Postoccupancy Evaluation of Buildings and Development of Facility Performance Criteria

Abstract

Postoccupancy evaluation (POE) is the assessment of the success of a project in meeting its design and service requirements. POE involves the capture, collection, and synthesis of information related to the facility throughout its life cycle. A well-conceived POE program assures the continuous improvement of all aspects and phases of building projects. The problem will be approached from the premise that a successful project is one whose architectural, electrical, mechanical, and structural systems are deemed a success, not only by the designers or builders of the project but also the users (ultimate client) of the facility. This paper introduces current research being performed in the fields of POE and facility performance. In the past, the study of facility performance has resulted in two types of models: (1) Models that describe how to evaluate performance; and (2) models that describe what areas of performance to measure. Currently, a gap exists between these models and the actual process required to develop an evaluation survey. The current research involves the development of a method for producing a POE survey instrument through the identification and incorporation of facility performance criteria. This paper outlines the process through which facility performance criteria are developed.