ABSTRACT
This researchaims toderive financial, environmental,
and social value from more efficient and effective
design processes. Design processes disproportion-
ately influence the life cycle value of the resulting
products (Paulson 1976). Thus, while the total
cost of design is relatively small, the design phase
of a project greatly influences total project value.
Despite major advances in information technology
over the past fifty years, the value per man-hour
expended, Architecture Engineering and Con-
struction (AEC) productivity, actually decreased
from 1964 to 2003 (United States Department
of Commerce: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2003).
As construction project’s final value is most influ-
enced by design, the AEC industry can improve
value per man-hour expended most directly by
improving design processes.
