Visual Management Requirements to Support Design Planning and Control within Digital Contexts

Bárbara Pedó (), Carlos T. Formoso, Daniela D. Viana, Patricia Tzortzopoulos, Fernanda M. P. Brandalise and Andrew Whitelock-Wainwright
Additional contact information
Bárbara Pedó: Innovative Design Lab (IDL), School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
Carlos T. Formoso: Building Innovation Research Unit (NORIE), Post-Graduate Program in Civil Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure (PPGCI), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 706, Porto Alegre 90035-190, RS, Brazil
Daniela D. Viana: Building Innovation Research Unit (NORIE), Post-Graduate Program in Civil Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure (PPGCI), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 706, Porto Alegre 90035-190, RS, Brazil
Patricia Tzortzopoulos: Innovative Design Lab (IDL), School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
Fernanda M. P. Brandalise: Building Innovation Research Unit (NORIE), Post-Graduate Program in Civil Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure (PPGCI), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 706, Porto Alegre 90035-190, RS, Brazil
Andrew Whitelock-Wainwright: Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd., Birchwood Park, 401 Faraday St, Warrington WA3 6GA, UK

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-27

Abstract: Difficulties in managing the construction design process are strongly related to its nature, as a large number of interdependent decisions are involved, which need to be made by many different stakeholders, in an environment that has a high degree of uncertainty. Moreover, there is a growing use of digital tools to support design. Traditional communication approaches used in design management only partially comply with the requirements of digital contexts, and new methods and tools are necessary to address these challenges. Visual Management (VM) has the potential to increase process transparency in the design stage, in order to support collaboration and communication and facilitate the transfer of information. However, the literature on the implementation of VM to support design management is still scarce. Moreover, there is limited understanding of the connection between VM and information and communication technologies (ICT). This investigation aims to propose a set of requirements to support VM applications for design planning and control within digital contexts, which can potentially contribute to improving the effectiveness of VM. This set of requirements were initially identified within the literature, considering different fields of knowledge, and then refined in an empirical study that was developed in collaboration with an infrastructure design and consultancy company in the UK. The Design Science Research approach was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation, which involved incremental learning cycles for devising the artefact, carried out in three different projects. The main findings include (i) the definition of a set of VM requirements that are applicable to the context investigated in this research study; (ii) an assessment of the relevance of the requirements for different types of visual practices, hierarchical planning levels, and stakeholders that are involved; (iii) the identification of some current limitations and challenges of implementing digital VM in construction design. From a practical perspective, this set of requirements may guide practitioners and academics in devising and assessing digital VM practices.

Keywords: visual management; digitalisation; design management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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