Requirement elicitation using knowledge capturing techniques during the client briefing process for improved client satisfaction in the UK construction industry

Knowledge management in recent times has been considered a major source of competitive advantage in many business organisations in which the construction industry is a major player. Knowledge management includes the generation, capturing, sharing, transfer, re-use, storage, communication, of knowledge with the aim to improve organisational or project effectiveness. One important factor however that influence or impacts organisational effectiveness in relation to knowledge management is the ability to capture and codify knowledge that resides in the minds or sub-consciousness of individuals. Knowledge capturing involves the use of variety of techniques to elicit facets of an individual's technical knowledge such as insights, experiences, social networks and lessons learned which is then shared or stored to mitigate organisational knowledge loss. The knowledge capturing process is the first activity in the knowledge management framework which seeks to make tacit knowledge explicit and vice versa, thereby reinforcing the work of Nonaka and Takeuchi of the SECI model. Client Satisfaction with service received from professionals in the construction industry has witnessed a steady decline below 70% from initial 75% in 2009. Variations and Design changes which is as a result of change request or mistakes during requirement elicitation are the main reason for cost and time overruns. Statistics show that over 70% of construction projects suffer re-work and changes and this is largely caused by improper requirement capturing which results from clients finding it difficult to get across the knowledge in their minds (tacit knowledge) to professionals during the briefing process. The aim of this research however, is to develop a framework that would help construction professionals, architects to be precise, elicit client’s requirements using knowledge capturing techniques for improved client satisfaction in the UK construction industry. The researchers underlying philosophies leans towards the interpretivist epistemological stance, the idealist ontological stance and a value laden axiological stance. In order to achieve the stated aim, a survey strategy was explored. Face to face interviews and questionnaires were administered to construction professionals (architects) within the UK construction industry. The interview was used to collect qualitative data from 6 architects with vast years of experience in client briefing in the UK construction industry. These professionals were from academia and industry, and they were selected based on their experiences and engagement in client briefing. A questionnaire was also designed to capture responses from over 250 architectural professionals and 100 responses was received and analysed alongside the interviewed respondents which were then used to refine the developed framework. From the findings in the research, several architects use different knowledge capturing techniques to elicit requirements from their clients however, majority of the respondents admit that the use of graphical representations such as BIM can help elicit requirements in the mind of clients. Also, relationship building can help bring down the walls of misrepresentation and misunderstanding that exist during interview sessions with the client. From the analysis of the respondents, some factors have been identified which mitigate against effective client requirement such a culture that is not prone to change, not integrating IT with the briefing process, government policies and so on. In conclusion, paying adequate attention to the wealth of KC techniques available helps in overcoming issues such as cost and time overruns which strengthens the importance of KC to the client briefing process. In the course of the research, some effective KC techniques have been identified such as BIM technology, interviews, AutoCAD and so on. Certain barriers to KC have been identified and factors that influence proper client briefing has also been identified in the course of this research, as a result, this research offers a framework, with a guideline, on how to effectively elicit client’s requirements using KC techniques for improved client satisfaction in the UK construction industry.