The influence of design team communication content upon the architectural decision making process in the pre contract design stages
Abstract
Patterns of communication in the decision-making process of
Design Team Architects are considered. Variations in the verbal
content of Architect and other Design Team member interaction
behaviour are analysed over the various stages of the design
process.
A pilot study building design and a main subject study building
design are investigatted on a longditudinal basis. Fourteen
other building designs are investigated on a cross sectional
basis. The presented results represent a data collection period
of approximately eighteen months.
Design Team interaction is measured using content analysis. The
measurement scales used are largely based upon existing
methodologies, although some measurement scales are developed
specifically for this research. Quantitative data analysis is by
mainframe computer, using analysis programs which are developed
specifically for this research. Additional qualitative
substantiations are provided by extracts of supportive interview
responses.
The results show pronounced patterns of variation in the
interaction content of Design Team members throughout the design
process over a range of design types. The conclusions are of use
to Design Team members since they illustrate the likely patterns
of future interaction for the future stages of any design process. Potential areas of interaction conflict are presented,
together with likely variations in Design Team member
preoccupations as the design develops. Reference to the results
allow the Designer to design in order to avoid likely design
interaction problems associated with long term variations in
Design Team interaction behaviour.
Results indicate that the Architect becomes less assertive during
the middle stages of the design, as does the influence of the
initial brief. The Architect is consistently the most creative
Design Team member, although cost considerations increasingly
influence the decision-making process of the Architect, largely
at the expense of aesthetic considerations. The professional
Design Team members increasingly form a coalition against the
Client Representative, to some extent as a defence against late
stage disruptive cost reduction exercises, as construction
factors increasingly influence interaction behaviour.