Exploring process, productivity and structure in design

Abstract

It is increasingly difficult to benchmark performance and record, manage and transfer information effectively. Modern construction projects are complex and the roles and responsibilities of designers are inconsistent. This raises concerns about rework and inefficiencies in construction projects. To address these concerns is an opportunity to improve project performance and profit margins. Increasing calls for innovation, growing client involvement and input from a range of stakeholders have led to the creation of complex project management structures. This has added to the centrality of the design process, underlining the need to understand and assess the design process and its productivity. The research forms part of a project intended to investigate the productivity of designers and engineers, with the aim of enhancing design process productivity. An improved understanding of design processes and identification of the factors that may contribute to design productivity within a design-led organisation is intended to help improve the management of design activities. As part of an ongoing PhD project, the aim is to present a critical review of literature in order to understand the complexity of design and to explore the roles of effective management, organizational structures and emerging tools in the potential success of design. The literature reveals that the design process and interactions with stakeholders increasingly requires operational and managerial complexity. The relationships between technical, operational and managerial complexity requires a better understanding of what design actually is, why it is complex and how this impacts project organizational structure. It would be useful to focus the next stage of the research on the effectiveness of the design process, than its efficiency.