Co-producing,curating, and defining design knowledge in an online practitioner community

ABSTRACT

As co-design and other participatory design practices increasingly make design outcomes more accessible to everyday citizens, it is also important to understand how designers negotiate the value of design knowledge that undergirds design action and share this knowledge within their own community to facilitate and evolve their practices. In this study, we analyze UX practitioners’ interactions on Reddit, including patterns of resource sharing and curation that point towards a collective construction of UX as a design discipline. We identified how knowledge from diverse sources was selected and shared with the subreddit community (co-production); the resources that community members engaged with and to what extent (curation); and the collective body of knowledge that characterised the design community (definition of design knowledge). We found that boundary work that sought to define the value of UX knowledge often took place at the periphery of shared resources, either expanding or rearticulating the boundary of UX knowledge in relation to trends in employment and nascent professionalisation. Implications of this work for the co-creation of knowledge to support design practices are considered, focusing on how design knowledge concomitantly shapes and is shaped by client-directed design action.     

Editorial

The aim of this research is to develop automated computational methods that visualise a particular social dimension of teamwork, the mutual expectations and shared knowledge that form the basis for effective collaborative work, to better facilitate its accurate analysis and interpretation. This teamwork dimension is operationalised as conceptual coherence, which is imputed from the semantic coherence of team communication. This paper presents three different information visualisation techniques for representing the social dynamics of design team collaboration based on the content of their communication. This collection of data representations was developed using a custom-made software toolkit that merges computational linguistic and information visualisation algorithms. Based on this research, several teamwork visualisation guidelines have been derived in order to transform the communications of design teams into useful devices for quantifying and representing social accounting metrics concerning the level and quality of their collaborative interactions over time.     

The multiuser workspace as the medium for communication in collaborative design

The design process requires collaboration between organizations and individuals. This paper considers recent research in collaborative design system, called the multiuser workspace. The group-oriented multiuser workspace is a design environment where the collaborative work progresses smoothly between participants in the architecture design process. The design in the multiuser workspace is processed while participants interact with each other. This paper describes the research project concerning the multiuser workspace with interuniversity collaboration, shows the possibility of the multiuser workspace and investigates its problems.     

Making and negotiating value: design and collaboration with community led groups

ABSTRACT

Value in collaborative design research and practice can be understood fundamentally as relationships, materials, processes, contexts, and outcomes that are subjects of and for negotiation. We argue for conceptions of value that move beyond traditional ‘outcomes’ based measurements to reimagine and rearticulate value itself as co-created, emerging from negotiation, relationality and immersion in specific contexts. These understandings of value, we argue, are not rooted in or always knowable through designers’ experiences, even as designers participate in creating them. Using case studies from our research we suggest that value in design collaboration emerges as a question: value to whom, and to what end? We propose that addressing these questions ethically through co-design requires actively engaged, grounded work with collaborators based in three principles: being present for the work, participant making, and co-creating capacity for collaborators to ‘go off and do their thing’.     

Collaborative knowledge work environments

How can the physical design of the workplace enhance collaborations without compromising an individual's productivity? The body of research on the links between physical space and collaboration in knowledge work settings is reviewed. Collaboration is viewed as a system of behaviours that includes both social and solitary work. The social aspects of collaboration are discussed in terms of three dimensions: awareness, brief interaction and collaboration (working together). Current knowledge on the links between space and the social as well as individual aspects of collaborative work is reviewed. The central conflict of collaboration is considered: how to design effectively to provide a balance between the need to interact and the need to work effectively by oneself. The body of literature shows that features and attributes of space can be manipulated to increase awareness, interaction and collaboration. However, doing so frequently has negative impacts on individual work as a result of increases in noise distractions and interruptions to on-going work. The effects are most harmful for individual tasks requiring complex and focused mental work. The negative effects are compounded by a workplace that increasingly suffers from cognitive overload brought on by time stress, increased workload and multitasking.     

基于设计院体制的协同模式研究—以利山大厦项目实践为例

随着技术的发展和社会分工细化,传统的设计模式正逐步转向多学科、多领域相互协同策动的复杂性系统转换。为应对日趋复杂的设计建造体系,协同设计已成为了时代发展的必然。基于设计院体系下的设计协同优化,成为了本次研究切入的重点。本文根据实践中的具体应用与总结,分析了协同设计对建筑设计整体控制中的重要性。以我院利山大厦项目实践为例,详细分析协同设计在项目中的应用过程的具体操作及控制要点,分析了如何简化问题、提高效率。     

初步设计阶段的BIM造价协同管理模式研究

针对建筑工程项目造价管理阶段性介入设计,远滞后于设计,难以及时有效提供成本决策依据问题,以初步设计阶段为研究范围,以设计与造价的协同管理模式为研究对象,采用 BIM 和数据库技术,设计相应工作流程,实现设计与造价的协同管理。并以某办公楼项目为例,重点介绍基于 BIM 的造价协同管理模式在初步设计阶段成本控制中的应用,通过与传统模式的时间价值指标对比,验证了造价协同管理模式在成本控制中的高效性,为 BIM 技术推动初步设计阶段设计与造价协同管理的发展提供参考。     

Collaborative knowledge work environments

How can the physical design of the workplace enhance collaborations without compromising an individual's productivity? The body of research on the links between physical space and collaboration in knowledge work settings is reviewed. Collaboration is viewed as a system of behaviours that includes both social and solitary work. The social aspects of collaboration are discussed in terms of three dimensions: awareness, brief interaction and collaboration (working together). Current knowledge on the links between space and the social as well as individual aspects of collaborative work is reviewed. The central conflict of collaboration is considered: how to design effectively to provide a balance between the need to interact and the need to work effectively by oneself. The body of literature shows that features and attributes of space can be manipulated to increase awareness, interaction and collaboration. However, doing so frequently has negative impacts on individual work as a result of increases in noise distractions and interruptions to on-going work. The effects are most harmful for individual tasks requiring complex and focused mental work. The negative effects are compounded by a workplace that increasingly suffers from cognitive overload brought on by time stress, increased workload and multitasking.     

Wireless networking in tunnelling projects

Emerging collaborative technologies and working methods often require tremendous engineering and organisational efforts for successful implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). According to a research conducted in Turkish construction industry, most of the problems that occur during the construction phase are due to lack of co-operation and communication between designers and contractors and lack of prompt expert decisions during on-site engineering. Similar to any major construction project, tunnelling project’s success is highly dependent on collaborative team work where communication and information exchange take place between project members. Distributed collaborative teamwork, as the case in most of the large scale construction projects as well as tunnelling projects, empowered by state of the art information and communication technology, promises more efficient work processes, reduced travelling needs, and increased opportunities for project communication. Following the fast development of mobile computing in recent years, many sectors have adopted mobile devices and wireless technologies enabling real-time information transfer thereby improving business processes. For some years, the feasibility of implementing wireless solutions to construction sites has been researched. Potentially, mobile and wireless technologies enable construction staff to be more flexible in terms of location and time. For better use of mobile collaboration in construction projects, mobile technologies and construction sector have to be examined in some detail to implant the most suitable technology for real-time information access and improved collaboration of distributed teams in construction. However, case studies in construction are very limited in number and scope. This paper discusses and proposes an implementation scenario of wireless networking in Marmaray; a multi-site tunnelling project in Istanbul. Benefits, possible problems and cost assessments are discussed.     

COVALENT,a method for co-designing value exchange in community-centred design

Abstract

It is challenging to design for mutually beneficial relationships in a multi-actor service system when these actors have diverse and conflicting interests, and lack usable methods and tools that support the design process. This study introduces a novel method for co-designing value exchange (COVALENT). COVALENT integrates the value analysis model, co-design strategy and service design tools, to support the conceptualisation of reciprocal value exchanges based on the analysis of and matching between, stakeholders’ needs and resources. Its perceived effectiveness was validated through application to the development of community business models in Ulsan, South Korea. This study contributes to the knowledge of co-design by providing a method for co-designing services that aim to achieve reciprocal value exchanges in the context of community-centred design and by discussing the effectiveness of that method as perceived by users.     

基于工程项目的土建类多专业协同毕业设计模式的探索与实践

针对目前高校土建类专业毕业设计大多为各专业单独实施、缺乏多专业配合的现状,文章提出了基于工程项目的土建类多专业协同毕业设计模式,采取组建工程项目所涵盖的多专业毕业设计团队、搭建设计平台、创建协调评价考核体系等方法,培养毕业生的整体工程意识。从实施的效果来看,学生参与的积极性非常高,知识面得到进一步拓展,工程设计能力有了明显提高。     

Improving megaproject briefing through enhanced collaboration with ICT

AimsThe paper reviews the development of information and communication technology in briefing and proposes a collaborative briefing framework to extend key stakeholder engagement, aiming to improve the efficiency and reliability of project briefing for megaprojects.ScopeAuthors introduce an innovative collaborative approach to promote stakeholder involvement by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of managing a large group of stakeholders, harnessing collaboration technology. Drawing parallels with biological neural networks in humans, a conceptual collaborative briefing framework is proposed to demonstrate how briefing team members can work collaboratively as a virtual organisation through a shared digital workspace. This framework has five core elements: integrated briefing team, collaborative briefing job plan, computer supported cooperative work platform, requirements processing models and facilitation models.ConclusionThe proposed framework supplements face-to-face discussion with computer mediated discussion, depending on the type, flexibility and interaction needed for different aspects in briefing. This “hybrid briefing method” would maximise the benefits to costs ratio of expanded stakeholder engagement in project briefing. The framework is expected to promote the accuracy and transparency of ‘requirements identification’ processing, the effective engagement and appropriate integration of more stakeholder inputs and finally, to improve the efficiency and reliability of briefing outputs. Lastly, some framework limitations are discussed, aimed at further development and a computer prototype.     

The formation of a collaborative project identity in an infrastructure alliance project

Inter-organizational projects struggle to build a sense of joint belonging and a culture of cooperation. In evaluating the social processes of collaboration in inter-organizational projects, organizational identity is considered a core concept. To extend existing knowledge of how collaborative identity is formed in inter-organizational infrastructure projects, the study investigates how the specific characteristics of temporary organizations (time, team, task and context) influence identity formation activities. A case study of the first Finnish infrastructure alliance project identifies six key activities supporting the formation of collaborative project identity: (1) articulating a joint vision for collaborative project identity; (2) converging on mutual conceptions of collaborative project alliance philosophy; (3) attaining a shared collaborative mentality; (4) designing ways of working with multiple identities; (5) attaining distinctiveness and (6) legitimizing activities. The findings indicate that identity formation activities are context-dependent, and that the formation of organizational identity differs between temporary and permanent organizations. The findings illuminate how managers can build a collaborative project identity.     

BIM技术在滨湖润园装配式住宅中的应用(上)

随着住宅产业化在国内的兴起,近年来,装配式建筑在国内迎来了新一轮高潮。在设计阶段如何提供高精度信息集成交付物是装配式建筑落地的重难点。作为目前全国最大的住宅产业化项目,滨湖润园项目结合PKPM-BIM平台的专业类工具软件和协同模块,完成了精细化、标准化的装配式建筑协同设计,针对工程重点和难点提供了精细化的设计交付物。本文基于PKPM-BIM数据平台及预制构件部品的信息集成技术探索装配式协同设计流程,并提供了多专业信息集成的BIM模型优化方案。     

Collaborative practices of knowledge work in IT projects

While projects in the Information Technology (IT) domain have been studied extensively, not much is known about the practices of knowledge work that is needed for IT projects to be brought together and enacted as temporary organisational structures. Building on the knowledge-as-practice perspective, we set out to explore collaborative work, which occurs through dialogic practices across knowledge domains in IT projects. Drawing upon multiple case study research in the IT industry, we run a qualitative analysis based on semi-structured interviews with the management level staff of six IT organisations. Based on the insights on IT projects in the six case organisations that varied in size and the degree of knowledge structure we develop a practice-based understanding of the collaborative practices of knowledge work. We identify three main practices of knowledge work in IT projects: a) expressing differences, b) co-creation, and c) mutual alignment, directing domain expert knowledge work at the collective level and towards shared project objectives. The practices emerged in the form of collaboration and as a function of cross-domain multi-disciplinary teams’ alignment in IT projects. We offer novel insights into the essential role of the dialogue in collaborative knowledge work practices in IT projects, and their respective parent organisations.     

Putting academic ideas into practice: technological progress and the absorptive capacity of construction organizations

This paper focuses on how knowledge is produced by academics and on mechanisms for and constraints upon absorbing new ideas within the construction sector. It draws upon two bodies of work: Cohen and Levinthal's concept of ‘absorptive capacity’ and Gibbons and coworkers' ‘new production of knowledge’. Much of Steven Groák's work was concerned with technology transfer and how ideas generated during research could be put into practice. He developed the concept of ‘practitioner-researcher’ to illustrate the ways in which many built environment professionals approach their work. The paper suggests that a few construction firms have the capabilities to absorb and act directly upon the results of academic research in the UK. These firms are likely to employ a critical mass of professionally qualified practitioners and they usually compete for work in technically demanding and often specialist areas. They probably have a track record of collaboration with university researchers, and are likely to have their own internal technical support infrastructure which assists in learning between projects. However, the majority of construction organizations learn of new ideas through a range of different published media and by participating in complex sets of interactions in a wide range of networks. The role of professional institutions is important, acting as repositories of knowledge. But these institutions may also constrain development when they adhere to outmoded notions of narrowly defined discipline-based activities. Governments can play a part in putting ideas into practice as catalysts in bringing academic research and industrial practitioner communities together through sponsorship of collaborative research projects. The paper concludes that construction organizations could improve their absorptive capacity by developing better feedback and life-long learning mechanisms, education and training.     

Effects of cooperative procurement procedures on construction project performance: A conceptual framework

In this paper, we develop a testable holistic procurement framework that examines how a broad range of procurement related factors affects project performance criteria. Based on a comprehensive literature review, we put forward propositions suggesting that cooperative procurement procedures (joint specification, selected tendering, soft parameters in bid evaluation, joint subcontractor selection, incentive-based payment, collaborative tools, and contractor self-control) generally have a positive influence on project performance (cost, time, quality, environmental impact, work environment, and innovation). We additionally propose that these relationships are moderated or mediated by the collaborative climate (i.e. the trust and commitment among partners) in the project and moderated by the overall project characteristics (i.e. how challenging the project is in terms of complexity, customization, uncertainty, value/size, and time pressure). Based on our contribution, future research can test the framework empirically to further increase the knowledge about how procurement factors may influence project performance.     

Construction industry productivity and the potential for collaborative practice

The construction industry is widely recognised as a laggard in terms of productivity improvement. This research study identifies the factors inhibiting collaboration and provides a model for developing a collaborative network approach. The case studies conducted examine the factors impacting on collaboration in the project networks of three large construction organisations. It was found that excessive fragmentation in the industry together with disparate project management processes and non-standardised information is impeding efficiency gains. A panel of project experts reviewed the findings to explain the basis of the practices. This has led to four primary conclusions: (1.) the construction industry lacks the ‘strength’ of relationships necessary to create a network of organisations that trust and have shared values; (2.) design processes should include both value engineering and lifecycle costing; (3.) procedures and information need to be standardised; (4.) there should be more emphasis on value adding project management activities.     

Multi-disciplinary collaborative building design—A comparative study between multi-agent systems and multi-disciplinary optimisation approaches

The importance of collaboration between different design disciplines has been widely recognised by the building industry. Traditionally this is achieved through physical meetings between the representatives of different design groups. However, this is facing more challenges when dealing with large and complex design problems. Various approaches have been introduced to tackle this problem, such as multi-agent systems (MAS) and the multi-disciplinary design optimisation (MDO) approaches. The former represents an advanced, ICT-based framework which facilitates collaborative design through communication, data and knowledge sharing and negotiation while the latter represents a theoretical modelling approach which facilitates collaborative design through a thorough analysis of the technical problems. By comparing the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches in facilitating collaborative design, this paper provides a roadmap study for the development of collaborative building design.     

Defining requirements for an Augmented Reality system to overcome the challenges of creating and using design representations in co-design sessions

ABSTRACT

Within co-design sessions involving designers and non-designers, the type and characteristics of the design representations employed is known to impact the performance of such sessions in terms of idea generation, idea evaluation and communication. This study captures the challenges practitioners face in creating and using design representations for co-design sessions and goes on to investigate the potential of Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) to overcome those challenges. The advantages of SAR in this application are that, multiple concepts can be represented using one physical model, concepts can be modified live during the session, and additional equipment (such as head mounted displays or handheld devices) is not required, thus eliminating any possible interference with the natural interactions between participants. Interviews with design practitioners and trials with a prototype SAR system are used to identify the key challenges faced by practitioners in their current use of design representations, and to capture the technology requirements for a SAR system for use in co-design sessions. These findings can inform the work of technology developers and researchers working on systems to support co-design sessions.