Macpherson, S J; Kelly, J R and Webb, R S (1993) How designs develop: Insights from case studies in building engineering services. Construction Management and Economics, 11(6), pp. 475-485. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
This study investigates the 'typical' form of design description for heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems in buildings at a point in the design development corresponding to the feasibility stage of the Royal Institute of British Architects' plan of work. Eight case studies yielded rich qualitative data on the form of design description and the process by which those designs evolved. It was found that the designs developed with a fragmentary attention to detail, and did not conform to the top-down approach to design management implied by the plan of work or other prescriptive models of design. Nevertheless, patterns which emerged from the data imply that the design process behind this is not entirely idiosyncratic and unstructured, but points to a strategic approach in the use of detail which was shared by the designers. An empirical model of this strategic process, grounded in the data from the study (a 'grounded theory' model), is developed and the implications for builders of more general models of the design management process are discussed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | case study; design detail; design development; grounded theory |
| Index terms: | design development, plan of work, building engineering, builder, case study, grounded theory, Royal Institute of British Architects, design process, designer, design management process, design management, air conditioning |
| Subjects: | mechanical systems, operations management, professional institution, design process, design methods, theoretical framing, practitioner, organization, environmental engineering, data collection methods, profession |
| Topics: | Project Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Design Practice, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here