The Constructive Power of Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE)
Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) has become an increasingly important part of the construction industry and nowhere more so than in the public sector – where lessons need to be learned from one project in order to benefit the next one.
The term might sound technical to anyone outside the construction industry but if we boiled it down to the most simple definition, it would translate as ‘What Have We Learned?’
Identity Consult has undertaken numerous POE’s for public sector clients in recent months and we thought you might be interested in the top five key themes that emerge over and over again as the common successes and pitfalls on projects.
Capacity is Key – A common theme is clients’ underestimating the resource requirement within the End User Departments and tagging on the role of Project Champion to a person’s already busy day job.
Takeaway: Successful, collaborative projects have properly resourced project teams.
Continuity Matters – Where there are excessive changes of personnel, (and this seems almost too obvious a thing to say), but this impacts on the project delivery. Unless it’s for performance reasons or beyond your control, consultants, contractors and clients should try to maintain the same personnel for the entirety of the project. For someone to pick up a complex project halfway through means knowledge is lost and relationships have to be built from scratch.
Takeaway: Once a project begins, endeavour to keep key personnel in place.
Embrace Risk – Where a client works collaboratively to manage, rather than avoid risk in partnership with consultants and contractors, this delivers cost and programme benefit.
Takeaway: Being bold can have benefits, as long as risk is managed effectively.
Consultation – A key theme building users highlight is that they weren’t communicated with effectively. Relying on one busy individual, who has never been involved in a building project to be a “User Champion” and to disseminate key messages generally doesn’t work well.
Takeaway: Going the extra mile to keep everyone in the loop will improve the end result of the project.
Collaboration is King – Again, it sounds obvious, but where the project team and in particular the client exhibit strong leadership and work in a spirit of collaboration and teamwork, it generally delivers successful results.
Takeaway: Take control. Be clear about what you want.
Need a Post Occupancy Evaluation for one of your projects?
For more information on POE’s, contact Matty Pendergast, Identity Consult Director,