Expectation management in building design

[edit] Expectation management

Expectation management describes a defined approach where specific consideration is given to the anticipated delivery of an item by one party to another. The item being delivered may be almost anything from products to services or roles, with the parties being clients, customers, employers, or employees (for employees, see also Expectancy Theory, V. Vroom, 1964). It is a management approach that relates to conception, briefing, communication, and feedback strategies, which in turn can influence programme progression and ultimately the actual or perceived success of a project, scheme, or building.

[edit] Expectation interest

Expectation interest, more formally, is a legal term sometimes used in construction as one of the two categories of potential damages, the other being reliance expenditure. In quite abstract but legal terms, it might be described as the value to a promisee of a promise, which in practical terms might be the difference between the market value of a property without defects (i.e. where a construction promise or contract has been upheld) and the market value of the property with the defects (where the promise or contract has not).

While the term as used in expectation management is not necessarily directly linked, it may be more relevant if energy performance in use is part of the contractual obligations, which may, for example, be the case in energy performance contracting. In this case, it would need to be argued that the poor energy performance of a building would, under the contract, qualify as a defect, and as such, the definition of poor would most likely need to have been quantified, stated, and agreed upon at the start of the contract.

[edit] Performance gap

It is not clear when the phrase started to be used, particularly in relation to project management, buildings, and construction. However, the growing realisation that end-user expectations needed to be obtained and managed grew out of post-occupancy studies of non-domestic buildings, notably the Post-occupancy Review of Buildings and their Engineering (PROBE) studies carried out between 1995 and 2002 and subsequent building performance evaluation research programmes using the PROBE techniques. In this context, expectation management is most commonly associated with outturn energy performance and levels of occupant satisfaction. Expectations of performance expected by a user, client, or design team need to be assessed and compared with actual measured outcomes, and any disparities investigated and resolved.

Published post-occupancy studies carried out by the PROBE Team, the Carbon Trust (2006–2011), and more recently by InnovateUK (2011–2015) often revealed large differences between what was expected in terms of energy performance and occupant satisfaction and what was delivered. This became popularised as the performance gap. In this context, expectation management is a technique to reduce the risk of performance outcomes diverging from design intentions. It requires reality checks at key procurement gateways, for example, at the project stages as defined by the RIBA Plan for Use (the RIBA's interpretation of the Soft Landings Framework developed following the PROBE studies).

[edit] Managing expectations flowchart for occupant satisfaction

The occupant satisfaction expectations flowchart below shows issues and watch points throughout the various stages of the procurement process. It is aligned with the RIBA Plan of Work stages and the requirements of the RIBA Plan for Use, and helps with delivering the sustainability competence requirements of the Architects Registration Board (2021). This flowchart can be used as guidance for design teams, helping projects create feedback loops within the procurement process, reality-checking design specifications, and therefore managing end-user expectations.

The author, Roderic Bunn, has extensive experience with post-occupancy evaluations. He was a primary author of the definitive edition of the Soft Landings Framework (2014), published jointly by BSRIA and the Usable Buildings Trust (UBT), and authored many supporting guides on Soft Landings. The flowchart provides a process to fill the large gap between early-stage end-user involvement and project handover, during which time design intentions can be compromised by changes in a wide range of project variables. These are often caused by pressures on budget and time, but also by inappropriate value-engineering and price gouging that usually introduce performance penalties. Such penalties usually emerge from degraded comfort conditions, poor usability and system control, and ultimately operational energy wastage and excessive carbon dioxide emissions.

The flowchart provides a way by which project teams can track and communicate these risks during procurement, ensuring that emerging performance is made visible to key project stakeholders and prospective end-users, from concept, briefing, and detail design stages to project handover and post-occupancy evaluation. Image provided with permission by Roderic Bunn for industry use (copyright retained).

[edit] Expectation types

In management terms, expectations might be categorised by different characteristics, such as.

• Realistic expectations, setting objectives and goals within the scope of a budget, resources, and timelines.
• Unrealistic expectations, setting unachievable goals, depending on the view point, can lead to disappointment.
• Adaptive expectations are goals based on past experiences that may change and adapt.
• Implicit expectations are objectives or goals that are given as accepted or standard within the project.
• Explicit expectations are formalised and standardised for legally stated goals, objectives, or standards.
• Rational expectations, in between the above, are based on common knowledge or industry standards.

--Little red

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Better Buildings Partnership.
• BSRIA Soft Landings Awards.
• Building log book.
• Building performance evaluation.
• Building performance evaluation in non-domestic buildings guide – an introduction to the tests and methods in non-domestic buildings
• Carbon Buzz
• CIBSE Case Study Elizabeth Fry Building.
• Client commissioning.
• Extended aftercare.
• Initial aftercare.
• Lessons learned report.
• Performance gap between building design and operation
• Performance in use of National Trust’s Heelis building and Woodland Trust’s headquarters.
• Post occupancy evaluation.
• Post project review.
• Post-occupancy Review Of Buildings and their Engineering PROBE
• Performance in use.
• Performance of exemplar buildings in use: Bridging the performance gap FB 78.
• Soft landings - helping clients lead contractors.
• Soft landings and business-focused maintenance.
• Soft Landings and Government Soft Landings - A convergence guide for construction projects.
• Soft Landings for owners.
• Specialist commissioning manager.
• Success criteria for soft landings projects.
• Taking action on climate change.
• Technical guide.

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