Purpose - This paper aims to identify whether employees’ organisational position affect their perceived quality of the workspace design. By providing possible explanations for the differences and discussing the implications, we aim to establish an effective workspace design process that satisfies different users of the commonly used work environment.Design/methodology/approach – The present paper analyses the results of a national online survey among members of the Board of Directors (n=17), facility managers (n=76), education managers (n=211), and lecturers (n=1,755) of 18 Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences, using Mann-Whitney U tests. Findings – The results show a clear misfit between the perceived quality of workspace design between Board members and facility managers on one hand and education managers and lecturers on the other. This possibly indicates a mismatch between which workspace design the organisation intends to provide and what users may require or expect.Practical implications – Based on the research findings, we propose facility managers should act more closely to the primary process and work to recognize their needs. Therefore, lecturers and education managers as end-users have to become truly emancipated, involving them periodically in workspace design improvement and listening and responding to what they say.Originality/value - This paper finds that the often presupposed support of facility management to the primary process seems rather weak, at least in the perception of end-users, and that facility managers should engage in participatory workspace design with end-users and challengethemselves to be the linking-pin between Board and end-users.
DOCUMENT
In this paper we explore the influence of the physical and social environment (the design space) son the formation of shared understanding in multidisciplinary design teams. We concentrate on the creative design meeting as a microenvironment for studying processes of design communication. Our applied research context entails the design of mixed physical–digital interactive systems supporting design meetings. Informed by theories of embodiment that have recently gained interest in cognitive science, we focus on the role of interactive “traces,” representational artifacts both created and used by participants as scaffolds for creating shared understanding. Our research through design approach resulted in two prototypes that form two concrete proposals of how the environment may scaffold shared understanding in design meetings. In several user studies we observed users working with our systems in natural contexts. Our analysis reveals how an ensemble of ongoing social as well as physical interactions, scaffolded by the interactive environment, grounds the formation of shared understanding in teams. We discuss implications for designing collaborative tools and for design communication theory in general.
MULTIFILE
Recently, there has been an increase in interest for the integration of insights from the behavioural sciences into the design process. The Persuasive by Design model aims to provide an evidence-based framework by which designers gain access to relevant theoretical insights from the behavioural sciences. This paper examines the use of the model in two case studies that dealt with complex behavioural change situations. In both studies, the model proved to be a valuable aid in determining target behaviours and operationalizing intervention concepts, especially in the early stages of the design process. Some shortcomings of the model also transpired. The model was seen as too complex, and its psychological frame does not prevent designers to overlook possible systemic moderators of behaviour. Implications for further development of tools that give access to model insights are discussed.
DOCUMENT
Service design is literally the design of services. Service designers improve existing services or design completely new ones. Nothing new so far. Services have been around for centuries, and every service was conceived and designed by someone. However, service design takes a different angle; a different perspective as its starting point: it is a process of creative inquiry aimed at the experiences of the individual user. ‘Service design, insights from 9 case studies’ is the final publication of the Innovation in Services programme. During this programme, creative design agencies applied the methods of service design in nine different projects.
DOCUMENT
Office well-being aims to explore and support a healthy, balanced and active work style in office environments. Recent work on tangible user interfaces has started to explore the role of physical, tangible interfaces as active interventions to explore how to tackle problems such as inactive work and lifestyles, and increasingly sedentary behaviours. We identify a fragmented research landscape on tangible Office well-being interventions, missing the relationship between interventions, data, design strategies, and outcomes, and behaviour change techniques. Based on the analysis of 40 papers, we identify 7 classifications in tangible Office well-being interventions and analyse the intervention based on their role and foundation in behaviour change. Based on the analysis, we present design considerations for the development of future tangible Office well-being design interventions and present an overview of the current field and future research into tangible Office well-being interventions to design for a healthier and active office environment.
DOCUMENT
Abstract from the authors: "In this paper we discuss our experiences of facilitating collaborative creative activities within healthcare. The study consists of a larger case study on innovation scouting with the staff at the emergency room backed up by a series of seven retrospective mini-case studies. By means of discussing our experiences we identify some insights and challenges. Challenges for design facilitators working in this domain relate to: 1) dealing with the clash of professional eco-systems, the informal designers’ way of working with the formal and procedural healthcare operations; 2) Positioning yourself ‘at the right table’ in order to find backing for concepts; and, 3) steering the intertwined processes of developing strategic direction and concrete products and services on the floor." Tanja van der Laan is spatial designer, lecturer and researcher, creative research group HKU Design (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht).
MULTIFILE
Design schools in digital media and interaction design face the challenge of integrating recent artificial intelligence (AI) advancements into their curriculum. To address this, curricula must teach students to design both "with" and "for" AI. This paper addresses how designing for AI differs from designing for other novel technologies that have entered interaction design education. Future digital designers must develop new solution repertoires for intelligent systems. The paper discusses preparing students for these challenges, suggesting that design schools must choose between a lightweight and heavyweight approach toward the design of AI. The lightweight approach prioritises designing front-end AI applications, focusing on user interfaces, interactions, and immediate user experience impact. This requires adeptness in designing for evolving mental models and ethical considerations but is disconnected from a deep technological understanding of the inner workings of AI. The heavyweight approach emphasises conceptual AI application design, involving users, altering design processes, and fostering responsible practices. While it requires basic technological understanding, the specific knowledge needed for students remains uncertain. The paper compares these approaches, discussing their complementarity.
DOCUMENT
Background and aim – The aim of this paper is present how applicationof the innovative Indoor Comfort Index (ICI) method reveal the actualindoor environmental quality (IEQ) and the perceived IEQ and itsinfluence on office workers productivity. Application of this tool in a preand post-test after an office refurbishment, will reveal the effectivenessof this intervention. The development and application of this tool,emerged from education and research in facility management, led to aspin-off consultancy firm Vital Workplace.Methods – Actual measurements of the IEQ conditions, combined with users’ perceptions of the IEQ,before and after an office refurbishment, reveals the effectiveness of a refurbishment by analysing thedifferences between the pre and post-test with multiple statistical analyses.Results – Regarding the IEQ, the ICI reveals not only the actual performance of an office building, alsoif improved conditions contribute to improved comfort of office workers. In addition, the possibleinfluence of the IEQ on office workers productivity is revealed. This allows facility managers to determineand improve the alignment of environment quality with workers’ activities and performance.Originality – The tool combines actual and perceived environmental quality at office buildings.Practical or social implications – Education and research can be used to create spin-offs in facilitymanagement. The developed tool can be used to diagnose the current state of the office, a basis fordiscussion on related improvements, and by doing so, for a cost-benefit analyses of design interventionsat organizations. Showing if design impact on users outweigh the costs of real estate, refurbishment,and changes in operations.Type of paper – Research paper.
LINK
How and where can Dutch design entrepreneurs find work in Germany? This was the question DutchDFA put to the research team at Inholland University of Applied Sciences in February 2010. But the researchers took a different angle, and generated unexpected data, revealing patterns, and valuable new insights into practicing design and architecture abroad.
DOCUMENT
Lighting accounts for a significant amount of electrical energy consumption in office buildings, up to 45% of the total consumed. This energy consumption can be reduced by as much as 60% through an occupant-dependent lighting control strategy. With particular focus on open-plan offices, where the application of this strategy is more challenging to apply due to differences in individual occupancy patterns, this paper covers (1) to which extent individual occupancy-based lighting control has been tested, (2) developed, and (3) evaluated. Search terms were defined with use of three categories, namely ‘occupancy patterns’, ‘lighting control strategy’, and ‘office’. Relevant articles were selected by a structured search through key online scientific databases and journals. The 24 studies identified as eligible were evaluated on six criteria: (1) study characteristics, (2) office characteristics, (3) lighting system characteristics, (4) lighting control design, (5) post-occupancy evaluation, and (6) conclusions, and this was used to answer the research questions. It was concluded that the strategy has not been tested yet with field studies in open-plan offices, but that it needs further development before it can be applied in these type of offices. Although lighting currently tends to be controlled at workspace level, many aspects of the strategy can be further developed; there is potential to further increase energy savings on lighting within open-plan office spaces. Individual occupancy-based lighting control requires further validation, focussing on the factors influencing its energy savings, on its cost effectiveness, and on its acceptability for users.
DOCUMENT
