Much of the extant literature exploits the customer order decoupling point (CODP) from an aggregate product level. We develop a systematic approach to determine the alignment of CODP configurations at product, category and component levels, with customer preferences in terms of their customisation requirements. We adopt a participatory research method incorporating focus groups and interviews with personnel from a German case study company that builds prefabricated houses. From this we determine the product architecture. We also undertake a customer preference survey utilising a questionnaire that is based on a paired comparison technique. The survey informs customer preferences for choice for various elements of the architecture. We find that while at the product level the company produces a house that as a whole offers a high degree of customisation, at a category or components levels there are various offerings from pure standardisation to pure customisation. Furthermore, there is not always alignment between what customers want and what is actually being offered by the customer. So the company has options in terms of reconfiguring its operations, design new products/categories/components and/or seeking new marketplace opportunities. While the research has developed a technique that determines the extent to which the CODP positioning for a product architecture is aligned against customer preferences, there is a need for further research to test our findings beyond a single case study and into other industry sector contexts.

Modularization involves breaking up a system into discrete chunks, which communicate with each other through standardized interfaces, rules and specifications. It is a broad concept, with various interpretations and meanings across research disciplines. The complexity and scope of 'a module' is not captured sufficiently and clearly in the construction management and engineering literature, and the impact of modularization across project phases has not been fully explored and articulated. Therefore, the main question addressed in this paper relates to the inherent meaning of "what is a module" in the context of different phases of a building project. In addressing this question, this paper empirically investigates the use of modularity in 15 construction projects, situated in Italy, Germany, Brazil and the UK. The findings of this research suggest that a designbased and an operations-based perspective of modularity co-exist, and that there is the need for an integrated view of modularity across the project life cycle phases, and for collaborative working between designers and site operators. To this aim, a unifying definition of 'a module' in building projects is proposed, along with a practical guide to help managers organise project activities for effective modularization. The actual cost analysis of the various modularization strategies provide an interesting avenue for future research. The template proposed also requires wider testing with a wider range of modules.

There is a need to explore the actual uptake of specification options by clients in the context of the self-build housing industry. In so doing all the components in a house that can be customized were categorized so as to highlight the features that must be customizable and those that can be standardized. Through a longitudinal study of a German house builder, data from 16 projects over a 35-year time horizon have been collected. The extent of choice made in these projects has been determined by comparing the original standard building specification with the actual finalized fit-out specification of the project. In scrutinizing the collected data it became apparent that the number of changes made by the clients increased considerably over the timespan studied. More importantly, clients appreciated the freedom of choice as they were prepared to spend increasing amounts on customization. In particular specification options were made in the sanitary, internal design and façade categories. Moreover the results revealed that offering a high degree of choice is appropriate for most, but not all, components for the case house builder. Key areas for choice include those relating to sanitary ware and the façade.