Purpose -To enable facility management to define workplace strategy basing on organizations strategy and operations. Design/methodology/approach -In facility planning the workplace strategy process is subject to conditions of continuous change and uncertainty. The theory of workplace planning is constructed on the basis of production and commitment making concepts in order to link workplace to organization's general strategy. Workplace planning process includes computer-aided applications for practical work. They measure owner needs such as user functions, geometrical and temporal needs, spatial performance and associated costs, thereby enabling activity-based cost management. Findings -The customer workplace is linked to a complex social system. Achieving a final commitment of an organization is an iterative process of commitments, withdrawals and new approaches. The workplace planning process displays evidence of supporting group collaboration in terms of fostering stakeholder engagement, developing high quality information, supporting innovation in the owner's functions, and the appropriate sharing of facility spaces among owner groups operating with limited resources. In the project case, the need for space (and life cycle costs) decreased 20 percent. All the activities can still be supported because of improved utilization. Research limitations/implications -This research is concentrated on workplace needs, use and costs. It does not cover user operations efficiency or costs (like salaries, education etc.) Originality/value -Workplace planning process and applications have been in practical use for several years. The results have been in concordance with case project findings.

No abstract

Project definition is the project phase that identifies the needs and values of project stakeholders, and develops appropriate design solutions to satisfy them. Project purposes are constructed through the interconnected relationships of stakeholder needs and values, and the project constraints. Projects comprise diverse stakeholders whose needs and values often conflict given that environments have limited project resources to fulfill all stakeholder interests. The research adopts the perspective that project definition is a learning process that requires the shared understanding of stakeholder needs and values, in order to resolve them into a collective statement of project purpose. This chapter describes the significance of the project definition as a project delivery phase and outlines a project definition model for knowledge creation. The research identifies that project managers must be able to learn about the needs and values of stakeholders, and adapt the process accordingly to solve those needs. A workplace planning system is described and a case study is documented to support the proposition that project definition is a complex adaptive process, and that knowledge about project purpose emerges from group collaboration.

No abstract

No abstract