISSN 1472-5967
Publisher Emerald
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 4
Issue 4
Pages 262-270
DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/14725960610702947


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