A Framework for Identifying Key Decision Makers for Institutional Owner Capital Projects

Sushil Brion Shenoy

Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

In

Civil Engineering

Annie R. Pearce, Co-Chair

Michael J. Garvin, Co-Chair

Chris M. Fiori

August 14th, 2009

Blacksburg, VA

Keywords: Stakeholders, Key Decision Makers, Framework, Institutional Owner, Construction Project

A Framework for Identifying Key Decision Makers for Institutional Owner Capital Projects

Sushil Brion Shenoy

ABSTRACT

The Federal Government spends $40 billion dollars a year maintaining its facility portfolio. As a

result of the size of investment and current economic conditions, the government and other

institutional owners are facing increased pressure to optimize their investment in their portfolios.

Green design offers a way for owners to accomplish this. Part of the definition used by the

General Services Administration (GSA) for sustainable or green design is minimizing the total

life-cycle ownership cost of a facility. Many tools, such as BUILDER or IMPACT, are available

to aid institutional owners in this task; however, most do not take into account non-rational

behavior since they apply a strict rational logic. In order to develop tools that take non-rational

behavior into account, a framework needs to be developed for identifying which actors are worth

studying or modeling. This research seeks to fill this gap by developing a framework that can be

applied to public sector institutional owners. The framework is based on prior work done in the

fields of stakeholder theory and engineering management, and it uses research methodologies

from the social sciences as its building blocks.

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Acknowledgments IwouldliketothankDr.Pearce,Dr.Garvin,andDr.Fiorifortirelesslyguidingmethroughthis

process.Fortheirencouragement,faithinme,andpushingmetoexcel,Iwillbeforever

thankful.IoweaspecialthankstoDr.PearceforpointingoutnotonlytheareaswhereIhad

strayedbutalsoawaytogetbackontherightpath.

Ialsowouldliketothankmyfamilyfortheirsupportduringthisendeavorandforteachingme

thebasicskillsthatIneededtobesuccessfulatit.

Finally,IwouldliketothanktheCranwells,SandyYoung,JonathanButtner,thestaffandpeople

ofCru,andallmyotherfriendswhoencouragedmeduringtheroughtimes.

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Table of Contents 

ListofTables………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. vii

ListofFigures…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. viii

Chapter1:Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

1.1PublicSectorInstitutionalOwners……………………………………………..………………… 2

1.2InvestmentTools……………………………………………………………………………………………4

1.3CostingMethods…………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

1.4ProjectDecisions…………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

1.5ResearchOverview……………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

Chapter2:Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………10

2.1HistoryofStakeholderTheory………………………………………………………………………. 10

2.1.1DefinitionofaStakeholder………………………………………………………………10

2.1.2IdentificationofStakeholders………………………………………………………….12

2.2ApplicationofStakeholderTheory………………………………………………………………… 14

Chapter3:ResearchDesignandMethodology……………………………………………………………..16

3.1ApplyingStakeholderTheory………………………………………………………………………… 16

3.2ThesisQuestion…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16

3.3QuestionDevelopment…………………………………………………………………………………. 16

3.3.1DecisionFocus…………………………………………………………………………………16

3.3.2KeyDecisionMaker……………………………………………………………………….. 21

3.4FrameworkDevelopment…………………………………………………………………………….. 22

3.5ProtocolDevelopment………………………………………………………………………………….. 26

3.5.1DocumentReviewProtocol……………………………………………………………. 27

3.5.2Semi‐StructuredInterviewProtocol…………………………………………………31

3.5.3IndirectObservationProtocol………………………………………………………… 33

Chapter4:DataCollectionandAnalysis……………………………………………………………………….34

4.1DocumentReviewFindings………………………………………………………………………….. 34

4.1.1DecisionMakerInvestigation…………………………………………………………. 34

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4.1.2CandidateProjectIdentificationandSelection…………………………………37

4.1.3PossibleMeetingsIdentification………………………………………………………38

4.2Semi‐StructuredInterviewFindings………………………………………………………………. 39

4.2.1FirstInterview………………………………………………………………………………… 39

4.2.2SecondandThirdInterviews………………………………………………………….. 42

4.2.3FourthInterview…………………………………………………………………………….. 43

4.3IndirectObservationFindings……………………………………………………………………….. 43

Chapter5:Validation…………………………………………………………………………………………………...44

5.1DocumentReviewProtocolValidation…………………………………………………………. 44

5.2Semi‐StructuredInterviewProtocolValidation…………………………………………….. 46

Chapter6:Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………………………………47

6.1ResearchConclusions……………………………………………………………………………………. 47

6.2OrderofProtocols………………………………………………………………………………………….47

6.3ValidationofProtocols………………………………………………………………………………….. 47

6.4ResearchSummary……………………………………………………………………………………….. 48

Chapter7:Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 49

7.1DocumentTypes…………………………………………………………………………………………… 49

7.2PeopleasData……………………………………………………………………………………………… 49

7.3StakeholderTheory………………………………………………………………………………………. 50

Chapter8:Limitations,Impacts,andFutureResearch………………………………………………….52

8.1Limitations……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 52

8.2Impacts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 52

8.3FutureResearch……………………………………………………………………………………………. 52

References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………54

AppendixA:ResearchMethodologies………………………………………………………………………….59

AppendixB:DocumentAnalysisProtocol…………………………………………………………………….62

AppendixC:Semi‐StructuredInterviewProtocol………………………………………………………….66

AppendixD:IndirectObservationProtocol…………………………………………………………………..73

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AppendixE:TranscriptofInterviewA…………………………………………………………………………..75

AppendixF:TranscriptofInterviewB…………………………………………………………………………..99

AppendixG:DocumentReviewProjectMap………………………………………………………………..112

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List of Tables 

Table2.1:ChronologyoftheDefinitionof“Stakeholder”(AdaptedfromMitchelletal.

1997)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10

Table3.1:SampleStudiesandTopic………………………………………………………………………………. 18

Table3.2:UniformatIISample(DOC1999)……………………………………………………………………. 19

Table4.1:RequiredDocuments(VirginiaTech2009)……………………………………………………… 37

Table4.2:InterviewResults…………………………………………………………………………………………… 41

viii

List of Figures 

Figure1.1:USGovernmentBudgetTrends(EOPUS2008)……………………………………………… 1

Figure1.2:ProjectLifecycle(AdaptedfromGarvin2003andKlotzetal.2007)………………. 6

Figure1.3:ProgrammingDecisions(AdaptedfromGarvin2003andKlotzetal.2007)…….7

Figure1.4:RelationshipComplexityinaConstructionProject(Pearceetal.2008)…………..8

Figure2.1:ExamplesofStakeholderMaps…………………………………………………………………….. 13

Figure3.1:HighSystemCostChart(DerivedfromDOC1999)………………………………………… 20

Figure3.2:FrameworkforIdentifyingKeyDecisionMakers(DMs)………………………………. 25

Figure3.3:ProtocolExample……………………………………………………………………………………….. 27

Figure3.4:CandidateProjectMap............................................................................... 30

Figure4.1:FacilitiesOrganizationChart(VirginiaTech2008)……………………………………….. 35

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Chapter 1: Introduction 

Publicorganizationsandagencieshavesignificantcapitalintheirfacilityportfolios.Thefederal

government,forexample,hasover500,000facilitiesinitsportfoliowithmorethan$3billion

squarefeetoffloorspace–anarealargerthanthestateofNevada(NRC2004;GSA2008).In

addition,thefederalgovernmenthad$24billiondollarsworthofconstructionputinplacein

2008(CensusBureau2008).Afacilityportfoliothislargeanddynamiccomeswithahighprice

tag.Thefederalgovernmentspendsalmost$40billionperyeartomaintainitsexistingportfolio

(NRC2004).Basedonthefederalgovernment’sreceiptsforthe2008fiscalyear,the$40billion

expenditurewasabout1.5%oftotalreceipts(EOPUS2008).Inthefederalbudgetingprocess,

facilitymaintenanceisconsideredpartofthediscretionaryspendingcategory(NRC2008).

Figure1.1projectsthatdiscretionaryspendingfundsaregoingtodecreasesubstantiallyover

thenextseveraldecades.

Furthermore,theGeneralAccountingOffice(GAO)hasidentifiedfederalrealproperty

managementasahighriskareain2003andthenagainin2007(GAO2003;GAO2007).Away

ofdealingwithcompetingstakeholderinterests,legalandbudgetarydisincentives,andbetter

capitalplanningpracticesisneededtoaddressthehighriskarea(GAO2005).

Figure1.1:USGovernmentBudgetTrends(EOPUS2008)

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Oneofthewaysthatpublicorganizationsandagenciesaretryingtodealwiththesechallenges

isthroughthepursuitofsustainabledesign.TheU.S.GeneralServicesAdministration(GSA)

definessustainabledesignasthepursuitofthefollowingfivegoals(GSA2008):

1) Usinganintegratedteamapproachtodesign,construct,andoperateitsbuildings

2) Reducingthetotallife‐cycleownershipcostoffacilities

3) Improvingenergyefficiency,waterconservation,andreducingmaterialconsumption

4) Providingsafe,healthy,andproductivebuiltenvironments

5) Promotingexcellenceinenvironmentalstewardship

Thisresearchfocusesonaidingpublicsectorinstitutionalownersinachievingthesecondgoal

ofsustainabledesignasdefinedbytheGSA.Toachievethis,whopublicsectorinstitutional

ownersareandametricformeasuringthetotallife‐cycleownershipcostofafacilityneedsto

bedeveloped.

1.1 Public Sector Institutional Owners 

Thereisnogenerallyaccepteddefinitionforwhatapublicsectorinstitutionalownerisamong

constructionscholars.Publicsectorsimplyreferstothegovernmentsectorasopposedtothe

privatesector;therefore,thekeywordsforthisclassificationare“institutionalowner”.Therest

ofthispaperwilluse“institutionalowner”torepresentpublicsectorinstitutionalowners.

AsearchconductedonJune13th,2009,ofallthearticlesinthelibraryoftheAmericanSociety

ofCivilEngineers(ASCE)yieldsnoresultsforthekeywords“InstitutionalOwner”.Similarly,a

searchusingthesamekeywordsonthesamedayinEngineeringVillage,adatabasethat

combinesCompendex,EiBackfile,InspecArchive,andNTISdatabasesintoonedatabase,

returnsonlytwodocumentsneitherofwhichisrelatedtoconstruction.ScienceDirectand

Scirusbothreturnbetween150and500records,butnoneofthearticlesaddressinstitutional

ownersinaconstructionsense.Theyfocusoninstitutionalownersasinvestors(Kaneand

Velury2004;Ljungqvistetal.2007;MatvosandOstrovsky2008);therefore,theresearcher

proposesthatthefollowingcharacteristicsbeusedtodefineaninstitutionalowner:

1) Assetsthatarenotreadilytraded

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2) Sometypeofstandardizedprocurementprocedure

3) Anin‐houseconstructiondepartment

4) Severalcapitalprojectsbeingpursuedconcurrently

5) Projectsatdifferentstagesofdevelopment

6) Assetswhichhave50+yearlifecycles

Thesecharacteristicswereidentifiedthroughdiscussionamongtheresearcher’speers,the

researcher’sownexperienceworkingforinstitutionalowners,anddiscussionswithexpertsin

thefieldsoffacilitymanagementandsustainability(Garvin,M.,Pearce,A.,andFiori,C.,

committeemeeting,February2009).Examplesofpublicsectorinstitutionalownersthatmeet

thesecriteriaanddemonstratethesignificanceofthemaretheDepartmentofDefense(DOD)

andVirginiaTech(VT).Theverynatureofthemissionsforbothoftheseorganizationsmakesit

difficulttotradetheirfacilityassets.Anairfieldisdifficulttosellanduniversitiesneedthe

stabilityofowningtheirownfacilitiessotheyarenotaffectedbytheupsanddownsofthe

economyasmuch.Itiscriticalforthemtohavestandardizedprocurementproceduresbecause

theirsizeandthenumberofotherentitiestheyinteractwitharewaytoomuchforasingle

persontohandle.Thisfactalsonecessitatestheirneedforanin‐houseconstruction

departmenttomanagealltheseinteractions.Institutionssuchasthesedonotremainstatic

either.Theyhavetocontinuallychangetomeettheirmission’scurrentorfutureneeds;hence,

thecharacteristicsofhavingseveralprojectsbeingpursuedconcurrentlyandatdifferentstages

oftheprojectlifecycle.Theseinstitutionsalsohaveverylonglifespans.TheDODwillbein

existenceaslongastheUnitedStatesis,andVTwillmostlikelybeinexistenceaslongasthe

stateofVirginiais.Sincetheseorganizationsunderstandthis,theirfacilitiesareoftendesigned

tolastforaverylongtime.The50+yearcharacteristicsimplyseekstocapturethislongterm

outlook.Forexample,moststructuresthattheFederalEmergencyManagementAgency

(FEMA)buildsaretemporaryinnature,andthuswouldnotfitthisdefinition.

ThesecharacteristicsofinstitutionalownerscoupledwiththetrendshowninFigure1.1makes

itveryimportantforthemtooptimizetheirinvestmentintheirfacilities.Sustainabledesignand

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greenbuildingofferonwaytoaccomplishthis;however,inordertoinvestingreenbuilding,

institutionalownersneedeffectivetoolstohelpoptimizethatinvestment.

1.2 Investment Tools 

Therearetoolscurrentlyavailableforoptimizinginfrastructureinvestmentfromatechnical

performancevs.economicviabilitystandpoint.Forexample,Liu(2009)developedaparametric

modelforbridgeinvestment.KeysarandPearce(2007)identified275decisionsupporttoolsto

aidinthegreendesignprocess.TheUSArmyCorpsofEngineers’sConstructionEngineering

ResearchLaboratory(CERL)hasdevelopedseveraldecisionsupporttools.Someofthemareas

follows(CERLb2009):

1) BUILDER‐stores real property building information and more detailed system inventory

is modeled and/or collected which identifies building components and their key life-cycle

attributes

2) PAVER‐optimizes the use of pavement repair funds via a Pavement Condition Index

(PCI)

3) HEATER–hascondition-prediction models that forecast a heating system’s deterioration

over time. Based on the comprehensive inspection, maintenance and repair needs can

be identified and prioritized.

4) REMR(Repair,Evaluation,Maintenance,andRehabilitation)‐involvedinplanningand

budgetingformaintenanceandrepair(M&R)ofcivilworksfacilitiesandequipment

5) IMPACT(IntegratedMulti‐YearPrioritizationandAnalysisTool)–amodel that simulates

the annual fiscal cycle of work planning/executing and displays building, system, and

component conditions up to ten years into the future.

6) RAILER–evaluates railroad track and plans effective, economical railroad track M&R

program while also storing data on railroad track inventory, inspection results, track

conditions, M&R costs and policies, work history, and other essential items.

Thesetoolsaredesignedtooptimizetheallocationoffundsandplanmaintenanceneedsfor

theirrespectivearea.PAVER,forexample,isdesigned,“toaidpavementmanagersand

engineersintheinventory,conditionassessment,conditionprediction,andlongrange

maintenanceplanningforpavements(CERLa2009).”Theydonotincorporatetheactual

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tendenciesofthepeopleinvolved.Theyevaluatetheirrespectivesystemintermsofwhatthe

mostrationalactionwouldbe;however,theactionsofpublicsectorinstitutionalownersare

notalwaysrational.Rationalityistheacceptanceofaparticularcourseofactionoverother

alternativesbasedonagivensetofaxiomsorrulesthatmostpeopleconsidersensible

(adaptedfromGoodwinandWright2004).Atoolisneededthatconsiderstheissueofinvesting

ingreendesignfromtheperspectiveoftheactualactorsinvolved.Thistoolwouldneedto

considerthebehavioroftheactorsthemselvesinordertocapturethenon‐rationalactions.The

specificbehaviorofinterestisthedecisionmakingtendenciesoftheactorsinvolved.Thisraises

thequestionofwhattypesofdecisionsareimportant.

1.3 Costing Methods 

Inordertodeterminewhetherornotadecisionisimportant,oneneedsametrictoevaluate

decisionswith.Themostoftenusedmetricbyinstitutionalownersiscost,andthereareseveral

differentmethodsforcostingthatarecommonlyused.Methodsthatconsideralifecycle

perspectivearelife‐cyclecosting(LCC),totalcostassessment(TCA),andtotalcostofownership

(TCO)(EllramandSiferd1998).Thedifferencesbetweenthesedifferentmethodsarerather

subtle.

Lifecyclecostingisdefinedasthesumtotalofthedirect,indirect,recurring,nonrecurring,and

otherrelatedcostsincurred,orestimatedtobeincurred,inthedesign,development,

production,operation,maintenance,andsupportofamajorsystemoveritsanticipateduseful

lifespan(EPA1995).TCAisdefinedasthelong‐term,comprehensivefinancialanalysisofthe

fullrangeofpositiveandnegativecashflowsofaninvestment.Itistheprocessofprimarily

integratingenvironmentalcostsinternaltoanorganizationintothecapitalbudgetinganalysis

(EPA1995).TCAcanincludeexternalcostsbutprimarilyfocusesoninternalones(EPA1995).

TCOisdefinedasadollarpersquarefootvalueforfacilitiesthatincludesallfacilities‐specific

costsassociatedwithconstruction,preservation,maintenance,andoperationofthefacility

(IFMAetal.2008).

ThebiggestdistinctionbetweenthedifferentmethodsisthatLCCisasubsetofbothTCOand

TCA.TCOandTCAareessentiallythesamebecausetheybothincludeLCCasapartoftheir

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scopeandtrytocaptureabroaderbaseofcostsassociatedwithacapitalproject.Theslight

differencebetweenthetwoisTCAapproachescostingfromanenvironmentalperspective

whileTCOleansmoretothestrictlybusinessside(Beaver2000).Tolimitthescopeofcoststo

beconsidered,thisresearchisgoingtouseTCOasthemetricforevaluatingdecisions.

Expandingthecostsconsideredtoincludeenvironmentalandsocialcostsisanareaforfurther

research.

InordertouseTCOtodeterminetheimportanceofdifferentdecisions,decisionsthataremade

duringthelifecycleofaprojectneedtobeidentified.

1.4 Project Decisions 

Constructionprojectshaveseveralphasesduringitslifecycle.Figure1.2depictsanexampleof

thephasesofageneralproject’slifecycle.Duringthesephases,decisionsaremadethatwill

impactthecostofthebuilding.

However,theearlieradecisionismadeduringaproject’slifecyclethegreateritsimpactonthe

project’scostwillbe.Forthisreason,thisresearchwillfocusondecisionsmadeduringthe

programmingphase(Hendrickson2000).Therearestillmanydecisionsthataremadeduring

theprogrammingphasethatwillaffectaproject’scost.Figure1.3illustratessomeofthe

decisionsmadeduringthisstage.

Figure1.2:ProjectLifecycle(AdaptedfromGarvin2003andKlotzetal.2007)

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Identificationofneed,functionaldesigndecisions,andprojectdeliverymethodselectionare

examplesofsomeofthedecisionsmadeduringtheprogrammingphase(Garvin2003).Thefirst

decisionaninstitutionalownermakesistheidentificationofneed.Fromtheidentificationof

need,decisionsaremadethatresultinafunctionalorconceptualdesignofwhatthesolution

totheneedwouldbelike.Fortheprojecttocontinue,theownerneedstodecidewhichproject

deliverymethodtopursuesincetheprojectdeliverymethodwilldeterminetherestofthe

project’slifecyclepath(Garvin2003).Moredecisionsarethenmadetobringtheprojecttoa

schematicdesignstage.Onceaprojectreachestheschematicdesignstage,itmovesfromthe

programmingphasetothedesignphase.

Institutionalownersfaceanotherprobleminthefactthattheyhavemultipleobjectivesto

balancewithmultipleresourceconstraints(HsiehandLiu1997).Forexample,aninstitutional

ownermayneedtobalancealarger,higherperformingHVACsystemwiththedesireof

occupantstohaveaskylight.Thesemultipleobjectivesstemfromthevarietyofpeopleand

equipmentthataspaceisdesignedforandthepotentialchangesthespacemayundergo

Figure1.3:ProgrammingDecisions(AdaptedfromGarvin2003andKlotzetal.2007)

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throughoutitslifecycle.Figure1.4illustratesthecomplexityofrelationshipsbetweendifferent

peopleinvolvedinthedevelopmentofafacility.

Also,themedianlifespanofacommercialfacilityintheUSisbetween65‐80years,andthis

leadstogreateruncertaintyinhowthespacewillhavetobeusedoverthelifespan(DOE2008).

Thelongerthelifespanafacilityhas,thegreaterthepotentialfortheneedsoftheoccupantsto

changedueinparttoadvancesintechnologyandexpectedcomfortlevels(Brand1994).For

example,inthelast20years,occupantshavegonefromonlyrequiringadeskandchairto

requiringacomputer,faxmachine,internetaccess,andprintingcapabilitiesinadditiontothe

originaldeskandchair.Thishasresultedinasignificantincreaseinplugloadsfromtheextra

equipmentandincreasedHVACcapacityduetoincreasedheatproductionfromtheextra

equipment.

Withallofthesedecisionsbeingmade,thequestionquicklybecomesoneofhowdoyou

identifywhichdecisionsareimportant?Forthepurposesofthisresearch,decisionsthataffect

Figure1.4:RelationshipComplexityinaConstructionProject(Pearceetal.2008)

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theTCOofaprojectarethemostimportantdecisions.Decisionsthataffectenvironmentaland

socialattributesofaprojectareadditionalareasforfurtherresearch.Withtheneedforatool

thatiscapableofcapturingnon‐rationalactions,theestablishmentofTCOasthemetricfor

evaluatingdecisions,andtheidentificationofdecisionsthataremadeduringthelifecycleofa

project,thelastquestionbecomeshowdoesoneidentifythoseactorswhomakethedecisions

thataffecttheTCOofaproject?Statedsimply,howdoesoneidentifydecisionmakersthat

havethegreatestimpactonTCO?Thisisthefocusofthisresearch.

1.5 Research Overview 

Theaimofthisresearchistotakethefirststeptowarddevelopingatoolthatcanaccountfor

bothrationalandnon‐rationalactionsamonginstitutionalownerfacilitystakeholders:

identifyingwhoisakeystakeholder.Thisresearchwillestablishwhatmakesastakeholder

“key”andalsodevelopsaframeworkforidentifyingthese“key”stakeholders.SinceTCOisthe

metricusedbytheGSAtoachievegreendesign,keystakeholderswillbeonesthathavethe

greatestimpactonaproject’sTCO.

Thefollowingchaptersofthisthesisdescribetheresearchundertakentoachievethisaim.

Chapter2presentsanoverviewandanalysisofseminalworkinthefieldofstakeholdertheory

toestablishthebackgroundandpointofdepartureofthework.Chapter3developsthe

methodologyandinstrumentsusedinthisresearchforidentifyingkeydecisionmakers.Chapter

4reportsthedataandfindingsfromapplyingtheinstrumentsdevelopedintheprevious

chapter.Thethesisconcludeswithadiscussionofthevalidationtechniques,theconclusions,

thelimitations,andtheareasoffutureresearchforthisresearch.

 

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Chapter 2: Background 

Identifyingimportantactorsorkeydecisionmakersinanorganizationisthesubjectof

stakeholdertheory.Thischapterprovidesabasicintroductiontostakeholdertheory.The

historyofstakeholdertheorywillbediscussedandarecentexampleofitsapplicationwillbe

discussedinthischapter.

2.1 History of Stakeholder Theory 

2.1.1 Definition of a Stakeholder 

Stakeholdertheoryhasbeenpresentinbusinessandacademiaformorethanfortyyears

(Grossi2003).Oneofthekeyquestionsthatstakeholdertheorytriestosolveis“Whoare

stakeholders?”aka,“Howdoyouidentifythem(Grossi2003)?”Inordertoanswerthis

question,whatastakeholderisneedstobedefined.

Conceptually,stakeholdersaresimilartostockholders.Justasastockholderfinanciallyand

economicallysupportsanorganization,astakeholderalsosupportsanorganization.The

stakeholdersupportsanorganizationnotonlyfinanciallyoreconomicallybutalsosupportsthe

verylifeorcontinuityofanenterprise(Grossi2003).Sincetheconceptofastakeholderisso

broad,itisdifficulttodefine.Manyscholarshavedefineditintermsoftheirparticularfieldof

study.Mitchell,Agle,andWood(1997)presentedachronologyofthesetypesofdefinitions.

Table2.1isasummaryoftheirchronology.

Date Author(s) Definition

1963 StanfordMemothosegroupswithoutwhosesupporttheorganizationwouldceasetoexist(citedinFreeman&Reed,1983,andFreeman,1984)

1974 Rhenmanaredependingonthefirminordertoachievetheirpersonalgoalsandonwhomthefirmisdependingforitsexistence(citedinNasi,1995)

Table2.1:ChronologyoftheDefinitionof“Stakeholder”(AdaptedfromMitcheletal.1997)

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1971Ahlstedt&Jahnukainen

drivenbytheirowninterestsandgoalsareparticipantsinafirm,andthusdependingonitandwhomforitssakethefirmisdepending(citedinNasi,1995)

1983 Freeman&Reed

Wide:"canaffecttheachievementofanorganization'sobjectivesorwhoisaffectedbytheachievementofanorganization'sobjectives";Narrow:"onwhichtheorganizationisdependentforitscontinuedsurvival"

1984 Freemancanaffectorisaffectedbytheachievementoftheorganization'sobjectives

1987 Freeman&Gilbert canaffectorisaffectedbyabusiness1987 Cornell&Shapiro "claimants"whohave"contracts"1988 Evan&Freeman haveastakeinorclaimonthefirm

1988 Evan&Freemanbenefitfromorareharmedby,andwhoserightsareviolatedorrespectedby,corporateactions

1988 Bowie withoutwhosesupporttheorganizationwouldceasetoexist

1989 Alkhafaji groupstowhomthecorporationisresponsible

1989 Carroll"assertstohaveoneormoreofthesekindsofstakes"‐"rangingfromaninteresttoaright(legalormoral)toownershiporlegaltitletothecompany'sassetsorproperty"

1990 Freeman&Evan contractholders1991 Thompsonetal. in"relationshipwithanorganization"

1991 Savageetal.haveaninterestintheactionsofanorganizationand...theabilitytoinfluenceit

1992 Hill&Jones

constituentswhohavealegitimateclaimonthefirm...establishedthroughtheexistenceofanexchangerelationshipwhosupply"thefirmwithcriticalresources(contributions)andinexchangeeachexpectsitsintereststobesatisfied(byinducements)"

1993 Brennerhavingsomelegitimate,non‐trivialrelationshipwithanorganization[suchas]exchangetransactions,actionimpacts,andmoralresponsibilities

1993 Carroll"assertstohaveoneormoreofthekindsofstakesinbusiness"‐maybeaffectedoraffect…

1994 Freeman participantsin"thehumanprocessofjointvaluecreation"

1994 Wicksetal.interactwithandgivemeaninganddefinitiontothecorporation

1994 Langtrythefirmissignificantlyresponsiblefortheirwell‐being,ortheyholdamoralorlegalclaimonthefirm

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1994 Starik"canandaremakingtheiractualstakesknown"‐"areormightbeinfluencedby,orareorpotentiallyareinfluencersof,someorganization"

1994 Clarkson"bearsomeformofriskasaresultofhavinginvestedsomeformofcapital,humanorfinancial,somethingofvalue,inafirm"or"areplacedatriskasaresultofafirm'sactivities"

1995 Clarksonhave,orclaim,ownership,rights,orinterestsinacorporationanditsactivities

1995 Nasi interactwiththefirmandthusmakeitsoperationpossible

1995 Brennerareorwhichcouldimpactorbeimpactedbythefirm/organization

1995Donaldson&Preston

personsorgroupswithlegitimateinterestsinproceduraland/orsubstantiveaspectsofcorporateactivity

ProbablythemostwidelyaccepteddefinitionforstakeholderwaspresentedbyR.Edward

Freeman(1984)inhissentinelwork,Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach.Hedefines

itas,“anygrouporindividualwhocanaffectorisaffectedbytheachievementofthefirm’s

objectives.”Inthecontextofthisresearch,the“firm”isapublicsectorinstitutionalowner,and

theobjectiveoftheownerisminimizingtheTCOfortheirfacility.The“affectorisaffectedby”

portionofthedefinitionrequiressomeinterpretation.Theword“affect”hereindicatesthat

therearedifferentlevelsofimpactthatagrouporindividualexperiences.Forexample,a

studentwillhaverelativelylowimpactonthedesignofafaculty’soffice,butthefaculty

memberwillhaveamuchhigherimpactorwillbeimpactedmuchmorethanthestudent.Now

thatthegeneraldefinitionandconceptofwhoastakeholderishasbeenestablished,thenext

questionishowdoesstakeholdertheoryidentifythem?

2.1.2 Identification of Stakeholders 

Thedefinitiondiscussedabovemakestheidentificationofstakeholdersratherchallenging

becauseofthebreadthofthedefinition’sscope.Virtuallyanyentitycouldclaimtobeaffected

bytheachievementofafirm’sorinstitutionalowner’sgoalsandthereforeclaimtobea

stakeholder.Thisissueisfurtherexacerbatedbythecomplexnatureofinstitutionalownersdue

tothenumberofinternalandexternalrelationshipsthattheyhave.Toaddressthisproblem,

somescholarshavedevelopedframeworksforidentifyingandclassifyingstakeholders.

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Onemanifestationoftheseframeworksismappingtechniques.Commonlyusedmapping

techniquesmapstakeholderinterestvs.powerorstakeholderinterestvs.attitude(Murry‐

WebsterandSimon2006).Figure2.1illustratesmapssuchasthese.

Highorlowinterestisanindicationofthelikelihoodforaparticularstakeholdertobeor

becomeinvolvedintheoperationbeingundertakenbytheinstitutionalowner.Powerisan

indicatorofthelevelofinfluenceaparticularstakeholderhas.Theinfluencecouldhavemany

differentformssuchaslegalright,positionalpower,orcontrolofresourceallocation.Attitude

isanindicatorofthedispositionofthestakeholder,eitherfororagainst(Murry‐Websterand

Simon2006).Therearealsothreedimensionalversionsofstakeholdermapsthatcombinethe

twoillustratedabove(Murry‐WebsterandSimon2006).

Mitchell,Agle,andWood(1997)proposeadifferentframeworkforstakeholderidentification.

Theirframeworkalsoutilizesthreedifferentattributestoidentifystakeholders.Thethree

attributesthattheyidentifiedarepower,legitimacy,andurgency.Poweristheabilityofa

stakeholdertoimposeitswill.Forexample,aCEOhaspowerduetotheirposition.Legitimacyis

definedas,“ageneralizedperceptionorassumptionthattheactionsofanentityaredesirable,

proper,orappropriatewithinsomesociallyconstructedsystemofnorms,values,beliefs,and

definitions”(Mitchelletal.1997).Forexample,astakeholderwithalegitimateclaimwouldbeone

whoproposedtheuseofgreenproductsoverconventionalonesbecauseusinggreenproductsis

Figure2.1:ExamplesofStakeholderMaps

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generallyconsidereddesirable.Urgencyispresentwhentwoconditionsaremet.Thefirstis,

“…whenarelationshiporclaimisofatime‐sensitivenature”,andthesecondis,“…whenthat

relationshiporclaimisimportantorcriticaltothestakeholderoperationsand/orstrategies”

(Mitchelletal.1997).Forexample,aHVACsubcontractormayrunintoaconflictwiththesteel

frameofabuilding.Thesubcontractorneedstogetthisconflictresolvedquicklybecausetheother

tradescannotcompletetheirworkuntilhehas.Inthiscase,theHVACsubcontractorhasatime

criticalneed,anditsresolutioniscriticaltothecompletionoftheproject.

Theattributesofpower,legitimacy,andurgencyareindependentofoneanother.Astakeholder

canhaveanycombinationofthesedifferentattributesatanygiventime.Theyformadynamic

systemofattributesthatwillchangeasthegoalsofthefirmorinstitutionalownerchangeorare

achieved.

2.2 Application of Stakeholder Theory 

Grossi(2003)appliedMitchell,Agle,andWood’sframeworkforstakeholderidentificationtoa

firmnamedPayloadSystemsIncorporated.ItisasmallaerospacecompanyinCambridge,MA,

thatspecializesinprovidingengineeringsupportformannedspaceflight.PayloadSystems’

typicalclientisaresearcherwhohasdevelopedanewtechnologyforspaceuse.Theywould

thenhelptheresearcherfindfundingtotestitandfabricatethedesign.

GrossibeginsidentifyingstakeholdersbydefiningasystemlevelvalueforPayloadSystems.A

systemlevelvalueistheobjectiveoftheorganization.Whendefiningasystemlevelvalue,

Grossisuggeststhegrammaticalconstruction“To[statementofoverallintent]by[statementof

processorbehavior].”Forexample,asystemlevelvaluefortheUnitedStatesPostalService

couldbe“tomaximizecustomersatisfactionbyefficientlyprocessingthemail”.Asystemlevel

valuesuchasthiscanthenbeusedtoidentifystakeholdersinmeetingthissystemvalue.Italso

providessystemboundariesfortheresearchbeingconducted.

ThenextstepthatGrossitookwastoidentifyafocalorganization.Thefocalorganizationis

someentityintheenterprisethatisthestartingpointforidentifyingstakeholders.Itisthe

centralentityfortheanalysisbeingconducted.InasmallcompanysuchasPayloadSystems,

thewholecompanyisthefocalorganization;however,inlargerorganizationssuchastheUS

15

AirForce,thefocalorganizationwouldbeasub‐unitofthewholeorganization.Forexample,

themedicalsquadronwouldnotnecessarilybeastakeholderinthedevelopmentofanew

aircraft.

Withthesystemlevelvalueandfocalorganizationidentified,Grossibeganidentifyingpotential

stakeholders.Hismethodforidentifyingstakeholderswassurveys,interviews,observations,

andreviewingarchivalrecords.HeidentifiedthesetechniquesbasedonabookbyWasserman

andFaust(1994)thatsummarizeddifferentsocialnetworkanalysismethods.Hestartedhis

workwithPayloadSystemsbyconductingaseriesofinterviewswiththeCEOofthefocal

organization.Theinterviewsweredesignedtoanalyzetheorganizationindepthtouncoveras

manytacitorhiddenstakeholdersaspossible.Otherrelatedexternalstakeholderswere

identifiedthroughreviewingthewebsitesoforganizationsassociatedwithNASAandNASA’s

websiteitself.Grossithenwentontoassigneachofthestakeholdersalevelofsaliencebased

onacombinationofratingsgiventoeachstakeholder’slevelofpower,legitimacy,andurgency.

ThebasicstepsthatGrossiusedinhisworkareasfollows:

1) Identifythesystemlevelvalue

2) Identifythefocalorganization

3) Identifythestakeholdersusingsurveys,interviews,observation,andarchivalrecord

analysis

Grossiprovidesagoodexampleofapplyingstakeholdertheorytoamanufacturingtype

organizationandidentifiesthestakeholdersinthatcontext;however,anexampleofapplying

stakeholdertheoryinthecontextoftheconstructionindustryislacking.

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Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology 

TheresearchwilluseGrossi’sworkasastartingpointandapplyittoaconstructionproject.

ThischapterwillfirstfollowGrossi’sbasicstepstodefinethecontextinwhichthisresearchis

beingcarriedout,andthenuseitasadeparturepointforthespecificquestionaddressedby

thisresearch.Subsequently,thedevelopmentofthespecificmethodologyandtoolsusedto

answertheresearchquestionwillbedeveloped.

3.1 Applying Stakeholder Theory 

FollowingGrossi’sexample,threestepsneedtobetakentoapplystakeholdertheorytoa

constructionproject.Identifyingthesystemlevelvalue,thefocalorganization,andthe

stakeholdersarethethreesteps.Thesystemlevelvalueforthisresearchwillbetominimize

thetotalcostofownershipforaconstructionprojectbyidentifyingdecisionmakersasafirst

steptowardscreatingatoolthatoptimizesTCO.Thefocalorganizationforthisresearchisgoing

tobetheFacilitiesDepartmentatVirginiaTechsincetheyareresponsibleforallconstruction

projectsatVirginiaTech.VirginiaTechwasselectedastheoverallorganizationofstudybecause

itmeetsthequalificationsofaninstitutionalownerstatedinthepreviouschapters.Itsfacility

assetsarenotreadilytraded.Ithasstandardsforprocurementwhichwillbediscussedlaterin

thechapter.Ithasanin‐houseconstructiondepartmentthatoverseasmultipleprojectsat

differentstagesofdevelopment,andits’facilitieshaveadesignlifeof75to100years.This

leavestheidentificationofstakeholdersasthelaststeptobeaddressed.Itisthisstepthatis

thesubjectofthequestionthisresearchseekstoaddress.

3.2 Thesis Question 

Whoarethekeydecisionmakers(stakeholders)thatimpactaconstructionproject’sTCO,and

whatframeworkshouldbeusedtoidentifythem?

3.3 Question Development 

3.3.1 Decision Focus 

Inordertopursuethisresearchquestion,thedecisionsofakeydecisionmakerneedtobe

defined.Aspreviouslystated,keydecisionsforthisresearchareonesthataffectTCOduringthe

17

programmingphaseofaproject.Further,BoussabaineandKirkham(2004)summarizethekey

decisionsthataremadeduringtheconceptualdevelopmentorprogrammingphaseas

decisionsthatmayinvolvethefollowing:

• Substructure

• Structuralframework

• Upperfloors

• Environmentalservices

• Lifeexpectancyofthemajorcomponents

• Frequencyofreplacementandmaintenancethroughtheeconomiclifeofthefacility

• Internalfinishes/partitions/doors/stairs/fittings

• Externalshell/walls/windows/doors

• Roofingsystems

• Externalworks

• Environmentalimpacts

• Operational

• Production

• Disposal

TheresearcherwasnotabletofindastudythatconsideredallofthesedecisionsfromaTCO

perspective.However,Table3.1summarizesasampleofstudiesthatlookedatasinglesystem

orbuildingmaterial.Allofthesestudiesconsideredtheirrespectivetopicfromalifecycle

perspective(Ehlen1997;GurungandMahendran2002;Johansson2009;KosareoandRies

2007).Unfortunately,thesestudiesdidnothaveenoughcommongroundtobuildatable

comparingtherelativeTCOimpacts.

18

Author StudyTopic

Ehlen1997Fiber‐reinforcedpolymerbridgedecks

GurungandMahendran2002 SteelportalframebuildingsystemsJohansson2009 HVACsystemsKosareoandRies2007 Greenroofsvs.conventionalroofs

However,astudydonebytheUSDepartmentofCommerce(DOC)(1999)oftheUniFormatII

systemestimatedthetotalinstalledcostofaneightstoryofficebuildingusingthebuilding

systemapproachinherenttotheUniFormatsystem.UniFormatIIdecomposesabuildinginto

itsindividualsystemsasseeninTable3.2.Thestudyalsoincludedanestimationofthe

contractor’sprofitmargininthetotalinstalledcostcalculations.Thisstudyalsodoesnot

considerthebuildingsystemsfromalifecycleperspective,butitdoescalculatethecost

differencesbetweenthedifferentbuildingsystemsandcapturesmostofthekeydecisionsthat

BoussabaineandKirkham(2004)identified.Sincethisstudydoesthesetwothings,ithas

sufficientinformationtoprovideaproofofconcept.Futureresearchwillneedtoexpandthis

studytoaTCOperspective.

Table3.1:SampleStudiesandTopic

19

Table3.2:UniFormatIISample(DOC1999)

20

Anotherlimitationofthisstudyisthatitonlylooksatasinglebuildingandbuildingtype.

However,itisstillsufficienttoprovideproofofconceptforthisresearchsinceasignificant

amountofinstitutionalownerfacilitiescouldbeconsideredofficetypefacilities.Forexample,

ofthenewconstructionthefederalgovernmentbuiltin2008,aboutonequarterofitwas

officespacealone(CensusBureau2008).Anareaoffutureresearchistoexpandthenumberof

buildingsandbuildingtypesandseeifthereisachangeinthesystemranking.Figure3.1isthe

HighSystemCostChart(HSCC)thatsummarizestheUniFormatstudy’sfindings.

Figure3.1:HighSystemCostChart(DerivedfromDOC1999)

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TheDepartmentofCommercestudyprovidedthefocusforthedecisionsbeingconsidered.

Specifically,thisresearchconsideredUniFormatIIbuildingsystemselectiondecisions.Thenext

stepistodevelopadefinitionforwhata“keydecisionmaker”is.

3.3.2 Key Decision Maker 

Adecisionmakerissomeonewhomakesadecisionordecisions,andaccordingtotheMerriam‐

Websterdictionary,theword“key”onlyhasonedefinitionwhenusedasanadjective.Itmeans

important,fundamental,chief,orpivotal(Merriam‐Webster2009).Therefore,thedefinitionfor

“keydecisionmaker”forthisresearchisapersonorgroupwhoactasasingleentitywhose

decisionsareconsideredthemostimportantwhenconsideringtheselectionandcharacteristics

ofUniFormatIIbuildingsystems.

Whyisitimportanttofindkeydecisionmakers?Whynotfindeverydecisionmaker?For

largeorganizationsorprojects,itwouldnotberealistictofindeverydecisionmaker,and

institutionalownersbytheirverynaturearelargeorganizations.Thereforebyidentifyingkey

decisionmakers,areasonableapproximationoftheorganizationcanbeattained.Future

researchshouldexplorethemosteffectivebalancebetweenmodelingeffortinvolvedin

representingmoreindividualdecisionmakersvs.improvementinfidelityofmodeloutcomes.

Afterconductingaliteraturereview,theresearcherfoundthatdecisionmakersare

typicallyidentifiedviamethodssuchas“brainstorming”(MacalandNorth2005,Macaland

North2006).Brainstorminghasseveraldisadvantagesthatneedtobeaddressed.Theresults

fromabrainstormingsessionareverydifficulttoreplicateevenwiththesamepeople.Thereis

oftenafearofdepartingfromthegeneralconsensusofthegroup,andparticipantsdonot

alwayssharethesamelevelcommitmenttothegoalsofthebrainstormingsession(Isaksen

andGaulin2005).However,WassermanandFaust(1994)summarizedsomealternative

methodsthatGrossi(2003)thenacteduponinhisresearch.Heuseddocumentanalysis,

questionnaires,interviews,andobservationtoidentifystakeholders.Someotherpotential

researchmethodologiesarelistedinAppendixA,butthisresearchwillusethemethodologies

patternedbyGrossianddevelopaframeworkfromthem.Thedevelopmentofsucha

22

frameworktoidentifykeydecisionmakersforcapitalprojectsofinstitutionalownersisthe

contributionofthisresearch.

3.4 Framework Development 

Thenexttaskwastodeterminetheordertoemployeachmethodologytherebydevelopingthe

frameworkforidentifyingkeydecisionmakers.Sincedocumentanalysisdoesnotrequire

stakeholderinteractionorInstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB)review,thebestplacetostartthe

frameworkiswithdocumentanalysis;andthenbasedondatacollectedfromthedocument

analysis,proceedfromtheretothenextmethod.Theanticipateddocumentstheresearcher

hopestocollectareorganizationalcharts,turnoverdocumentation,projectdocumentation,

andotherrelateddocumentsthatwillindicatewhoisresponsiblefordifferentsystems.

Afterdocumentreview,thequestioniswhichmethodtousenext?Thesubsequentmethods

fortheframeworkneedtocontinuecollectingtheinitialdataandalsoprovideawaytovalidate

thedata.Aninitialdatacollectionmethodwillneedtohaveamoderatetohighlevelof

flexibilityduetothelackofknowledgeoforganizationalpracticesonthepartoftheresearcher.

Avalidationmethodwillneedtoestablishconvergenceofdatafromdifferentsources.Along

withtheaboverequirements,anoverallobjectiveinselectingmethodologiesforthe

frameworkistominimizeresearchereffort.

Validationofdatacanbeaccomplishedindifferentways.Plucker(1990)identifiesthefollowing

methods:

1) Memberchecks–havingstudyparticipantsreviewconclusions

2) Saturation–developingnewunderstandingsfromtheinquiryprocess

3) Triangulation–findingatleastthreesourcestocorroborateaviewpoint

Membercheckswouldnotvalidatethedatacollectedinthisresearchbecausethedataisofa

discretenature.Forinstance,itwouldnotbeverymeaningfulforastudyparticipanttoverify

thefactthattheyidentifiedtheprojectmanagerasakeydecisionmaker.Thisformof

validationissuitedbetterforresearchsuchasinvestigatingconsumeropiniononproduct

selection.Saturationisalsonotsuitedforvalidatingthisresearchbecauseitleavesituptothe

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researcher’sdiscretiontodeterminewhen“saturation”or“nomorenewinformationis

available”hasoccurred(Morse1995).Thisisacauseforconcernwhenonlyoneresearcheris

conductingthework.Triangulationisestablishedwhenthreeormoreuniquesourcesof

informationarriveatthesameresult.Forexample,ifthreeormorepeoplewhohadnot

communicatedtooneanotherallsaythatamutualfriendhasaparticularcharacterflaw,itis

verylikelythatthisfrienddoesindeedhaveacharacterflaw.Therefore,thisresearchwilluse

triangulationasitsvalidationmethod.

Questionnaires,interviews,andobservationaretheremainingmethodsusedbyGrossi.Of

these,questionnaireswerediscardedbecauseforasingleprojecttherearenotenough

potentialdecisionmakerstobeabletoaffordthelowresponseratetypicalofsurveys.

Therefore,interviewswillbeusedasthesecondstepintheframeworksincetheycanbeused

aseitherprimarydatacollectionorvalidation.Asemi‐structuredinterviewhastheflexibilityto

allowtheresearchertoguidethecourseoftheinterviewtowhereitneedstoortoexplorea

relatedareathatpresenteditselfduringtheinterview.Interviewsalsopresentapotential

validationopportunityifconvergenceisestablishedbetweentheresponsesofdifferentpeople

beinginterviewed.Ifconvergenceisnotestablishedthroughtheinterviewprocess,thenan

observationmethodwillneedtobeused.

Observationasaninitialdatacollectionmethodwouldbecumbersomesinceitwouldtakea

significantamountoftimetoobserveenoughinteractionstocometoaconclusion.Therefore,

itdoesnotmeettheobjectiveforminimizingresearchereffort.Italsodoesnothavemuch

flexibilitysincetheresearchercannotspecificallyaskforaparticularinteractiontohappen.The

researcherhastowaitandseeifadatacollectionworthyactionoccurs.However,ifthe

observationisguidedbyinformationobtainedfrominterviews,itbecomesanotherviable

methodtoestablishconvergenceandthereforevalidatethedatacollected.Therefore,the

overallframeworkbeginswithdocumentanalysis,proceedstointerviews,andfinallyendswith

observationifnecessary.Figure3.2illustratestheframework.Withtheoverallframework

developed,aprotocolforeachmethodologyisneededtoprovideastandardizedprocessfor

24

applyingeachmethodology.Thisisimportanttoallowtheframeworktobeusedbyother

researchersinthefuture.

25

Figure3.2:FrameworkforIdentifyingKeyDecisionMakers(DMs)

26

3.5 Protocol Development 

Eachprotocolfollowsthesamebasicstructure.Theybeginwithaheadingsectionthatlistsany

inputsfromtheotherprotocols,thepotentialoutputsoftheprotocolbeinglookedat,andany

itemsneededtoexecutetheprotocolsuchasInstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB)approval.This

wasdonetomakeiteasierforotherresearchersusingtheframeworktobeabletoquickly

identifywhatthemajorcomponentsoftheprotocolwereaswellasmakingiteasierto

understandhowthedataflowsbetweenprotocols.Thenextsectionisanintroductionthat

givestheoverviewoftheobjectivesoftheprotocol,anditsgeneralpurposesoother

researcherscanunderstandwhattheprotocolshouldaccomplish.Fromthere,eachprotocol

goesdownthelistofpotentialoutputsthatareidentifiedintheheadingsectionandfully

developshowtopursueobtainingeachpotentialoutput.Finally,theendofeachprotocolmay

haveappendicesthatincludecharts,definitions,orsomeotherpiecetohelpfacilitateobtaining

theoutputsoftheprotocol.Figure3.3isanexampleofthegeneralprotocolstructure.

27

Withthebasicstructureoftheprotocolslaidout,eachprotocolcanbedescribedingreater

detailinthefollowingsections.

3.5.1 Document Review Protocol 

Thedocumentreviewprotocolbeginstheframeworkandisprimarilyresponsibleforproviding

astartingpointorpointofcontactfortheinterviewprotocol.Ifanownerhasandgivesa

researcheraccesstoallofitsprogramming,construction,andturnoverdocumentation,itis

possibleforthedocumentreviewprotocoltoidentifykeydecisionmakersbutnotnecessarily

Figure3.3:ProtocolExample

28

validatethem.Asmentionedearlier,somethedocumentsthatthisprotocolseekstofindare

organizationalcharts,turnoverdocumentation,projectdocumentation,andsimilardocuments

thatindicatesomeonemakingadecisionorhavingmadeadecisionaboutabuildingsystem.

Thesedocumentscouldbeclassifiedintotwobroadcategories.Thefirstisnormative

documentsthatdescribehowtheprocessshouldwork,andthesecondisdescriptive

documentsthatrecordwhatactuallyoccurred.Unfortunatelyduetothepossiblevariabilityin

documentationthatownersretainandthepotentialvariabilityofthequalityofthose

documents,thedocumentreviewprotocolhadtobeveryflexible.Whilethisisnotnecessarily

aproblem,itdidresultinlessspecificityintheprotocolitself.Ageneraldirectionwasprovided

butnotalotofspecificinstructions.Thedocumentreviewprotocolhasnoinformationalinputs

buthasseveralpotentialoutputs.Theoutputsincludealistofpotentialdecisionmakers,alist

ofcandidateprojects,andalistofpossibleconstructionmeetingswithsomecontact

informationforthosemeetings(SeeAppendixB).

Toaidinsearchingfordocumentstoidentifypotentialdecisionmakers,theprotocolincluded

examplesofphrasesorlanguagethatmightprovidecluestowhoweretheimportantactorsin

agivenproject.Forinstance,thephrase,“…personxissolelyresponsibleforapprovingsystem

y…”,iffoundinadocument,wouldclearlyindicatetheroleofkeydecisionmakerrelativeto

thatsystem1.Anotherpotentialcluewouldbeanapprovalstamporan“approvedby”boxwith

asignature.Sincerelationshipsbetweenpeoplearedifficulttocapturefromdocuments,the

verbiagehastobeveryspecifictosaywithsomelevelofcertaintythatsomeoneisakey

decisionmaker.Inthecaseoflessspecificlanguagebeingused,theresearchercanuseitasa

cluetolookelsewhereorasaspecificpointofinquiryforaninterview.Sinceoneofthe

characteristicsofaninstitutionalownerisastandardizedprocurementprocedure,the

documentsmayonlylistaroleorpositioninsteadofanactualperson.Forexample,insteadof

givingthenameofthepersonresponsibleforpaintcolordecisions,adocumentmaysaythe

interiordesignerisresponsibleforpaintcolordecisions.Forthisresearch,thedifference

betweenaroleandanindividualdoesnotaffecttheoutcomebecausebothinstancesrefertoa

1Itisworthnotingthatthesephrasesareexamplesandjudgmentwillneedtobeexercisedbyfutureresearchers

29

singleentity.

Sinceoneoftheobjectivesofthedocumentreviewprotocolistofeedtheinterviewprotocol

withnecessaryinformation,alistofcandidateprojectsisnecessarytogivetheinterviewa

projecttofocuson.Toobtainalistofcandidateprojects,aresearcherneedstogotothe

organization’swebsiteandsearchforkeywordsfoundintheprotocol.Iftheownerdoesnot

haveawebsite,theresearcherwillhavetorelyondocumentsthatcanbeobtainedfromthe

ownerdirectly.AccordingtothecharacteristicsofInstitutionalowners,theytypicallyhave

severalprojectsatdifferentstagesofaproject’slifecycleandwithdifferentgeneralbuilding

characteristics.Therefore,tohelptheresearcherselectwhichprojectstofocusonduringthe

interviewprocess,theresearchershouldcreateachartofthedifferentprojectswithsomeof

theirbasiccharacteristics.Thischartwillhelptheresearcherbygraphicallyrepresentingthe

distributionofcharacteristicsamongtheprojects.Itisimportanttohaveasampleofbuildings

withsimilarcharacteristicstoreducethenumberofpotentialsourcesforerror.Figure3.4isan

exampleofwhatachartcouldlooklike.Thecharacteristicsconsideredintheexamplearethe

projectdeliverymethod,stageintheconstructionprocess,thegrosssquarefootage(GSF),and

anindicationofifthebuildingisalaboratorybuildingornot.SinceVirginiaTechisthesubject

ofthisresearch,thesecharacteristicswerechosentogetafeelforthegeneralsizeofthe

projectandtodistinguishbetweenbuildingswithverydifferentdesignrequirements.For

example,aclassroomorofficebuildinghasverydifferentdesignrequirementsthanachemistry

labbuilding.Thedifferencesindesignrequirementcouldresultinsignificantimpactsonwho

makesdecisionsaboutthebuildingcharacteristics.Thebuildingcharacteristicsinquestions

couldbechangedtofitwhateverfutureresearchersfeelisimportant.Thegeneral

characteristicsoftheorganizationthataresearcherisinvestigatingwillhelpdeterminethe

importantcharacteristicstocaptureforthischart.

30

Alistofasmanyprojectparticipantsastheresearchercanfindforeachprojectshould

accompanythischartsotheresearcherwillseveraloptionstochoosefromtostartconducting

interviews.Oftheprojectparticipants,theprojectmanager(PM)isthepreferredpointof

contactsincethePMisexposedtothegreatestnumberofpotentialkeydecisionmakersbythe

verynatureoftheposition.

Sincesubsequentprotocolsmayrequiretheresearchertoattendprojectmeetings,the

researchershouldalsolookfordocumentsthatlistthemeetingrequirementsofthe

institutionalowner.Searchingfortermssuchas“constructionprojectmeetings”or“project

meetings”shouldyieldtherequireddocumentsandpotentiallyyieldthemeetingadministrator

contactinformation.Itisimportanttodeterminewhothemeetingadministratorisinorderto

Figure3.4:CandidateProjectMap

31

obtainpermissiontocometothemeeting.Thelistofmeetingsmaynotbecompleteandmay

notspecifymeetingsforasingleprojectsinceeachprojectisunique,butthereshouldbeat

leastonedocumentdescribingthemeetingsatypicalprojectshouldhavesincebythe

definitionofinstitutionalowner,thereshouldbesomedocumentationforstandardized

procurement.Fromthere,thedetailsforwhichmeetingstoattendcanbedeterminedduring

theinterviewprocess.

3.5.2 Semi Structured Interview Protocol 

Thesemistructuredinterviewsarethemainvehiclefordatacollection.Thedocumentreview

providesthebackgroundinformationandstartingpointsnecessaryfortheinterviewprotocol

tobeeffective.Theprimaryobjectivesoftheinterviewprotocolaretovalidatethefindingsof

thedocumentreviewprotocoliftheprotocolfoundkeydecisionmakers,ortodeterminewho

thekeydecisionmakersmightbeifnonewerefoundinthedocumentreview.Asecondary

objectiveistodetermineconstructionmeetingstoattendandtheassociatedmeeting

administrator’scontactinformation(SeeAppendixC).

Themainreasonforusingasemistructuredinterviewwastoallowtheresearchertheflexibility

tochangetacticsorquestionsastheinterviewprogressed.Astructuredapproachwouldhave

madethedataeasiertomanipulateduetothestandardizationofthequestions,butthiswould

havenotallowedtheresearchertoexploretheresponsesoftheinterviewee.Italsowouldhave

preventedtheresearcherfrombeingabletoqualifythequestionsbeingaskedifthe

intervieweewasconfusedaboutthem.Withouttheabilitytoguidetheinterviewandqualify

thequestionsasnecessary,theresearcherwouldhavehadtorelyontheinterpretationofthe

interviewee.Thiscouldhaveledseveralresponsestobeuselesstotheresearcher.The

flexibilityofthesemistructuredapproachturnedouttobeveryusefulfortheresearcherand

willbediscussedfurtherinsubsequentchapters.Thisflexibilitydoesputuniquedemandson

theresearcher.Theresearcherwillneedtothoroughlyunderstandthecultureandhave

masteryoflanguageofthepeoplebeinginterviewed.Ifthesequalitiesarenotpresentinthe

researcher,itwillpotentiallycausetheresearchertomissimportantinformationconcerning

whothekeydecisionmakersare.Forexample,someonewhodoesn’thavemasteryofthe

32

languagemaynotpickuponacommentmade“underthebreath”oftheinterviewee.

Therefore,onlyresearcherwithathoroughunderstandingofthecultureandmasteryofthe

languageshouldusethisprotocol.

Theinterviewstartswithadescriptionoftheprojectandtheestablishmentofkey

concepts/definitions.Theyareasfollows:

1) Keydecisionmaker–Thepersonorgroupwhohasthemostinfluenceonthe

system.Ifitisagroup,thegroupmustactlikeasingleentity.

2) Rubberstampdecisionmaker–Asuperiorwhosimplysignsoffonanyrequestofhis

subordinateswithoutdetailedrevieworcontributingtotheanalysis.

ThenextstepoftheinterviewwastoshowtheintervieweetheHighSystemCostChart(HSCC)

andaskthemiftheyfeltthatthesystemsontheHSCCwere,intheiropinion,accuratefroma

lifecyclecostperspective.ThiswasanimportantstepbecausetheUSDepartmentofCommerce

studythattheHSCCisbasedononlyconsideredsystemcostsuptototalinstalledcost.Itdid

nottrytoextrapolatealifecyclecost.Whileitwouldstillbeimportanttodeterminewhothe

decisionmakersareforsystemswiththehighesttotalinstalledcost,itismoreadvantageousto

considersystemsfromalifecycleperspective.Thisallowssustainabletechnologiestobegiven

fairconsiderationsincetheytypicallyhaveslightlyhigherinitialcostsbutsaveoverthelifecycle.

WiththefoundationfortheinterviewlaidthroughthekeydefinitionsandtheHSCC,the

interviewcouldmoveforwardandbeginprobingforkeydecisionmakers.

Theinterviewprotocolprobedforkeydecisionmakersthroughanidentificationand

eliminationprocess.Theintervieweewasaskedtolistallthedecisionmakerstheyfeltwere

“key”accordingtotheestablisheddefinitionforeachbuildingsystemintheHSCC.Withthelist

ofdecisionmakerscompleted,theintervieweethenhadtochoosethetoponeortwomost

influentialdecisionmakersfromthelistforeachsystem.Thesedecisionmakerswerethen

consideredtobethe“key”decisionmakersfortheproject,subjecttovalidationasdiscussed

previously.Thisstepcouldprovidebothinitialidentificationandvalidationatthesametimeif

threeofmoreoftheinterviewee’sidentifythesamekeydecisionmaker.

33

Thelaststepfortheinterviewprotocolwastoaskiftheintervieweeknewofanyupcoming

projectmeetingsthattheresearchercouldattend,andaskforthecontactinformationforthe

meetingadministrator.Thislaststepmayormaynotbenecessarydependingonhow

convergenttheinterviewresponsesare.

3.5.3 Indirect Observation Protocol 

Theindirectobservationprotocolisonlyusedforvalidatingthefindingsoftheprevioustwo

protocolsbyprovideenoughinformationtotriangulatethedata(SeeAppendixD).Theprotocol

startsbyobtainingpermissionfortheresearchertoattendthemeetingsinceitwouldbevery

inappropriateforaresearchertoshowupatameetingunannounced.Onceatthemeeting,the

researcher’sfirststepistoidentifyallthepeoplewhowillbepresentatthemeeting.Ideally,

thiswillbedonebeforethemeetingbeginssotheresearchercanthefocusonthecontentof

themeetingitself.Iftherearepeopleatthemeetingthatwerenotidentifiedbeforethe

meeting,theresearchercaneitherapproachthemdirectlyoraskthemeetingadministratorto

identifythemafterthemeeting.Whilethemeetingisinprogress,theresearchermustlistenfor

phrasessuchas“Iwillberesponsiblefor_____”,“Youtaketheleadwithitem_____”,orsimilar

phraseswheresomeoneisindicatedtomakedecisionsconcerningoneofthebuildingsystems

ofinterest.Iftheverbiagesimilartothisisused,thispersonshouldbeidentifiedasapotential

keydecisionmaker.Bycombiningthisdatawithdatacollectedpreviously,thefindingsshould

bevalidated.Iftheyarenot,theresearcherwillneedtogobackandconductmoreinterviews

andpotentiallyattendmoremeetingstocollectenoughdatatovalidatethefindings.

34

Chapter 4: Data Collection and Analysis 

Thischapterreportsthefindingsandexperiencesoftheresearcherfromtestingthe

framework,anditsapplicableprotocols.Theorganizationtowhichtheresearcherappliedthis

frameworktowasVirginiaPolytechnicInstituteandStateUniversityorsimplyVirginiaTech

(VT).VirginiaTechmeetsallofthecharacteristicsforaninstitutionalowner.Itsassetsarenot

readilytraded,ithasfacilityprocurementstandards,hasanin‐houseconstructiondepartment,

hasseveralconcurrentcapitalprojects,hasprojectsatdifferentstagesofdevelopment,and

assetshaveadesignlifegreaterthan50years.

4.1 Document Review Findings 

TheresearcherbeganthedocumentreviewprotocolbylookingonVirginiaTech’swebsitefora

linktotheirconstructionorfacilitydepartment’swebsite.ConstructionatVirginiaTechis

administeredbytheVirginiaTechFacilitiesDepartment.TheFacilitiesDepartmentdidhavea

websitewhichiswheretheresearcherconductedmostofthedocumentreview.Inadditionto

lookingonthewebsite,theresearchertriedtolookatactualprojectfiles.Unfortunatelyafter

seekingaccesstotheprojectfilesthroughacooperativememberoftheFacilitiesDepartment,

theresearcherwasessentiallytoldthataccesstotheprojectfileswouldnotbegiven.However,

theresearcherwasabletofindenoughinformationtosuccessfullyseedthesemi‐structured

interviewprotocol.

4.1.1 Decision Maker Investigation 

Thedocumentreviewprotocollistsseveraldifferentdocumentstospecificallylookforwhile

lookingforactualdecisionmakers.Theresearcherbeganattemptingtofindthedocumentson

thatlist.Thedocumentstostartwithareasfollows:

1) Organizationchartsorsimilarrolesandresponsibilitycharts

2) Standardoperatingprocedures,especiallyconstructionrelatedprocedures

3) Annualreports

4) Historicalprojectfiles

35

Theresearcherwasabletofindtheorganizationalchartforthefacilitiesdepartmentaswellas

fortheOfficeoftheUniversityArchitect(OUA).Figure4.1isthefacilitydepartment’s

organizationchart;however,itonlygoesdowntothedirectorlevel.Bylookingatthepersonnel

listonthefacilitieswebsite,theresearchermadethedeterminationthattheorganizational

chartdidnothaveenoughgranularitytoidentifydecisionmakersbecausetherewereseveral

morepeoplelistedonthewebsitebutnotontheorganizationalchart.TheOUAorganizational

chartdidhavemoregranularity;therefore,theresearcherdidconsiderthepeopleonittobe

potentialdecisionmakers.However,thepositiondescriptionswerenotspecificenoughto

determineifanyofthemwerekeydecisionmakersforthisresearch.

Thenextsetofdocumentstheresearchertriedtofindwerestandardoperatingprocedures.

Someofthedocumentstheresearcherwasabletofindwereasfollows:

1) DesignandConstructionStandards

2) DesignStandardsforLearningEnvironments

Figure4.1:FacilitiesOrganizationChart(VirginiaTech2008)

36

3) Construction&ProfessionalServicesManual(CPSM)

TheDesignandConstructionStandardsdidnotidentifyanydecisionmakersbecauseitfocused

ongeneralguidelinessuchasnumberingstyles,doorsizesandfinishes,orsimilarguidelines.It

didnotspecifyeitherpeopleorofficesresponsibleformeetingtheseguidelines.Thesamewas

truefortheDesignStandardsforLearningEnvironments.TheCPSMhasalotofinformation

concerningstandardsforroofconstruction,othermaterialstandards,andtheoverallflowofa

project,butitalsodidnotyieldanydecisionmaters.TheproblemwiththeCPSMisthatitisfor

theentirestateofVirginia,notjustVT.Asaresult,itwasnotspecificenoughtoidentify

decisionmakers.

Withthatavenueexplored,theresearcherwentontolookatannualreports.Theresearcher

wasabletofindannualreportsfor2004,2005,and2006.Uponreviewingthesedocuments,

theresearcherdeterminedthatdecisionmakerswouldnotbeidentifiedthroughthemeither

becausetheyareverygeneralinnature.Theannualreportssimplyhitthehighlightsofthat

particularyearbyconveyinginformationliketheamountofmoneyspentthatyear,any

buildingsthathadbeencompleted,orthestatusofanyreallargeprojects.Thislefthistorical

projectfilesasthelastsetofdocumentationtolookinto.

TheresearcherwenttotheFacilitiesDepartmenttotryandlookathistoricprojectfiles;

however,thedocumentreviewprotocoldidnotincludeinstructionsforhowtolookforhistoric

documents.Fortunately,whilelookingforconstructionstandards,theresearcherhadfounda

documentlistingthetypesofdocumentsthatarekeptbyFacilities;therefore,theresearcher

hadastartingpoint.Thedocumentreviewprotocolwasthenmodifiedtoincludesome

guidanceforfindinghistoricaldocuments.ThedocumentrequirementsforFacilitiesarein

Table4.1.Unfortunately,whentheresearchertriedtoobtainthesedocuments,theFacilities

Departmentcouldnotallowaccesstothem.Theresearcheraskedoneoftheprojectmanagers

foraccess,buttheprojectmanagerwasnotabletogranttheaccessbecausealloftheproject

filesarestoredinanelectronicdatabase.VirginiaTechdoesnotkeeppaperfilesonhand.Once

aprojectisfinished,VTsendsanypaperfilestolongtermstorage.Withthedecisionmaker

sectioncompleted,theresearcherwentontofindcandidateprojectstoinvestigatefurther.

37

4.1.2 Candidate Project Identification and Selection 

Inordertoseedthesemi‐structuredinterviews,theresearcherneededtofindoutwhat

projectswerecurrentlybeingpursuedatVirginiaTech.Bythedefinitionforinstitutionalowner

putforthbytheresearcher,aninstitutionalownershouldhaveseveralcapitalprojectsongoing.

VirginiaTechcertainlymetthisrequirementofthedefinitionbecausetheFacilitiesDepartment

hadalinktoanewconstructionwikiandtoaconstructionreport.Thenewconstructionwiki

onlyhadprojectscurrentlybeingconstructedonit,buttheconstructionreporthadalistofall

projectsinplanning,design,andconstruction.Theconstructionreportlisted36different

projectsatdifferentstagesofdevelopment.Inordertoattempttotriangulateresults,atleast3

projectsneededtobeselectedtobeinvestigatedfurther.Picking3projectsfromalistof36is

difficultsinceeachprojecthasdifferentcharacteristics.Asaresult,theresearchercreateda

chartofallthedifferentprojectstoaidintheselectionofthesampletoinvestigateusingthe

interviewprotocol.

Anypotentialresearcherwhowillusethisframeworkwillhaveauniquesetofcircumstances

thataredrivingtheresearch.Therefore,itisdifficulttosetahardandfastmethodforcreating

Table4.1:RequiredDocuments(VirginiaTech2009)

38

aprojectchart.Eachresearcherwillneedtodeterminewhichbuildingattributesarethemost

significantfortheresearchandclassifythebuildingsaccordingtothem.FortheresearchatVT,

theprojectdeliverymethod,thesizeofthebuilding,thestageofdevelopment,andthe

buildingtypewerethemostimportantbuildingcharacteristicsforreasonsmentioned

previously.Figure3.4showsanexampleoftheprojectmaptheresearchercreated.AppendixG

containstheactualprojectmapwithallthebuildingsonit.TheInstituteforCriticalTechnology

andAppliedScience(ICTAS)buildingsIandIIandtheEngineeringSignatureBuildingwere

selectedforfurtherinvestigation.Thesewereselectedforthefollowingreasons:

1) Oneofthemfellineachprojectdevelopmentphase

2) TheICTASbuildingswerebothmixedlaboratoryandofficespacetypebuildings

3) TheEngineeringSignatureBuildingwasthelargestfacilityintheconstructionreport

4) Allofthemweredifferentsizes.

Oncetheseprojectswereselected,theresearcherlookeduptheprojectsontheconstruction

wikitofindtheprojectmanagers.Theresearcherwasonlyabletofindtheprojectmanagerfor

ICTASI.Theothertwoprojectswerestillinplanningordesignandhadnotmadeitfarenough

intheprocesstobeputonthewikiyet.Theresearcherdecidedhewouldstartwith

interviewingtheICTASIprojectmanagerandfindoutwhotheotherprojectmanagerswere

duringtheinterview.Withthecandidateprojectsfoundandtheprojectsforfurther

investigationidentified,theresearcherwentontotryandfindpossiblemeetingstoattendfor

theseprojects.

4.1.3 Possible Meetings Identification 

Theresearcherneededtofindpotentialmeetingstoattendincasetheywerenecessaryto

validatethefindingsoftheresearch.TheresearchersearchedtheFacilitiesandVirginiaTech

websitesforthekeytermslistedinthedocumentreviewprotocol,butmeetingsforeachofthe

identifiedprojectswerenottobefound.Theresearcherwasabletofindalistofmeetingsthat

anyprojectatVirginiaTechwassupposedtohave.Theresearcherexercisedjudgmentand

determinedthatthiswassufficientsinceactualmeetingstoattendcouldbeidentifiedduring

theinterviewprocess.Sincethemeetingsfoundweregenericinnature,itwasimpossiblefor

39

theresearchertodeterminewhothemeetingadministratorwas.Asaresult,thispartofthe

documentprotocolwasnotpursued.

Attheendofthedocumentreviewprotocol,theresearcherhadnotfoundanydecision

makers,butseveralprojectswereidentifiedforfurtherinvestigation.Inaddition,atleastone

projectparticipantwasidentified,andalistofstandardmeetingswasdiscovered.Next,semi‐

structuredinterviewsweretobeconducted.

4.2 Semi­Structured Interview Findings 

ThefirstinterviewtoconductwastheprojectmanagerforICTASI.Hewastheonlyproject

managertheresearcherwasabletoidentifysincetheotherbuildingstobeinvestigatedwere

notfarenoughalonginthedevelopmentprocesstobelistedontheVirginiaTechorFacilities

website.TheresearcheremailedtheprojectmanagerfortheICTASIprojectandsetupan

interviewappointment.

4.2.1 First Interview 

TheresearcherbegantheinterviewwiththeICTASIprojectmanagerbythankinghimforhis

timeandhavinghimsignthereleaseformsneededbytheInstitutionalReviewBoard(IRB).

Fromthere,theresearcherstartedbysummarizingtheoverallobjectivesoftheresearchand

paintinga“bigpicture”viewoftheresearch.Withtheoveralldescriptioncompleted,the

researcherpulledoutacopyoftheHighSystemCostChart(HSCC)andshowedittotheproject

manager.AstheresearcherwasexplaininghowtheHSCCwascreated,hesawanopportunity

toimprovetheinterviewprotocolbyaskingtheprojectmanagerifheagreedwiththesystems

ontheHSCCfromanoperationsandmaintenance(O&M)standpoint.Thiswasimportant

becausethestudytheHSCCwasbasedononlyconsideredtotalinstalledcost.Whilethisfactis

notnecessarilyaproblemforeveryoneelsewhomightusethisframework,theresearcherwas

interestedinidentifyingdecisionmakerswhohadthegreatestimpactonTCO.Therefore,inan

efforttovalidatetheHSCCfromaTCOperspective,theresearcheraddedaquestionaskingthe

projectmanagertogivetheiropiniononifthesystemsontheHSCCwererepresentativeofthe

mostexpensivesystemsfromaTCOperspective.Forthisinterview,theprojectmanagerfelt

thatthesuperstructuresystemwouldnotbeanissuefromaTCOstandpoint,butthatplumbing

40

androofmaintenancewouldbe.Theresearcherthenwentontodefiningsomekeytermsand

conceptssuchaswhatakeydecisionmakerwasandthedifferencebetweenadecisionmaker

andarubberstampdecisionmaker.Withfoundationlaidfortheinterview,theresearcher

proceededtoidentifydecisionmakers.

Theresearcheraskedtheprojectmanagertolistallthekeydecisionmakersthathecouldthink

offoreachofthesystemsontheHSCC.Itwasduringthisprocessthatanotherchangetothe

interviewprotocolwasidentified.Theprojectmanagerdidnotknowifthedifferentbuilding

codesandVirginiaTech’sowninternalcodewasagivenornot.Ifnot,whowrotethemwould

beaverysignificantdecisionmaker.Sincebuildingcodesareessentiallylaw,theresearcher

toldtheprojectmanagertoconsideranycodesorsimilarrequirementsasaconstantforthe

research.Withthatissueclearedup,theprojectmanagerwasabletolistwhohefeltthekey

decisionmakerswere.Bythetimetheprojectmanagerfinished,theinterviewhadtakenlonger

thantheresearcherhadanticipated.Inanefforttostreamlinetheinterview,insteadofhaving

theprojectmanagerrateeachdecisionmakerheidentifiedaccordingtohowimportantthey

were,theresearchersimplyhadtheprojectmanagercircletheoneortwomostimportant

decisionmakersforeachsystem.Thesepeopleorgroupswereconsideredthetruekeydecision

makersfortheproject.TheresultsoftheinterviewscanbefoundinTable4.2.Tobringthe

interviewtoaclose,theresearcheraskedforthenamesoftheprojectmanagersfortheother

twoprojectsunderconsideration.TheICTASIprojectmanageractuallytooktheresearcherto

theofficesoftheothertwoprojectmanagersandintroducedhim.Theresearcherthen

scheduledinterviewswithbothofthem.

41

Table4.2:InterviewResults

42

Withthefirstinterviewcompleted,theresearcherrealizedthatitwouldbebesttorecord

futureinterviewsiftheintervieweeagreedtobeingrecorded.Theresearcherhadfoundit

difficulttotakenotesontheinterviewwhilealsoguidingtheinterviewandanswering

questions.Recordingtheinterviewsalsoallowedtheresearchertogobackafterthefactand

performmoreanalysisifnecessary.Theresearcherthensetaboutmakingthechangestothe

interviewprotocolandwentbackacoupledayslatertotheFacilitiesDepartmenttoconduct

theinterviewsoftheothertwoprojectmanagers.

4.2.2 Second and Third Interviews 

Thesecondandthirdinterviewsbothfollowedthesamestructureasthefirstone,but

incorporatedthepreviouslystatedchanges.Thesecondintervieweedidnotagreetobeing

recorded,butthethirdintervieweedid.Atranscriptoftheinterviewwiththethirdinterviewee

isinAppendixF.WhentheresearcheraskedabouttheiropinionsontheHSCCfromaTCO

perspective,thesecondintervieweeindicatedthathewasnotinvolvedinO&M,butthatit

lookedfinetohim.ThethirdintervieweeagreedwiththeHSCC,andalsosaidthattheelectrical

systemwasthemostexpensive.Bothofthemhadnoproblemunderstandingthedefinitionsor

thedistinctionbetweenanormaldecisionmakerandarubberstamptype.Thelistingofthe

decisionmakersforeachsystemalsowentmuchsmootherthanithadduringthefirst

interview.Therefore,theresearcherdidnotfeeltheneedtofurthermodifytheinterview

protocol.TheresultsoftheseinterviewsarealsofoundinTable4.2.

Thethreepeopleinterviewedtosofarwereallprojectmanagers,buttofurthervalidatethe

findings,itwasnecessarytointerviewatleastonepersonoutsideoftheFacilitiesDepartment.

Therefore,theresearcheraskedtheprojectmanageroftheICTASIbuildingforthecontact

informationforthebuildingmanagerofICTASI.Thebuildingmanagerwasinvolvedinthe

developmentandconstructionofthebuildingbecauseitisthebuildingmanager’s

responsibilitytorepresenttheneedsandconcernsoftheICTASIstaff.TheICTASIproject

managergavetheresearcherthecontactinformation,andtheresearcherthensetupan

interviewwiththebuildingmanager.

43

4.2.3 Fourth Interview 

ThefourthinterviewwasoftheICTASIbuildingmanager.Duringtheinterview,theresearcher

foundoutthatthebuildingmanagerforICTASIwasalsothebuildingmanagerforICTASII.The

researcherhadtheoptiontohavethebuildingmanageridentifykeydecisionmakersforboth

buildingsbutdecidednottobecauseitmightbiastheinterviewresults.

Thebuildingmanageragreedtobeingrecorded,andthetranscriptoftheinterviewisin

AppendixE.Theresearcherwassurprisedathowquicklythebuildingmanagerunderstoodthe

HSCCandthedistinctionsofkeydecisionmakers.Asaresult,theinterviewquicklyprogressed

toidentifyingdecisionmakers.Itwasinterestingthatthebuildingmanagerspentmoretime

andseemedtohaveamoredetailedunderstandingoftheplayersinvolvedintheexterior

claddingandinteriorfinishessystems.Theprojectmanagershadspentmoretimetalkingabout

issuesliketheroofingsystemortheHVACsystem.Thebuildingmanagerprovidedalotmore

detailofhowtheoccupantsofthebuildinginteractedwiththebuilding.Eventhoughthese

sortsofdetailswerenotdirectlyrelatedtotheobjectivesoftheinterviewprotocol,the

researcherrecordedtheinformationtogetabetterunderstandingofhowtheusersfitintothe

developmentofcapitalprojectsofinstitutionalowners.Theresponsesofthebuildingmanager

areshowninTable4.2.

Withtheinterviewscompleted,thenextstepoftheframeworkistheindirectobservation

protocol.

4.3 Indirect Observation Findings 

Therewasasufficientamountofconvergenceintheresponsesofthefourintervieweesto

justifynotpursuingtheobservationprotocol.Thesignificanceoftheconvergenceisdiscussed

moreinthenextchapter.

44

Chapter 5: Validation 

Thischapterdiscussesthevalidationeffortsforthisresearch.Firstthedocumentreview

protocolvalidationmethodsaretobediscussed,andthenthesemi‐structuredinterview

protocolwillbediscussed.Theindirectobservationprotocolwasnotused;therefore,itwasnot

validated.

5.1 Document Review Protocol Validation 

Tovalidatethedocumentreviewprotocol,theresearcheremployedaninter‐raterreliability

methodbyaskingtwootherpeopletogothroughtheprotocolandseeiftheirfindings

matchedthoseoftheresearcher.ThefirstraterwasaPhDstudentandhadnoknowledgeof

thepurposeoftheresearchorwhatkeydecisionmakerswereandwhytheywereimportant.

Thesecondraterwasasophomoreandhadalimitedunderstandingoftheresearchandwhat

decisionmakerswere.

Thefirstraterwasnotabletoidentifyanypotentialdecisionmakers,buttheresearcherhad

notfoundanyeithersotherewasnosignificantdiscrepancythere.Significantdiscrepancywas

onlyevidentfortheremainingportionsofthedocumentprotocol.Theraterdidnotfindanyof

theorganizationalchartsthattheresearcherhad.Therateronlyfoundthreebuildingsthathad

beenbuiltrecentlyascandidateprojects.Theraterdidnotcreateachartoftheprojectseven

thoughtheprotocoldirectedtheratertodocreateone.Therateralsodidnotfindany

potentialmeetingstoattendorthecontactinformationforthemeetingadministrators.Even

thoughtheresearcherhadnotbeenabletofindthatinformationeither,theresearcherhad

founddocumentationofstandardmeetingsforallprojectsthattheraterdidnotfind.

ThesecondraterdidfindtheorganizationalchartfortheFacilitiesDepartmentbutdidnotfind

theorganizationalchartforOUA.Thesecondraterwasalsonotabletofindanycleardecision

makerseither.Thesecondraterwasabletofindthesamelistofprojectsthattheresearcher

hadfoundandalsocreatedachartoftheprojectsaccordingtotheprotocol.Forpossible

meetingsandmeetingadministratorcontactinformation,theraterfoundsomeminutesfor

differentmeetingsandextractedmeetingsandsomecontactinformationfromthem.

45

Thefirstraterseemedtohaveasignificantamountoftroubleexecutingtheprotocol.One

possibleexplanationisthatthiswasduepartlytolackofvestedinterestonthepartoftherater

becauseittooktherateraboutamonthtogettheresultsbacktotheresearcher.The

researcheralsocouldnotdetermineareasonfornotcreatingtheprojectmapsinceitwas

clearlyindicatedintheprotocol.

Thesecondraterseemedtounderstandtheprotocolrelativelywellsincehewasabletogive

theresultstotheresearcherwithinoneworkingday.Whilethesecondraterdidnotfindallthe

organizationalchartsthattheresearcherdid,theresearcherdecidedthatitwasareasonable

differencesincetheraterdidnothaveasmuchbackgroundknowledgeorpersonalinterestin

theproject.Theonlyareaofapparentconfusiononthepartoftheraterwasthedocuments

theraterfoundforidentifyingpotentialmeetingsandcontactinformation.Ofthedocuments

found,onlytwoofthemhadtodowithindividualbuildingprojects.Theremainingthreewere

minutesfromdifferentuniversitycommittees.Theminutesfromthebuildingprojectsdid

identifyonemeetingandthecontactinformationforthemeetingadministrator,butthe

particularmeetingshadalreadyhappenedandfuturemeetingswerenotidentifiedinthe

minutes.Therateralsohadnotfoundthesamedocumentlistingthestandardmeetingsfor

projectsatVirginiaTech.Uponreviewingtheresultsfromthesecondrater,theresearcher

determinedthatthedocumentreviewprotocolneededtobemodifiedtobemorespecific

aboutwhatthequalificationsforpotentialmeetingsshouldbe.

Insummary,thefirstraterdidnotvalidatethefindingsoftheresearcher,butsincethefirst

raterwasabletofindatleastthreeprojectswithcontactsforeachone,theframeworkstill

couldhaveadvancedtotheinterviewphase.Thesecondraterfoundmanyofthesamethings

thattheresearcherhad.Onepossibleexplanationforthedifferencescanreasonablybethe

greaterknowledgeoftheareaandthegreaterinterestintheresultsonthepartofthe

researcher.Animportantlimitationforthisresearchisthatanyfutureresearcherwhowould

usethisframeworkwouldneedasimilarlevelofknowledgeandinteresttoachieveasimilar

correlationinfindings.

46

5.2 Semi­Structured Interview Protocol Validation 

Tovalidatethefindingsoftheinterviewprotocol,theresearcherutilizedthetriangulation

approachpreviouslymentioned.Theresearcherrecordedtheresponsesofthedifferent

intervieweesandlookedforconvergenceintheirresponses.Therewasanunexpectedlyhigh

convergencerateamongtheinterviewsubjects.OfthesixsystemsontheHSCC,allfour

intervieweesidentifiedthesamekeydecisionmakerforthreeofthem.Threeofthefour

intervieweesidentifiedthesamekeydecisionmakerfortwooftheothersystems,andthe

systemwiththeleastconvergencehadonlytwointervieweesidentifythesamekeydecision

maker.Table4.2summarizesthefindingsoftheinterviews.

Sincethreeormoreoftheinterviewsubjectshadthesameresponseforallbutonesystem,the

interviewresponsessuccessfullyidentifiedkeydecisionmakersforthesystemsontheHSCC.

Alsosincethebuildingmanager’sresponseswereremarkablyconvergentwiththeproject

manager’sresponse,morecredibilitycanbegiventothevalidityofthedata.Duetothe

convergencefoundatthisstageintheframework,itwasnotnecessarytoemploytheindirect

observationprotocol.

47

Chapter 6: Conclusions 

Thechaptersummarizestheconclusionsthatweredrawnfromthisresearch.

6.1 Research Conclusions 

Thisresearchsetouttoanswerthequestionofwhoarethekeydecisionmakersthatimpacta

facility’sTCO,andwhatframeworkshouldbeusedtoidentifythem?Thefirsthalfofthe

questionwasansweredthroughthedevelopmentoftheHSCC.Thekeydecisionmakersthat

impactafacility’sTCOarethekeydecisionmakersforthesixsystemsfoundontheHSCC.The

secondhalfoftheresearchquestionrequiredmoreanalysis.

6.2 Order of Protocols 

ThedevelopmentofaframeworktoidentifykeydecisionwasbasedonworkdonebyGrossi

whoconductedresearchonstakeholderanalysis.Theorderofemployingthemethodologies

wasanimportantaspectoftheframeworkbecauseeachonehasitsownstrengthsand

weaknessesthatshouldbeutilizedtoachievethebestoverallresult.Theprotocolsforeach

methodologyformthebackbonesoftheframework.Itisthetestingandvalidatingofthese

protocolsthatwerecriticaltothesuccessfuldevelopmentoftheframework.

6.3 Validation of Protocols 

Validatingthedocumentreviewprotocolwasthemostdifficultbecausegettingsuitablepeople

forinter‐relaterreliabilitytestingprovedtobechallenging.Neitheroftheratershada

comparableknowledgebaseastheresearcherintheobjectivesoftheframeworkorthefieldof

identifyingstakeholders.Anotherchallengewasgettingthesamelevelofeffortfromtheraters

astheresearcher.Thisprovedtobeverydifficultwithoneoftheraters.Evenwiththese

challenges,thedocumentreviewprotocolaccomplisheditspurposebecauseitdidprovide

enoughinformationfortheinterviewprotocoltobegin.

Theinterviewprotocolwasmucheasiertovalidatebecausetriangulationandconvergenceof

responsewastheprimaryvalidationindicator.Theconvergencelevelreallysurprisedthe

researcher.Theresearcherdidnotanticipatethatfourdifferentpeoplewithoutcommunicating

48

wouldhavesuchalevelofconvergence.Fortheonecasethatthisframeworkwasvalidatedas

atoolfor,thefindingssuggestthatthereisahighlevelofstandardizationanddefinitionof

rolesacrosstheinstitution.

Theindirectobservationprotocolwasnottestedbecauseoftheinterviewshadenough

convergencetoachievevalidation.Itisstillanimportantmeasuretoconsiderforfuture

applicationsoftheframeworktogiveresearchersonemoreavenuetovalidatewhothekey

decisionmakersare.Ifafterusingthattheindirectobservationprotocolkeydecisionmakers

arenotidentified,thentheresearchermighthavetoconsiderstartingtheframeworkagainor

revisitingsomeoftheprotocolstomakesurenoinformationwasmissed.

6.4 Research Summary 

Insummary,theframeworkwasvalidatedasatoolforidentifyingkeydecisionmakersforthe

institutionstudied.Thefindingsofapplyingtheframeworktothistestcasesuggestthatits

applicationtootherinstitutionalownersmaybeusefulinidentifyingkeydecisionmakersfor

capitalprojectsinothercontexts.

 

49

Chapter 7: Discussion 

Thischapterprovidestheresearcherwithaplatformfornotingseveraloftheintriguing

observationsmadethroughoutthecourseofthiswork.

7.1 Document Types 

Throughoutthecourseofthisresearch,theresearcherobservedseveralinterestingactions,

events,andoutcomes.Fromtheinitialdevelopmentoftheframework,theresearchernoticed

thatthetypesofdocumentscouldbesortedintotwobroadcategories.Thefirsttypeis

normativedocumentswherethedocumentprescribeshowaprocessoractionshouldbedone.

Forinstance,procurementstandardsarenormativeinnature.Thesecondisdescriptive

documentsthatdescribehowaprocessoractionwasexecuted.Anexampleofadescriptive

documentisaRequestForInformation(RFI)oraprojectmemo.Fromtheobservationofthese

twocategories,theresearcherconsideredwhetherornotitcouldbepossibletoidentifyand

validatethekeydecisionmakersfromdocumentsalone.Typically,usingasingleresearch

methoddoesnotprovidesufficientlyuniquedataforbothinitialcollectionandvalidationto

occur.However,giventhetwodifferenttypesofdocuments,itmighthavebeenpossibleto

accomplishthisusingtriangulationwithinbothcategories.Forexample,ifatleastthree

differentnormativedocumentsidentifiedaparticulardecisionmakerandthenthree

descriptivedocumentsidentifiedthesamedecisionmaker,onecouldmakethecasethatthe

findingswerevalidated.Thiswouldonlybepossibleiftheresearcherwasgivenaccesstoboth

typesofdocuments.Ultimately,theresearcherchosenottoincludethisinthedevelopmentof

theframeworkinordertogivetheframeworkgreatercredibility.

7.2 People as Data 

Anotherobservationthattheresearchermadewasthedifficultyoftreatingpeopleasdata

insteadofhumanbeings.Thiswasprimarilyastrugglewhenreportingtheresultsofthe

interviewprotocol.Itwaseasytoremembertokeepthenamesofthepeopleinterviewed

confidential,butkeepingthenamesofpeoplethattheintervieweesmentionconfidentialwas

surprisinglydifficult.Futureresearchersshouldreplaceanynamesmentionedintheinterview

50

witheitheranumberorsomeothergenericrepresentationassoonastheinterviewis

concluded.

Thedecisiontorecordtheinterviewsbroughtsomeinterestingthoughtsforconsideration.The

decisiontorecordtheinterviewswasmadebecausetheresearcherfoundittoodifficultto

answertheinterviewee’squestions,guidetheinterview,andtakedetailednotes

simultaneously.Inordertorecordtheinterviews,theresearcherhadtorevisetheIRBprotocol

bycreatingspecialpermissionstatementsfortheinterviewsubjectstosigntoobtainIRB

approval.Theresearcherinitiallyfeltthattherewouldbenoobjectionstohavingtheinterview

recorded,butthefirstsubjectthatwasinterviewedrefusedtoberecorded.Thiscausedthe

researchertowonderaboutwhatsortofaffecttherecordingoftheinterviewswashavingon

theresponsesoftheinterviewees.Weretheintervieweesrespondingwithmorenormative

answers,orweretheycomfortableenoughtorespondastheytrulyperceivedtheproject?

Werethey“toeingthepartyline”ornot?Theresearcherdoesnotbelievethatthiswasthe

casewiththisresearchbecausetheresponsesoftheintervieweewhorefusedrecordingwas

thesameasthosewhowererecorded.Also,theintervieweeswhowererecordeddidnot

indicateanyuneasinesswithbeingrecorded.Theresearchertriedtomitigateanyaffectthe

recordingmighthavebyplacingtherecordingdeviceoutofthelineofsightoftheinterviewee

inthehopethattheintervieweewouldforgetthattheywerebeingrecorded.Nonetheless,it

isaninterestingissuethatmightwarrantfurtherconsiderationbyfutureresearchers.

7.3 Stakeholder Theory 

Thefinalareaofinterestisthepossiblefurtherapplicationofstakeholdertheorytothefindings

oftheframework.Mitchelletal.(1997)proposedthreecharacteristicsfordefiningthesalience

ofastakeholder.Theyarepower,legitimacy,andurgency.Eachofthesecharacteristicsisat

differentlevelswithineachstakeholder,andallthreeneedtobeatacertainlevelinorderfora

stakeholdertohaveenoughsaliencetoaccomplishanaction.Asthekeydecisionmakerswere

identified,theresearcherfounditinterestingtoconsiderwhichofthecharacteristicswerethe

dominantonesforeachdecisionmaker.Forexample,thekeydecisionmakerforexterior

claddingwastheBoardofVisitors(BOV).Thesourceoftheirsalienceliespredominantlyinthe

51

powerthattheyhave.Theyhavetheabilitytopreventaprojectfromprogressingbyrejecting

theproposedbuildingbasedonflawsfoundintheexteriorappearanceofthebuilding.The

structuralengineeristhekeydecisionmakerforthesuperstructure,andhisprimarysourceof

saliencecomesfromlegitimacy.Ifthestructuralengineersayssomethingcanormore

importantlycannotbedone,thenhisopinionwilloftenoverruleothersbecauseheisthe

expertandhascriticalknowledgeotherstakeholdersdonothave.Examiningtherelationships

betweenstakeholdersandwithinastakeholderinthesetermsisamajorareaoffuture

researchfortheconstructionindustry.

Aswithmostresearchendeavors,morequestionswereraisedthananswered.Thisprojectwas

noexception.Itisthehopeofthisresearcherthatmanywillfindmeaningfulandintriguing

questionstopursuefromthisresearch.

52

Chapter 8: Limitations, Impacts, and Future Research 

Aswithanyresearch,therearelimitations,impacts,andareasforfutureresearch.Thischapter

willidentifythoseforthisresearch.

8.1 Limitations 

Thereareseverallimitationsthatshouldbenotedinthisresearch.Theyareasfollows:

1) ThestudythattheHSCCisbasedononlygoesthroughtotalinstalledcost.Itdoes

notincludeanyoperationsandmaintenancecostsordemolitioncosts

2) Theselectionofpeopletoperforminter‐raterreliabilityanalysiswasverylimited.

Morepeopleshouldhaveidentifiedandmorestringentqualificationcriteriashould

havebeenestablishedtobeconsideredforselection

3) Theindirectobservationprotocolwasnotvalidatedinthisresearch.Itwasidentified

asamethodtofindkeydecisionmakers,butrequiresvalidation

4) Thisframeworkisoptimallydesignedforresearcherswithavestedinterestin

findingkeydecisionmakersforconstructionprojectsandwithahigherthanaverage

knowledgeoftheconstructionfield.Itisnotdesignedforsomeonewithlittle

knowledgeofthefieldandwithlittlepersonalinterestinfindingkeydecision

makers

8.2 Impacts 

Thecontributionofthisresearchistheframeworkforidentifyingkeydecisionmakersfor

institutionalownercapitalprojects.Thiswillgivefutureresearchersaframeworkforidentifying

keydecisionmakerssoatoolsuchasacomputermodelforminimizingafacilities’TCOcanbe

createdforinstitutionalowners.

8.3 Future Research 

Therearethreemainareasforfutureresearch.First,theHSCCandthestudyitisbasedoncan

beexpanded.TheDepartmentofCommerceStudyincludesthetotalinstalledcostbutdoesnot

considertheoperationsandmaintenancecosts.InordertomeettheGSA’sdefinitionforgreen

53

design,thecurrentstudywillneedtobeexpanded.Ifthestudywasexpanded,theHSCCmight

changeslightly,buttheresearcherdoesnotexpectthatitwillchangesignificantly.Another

itemisexpandingthenumberofbuildingsinthestudyandthebuildingtypes.TheDOCstudy

onlyconsideredasingle,officetypebuilding.Byexpandingthebuildingsincludedinthestudy,

thegeneralizabilityoftheHSCCwouldbegreatlyenhanced.

Thesecondareaistheframeworkitself.Initscurrentform,theframeworkhasonlybeen

testedonasinglepublicagency.Testingtheframeworkonacoupleofotherpublicagencies

wouldenhancethegeneralizabilityoftheframeworkitself.Alongwithincreasedtesting,

validatingtheindirectobservationprotocolneedstobedone.Theobservationprotocolisan

importantpartoftheframework,butitwasnotvalidatedbecauseitwasnotnecessaryforthe

institutioninvestigated.Makingtheframeworkmorerobustsothatagreatervarietyofpeople

withdifferentlevelsofinterestwillbecapableofachievingreasonableresultswillmakethe

adoptionoftheframeworkeasier.

Thelastareaforfutureresearchaddressessomeoftheissuesidentifiedinchapter7.The

affectsofrecordingtheinterviewsonthedataobtainedanddeterminingthelevelsofsalience

ofeachkeydecisionmakerarenecessarytomaketheframeworkmorepractical.Initspresent

form,theframeworkisratheracademicinnature.Byaddressingthesetwoareas,the

frameworkwillmovefrombeingacademictopractical.

54

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59

Appendix A: Research Methodologies 

ResearchMethodology

Strengths Weaknesses

Simpleapproachtostudyofattitudes,values,orbeliefs

Dataisaffectedbyrespondentsmemory,knowledge,experience,etc.

Veryadaptabletocollectinformationfromalmostanyhumanpopulation

Respondentswon'tnecessarilyreporttheirtruebeliefs(e.g.peoplewanttobeseeninagoodlight)

allowsforcomparisonstobedone

capturingthequantifiabledataneeded

Havingtogobacktorespondentsifmoredataisneeded

Surveysingeneral

Highamountsofdatastandardization

Onlygettinganswersforquestionsthatonehasthoughtof

Oftentheeasiestwaytocollectdatafromalargesetofpeople

Lowresponserate

Havethecapacitytobeextremelyefficientforcollectinglargeamountsofdatainarelativelyshortperiodoftimeatrelativelylowcost

Ambiguitiesandmisunderstandingofsurveyquestionsarenotdetected

Postal/self‐administeredsurveys

Allowsanonymitywhichencouragesfrankness

respondentsmaynottakethesurveyseriously

Interviewercanclarifyquestions

Datamaybeaffectedbythepersonalitycharacteristicsoftheinterviewer

Interviews

interviewer'spresencecanencourageparticipationandinvolvement

respondentsmayfeellessopensincethesurveyisnotanonymous

60

canprovidein‐depthqualitativedata

Potentialformiscommunication

allowsthecaptureofnon‐verbalcommunication

canbedifficulttoworkwithageographicallydiversepopulation

Interviewercanchangethedirectionofquestioningbasedonresponses

Verytimeconsuming

veryefficientsincedataiscollectedfromseveralpeopleatonce

thenumberofquestionscoveredislimitedduetotimeconstraints

naturalqualitycontrolsinceparticipantstendtocheckandbalanceeachotherorweedoutextremeviews

facilitatingthefocusgrouptakesalotofexperience

easytoidentifyconsistentandsharedviews

needstobewellmanagedtopreventdominantpersonalitiesfromskewingresults

participantstendtoenjoytheexperience

confidentialitycanbedifficulttomaintain

relativelyinexpensiveandflexible

resultscannotbegeneralizedbecausetheycannotberegardedasrepresentative

FocusGroup

contributionscanbeencouragedfromthosewhonormallyaremorereserved

livenatureoftheinteractioncangiveafalsesenseofvaliditytotheresearcher

Itisverydirect.Theresearcherwatchesthesubjectinitsenvironment

Observercan"taint"findings

Itcomplementsalmosteveryothermethodofdatacollection

Verytimeconsuming

flexibleenoughtoallowtheresearchertoexploretangents

designingtheprotocolforconvertingobservationstodatainacrediblefashionisdifficult

gettingpeopletoactnaturally

DirectObservation

closestwaytoexaminethe"realworld"

protectingconfidentialitycanbeverydifficult

61

goodatcollectingusagedataContextcanbedifficulttoidentifywhichmaypossiblyresultinincorrectfindings

non‐obtrusiveandnon‐reactive.

Apparentlinkbetweencauseandeffectmaybeaffectedbyunknownforces/events

notreliantonpeoplelinkingthepopulationstudiedtowhereitcamefrommaybedifficultorimpossible

capitalizesondatathatisalreadyavailable

shortcomingsinavailabledataarehardtoovercome

allowstheresearchertomaintainneutrality

"Trace"Measures(e.g.Accretion,Erosion,Documentreview)

providesvaluablecross‐validationofothermeasures

unobtrusive limitedavailabilityofdocuments

recordsarepermanentleadingtotheoptionofreplicatingstudies

maybedifficultorimpossibletoaccountforbiasesordistortionssincethedocumentmaynotbewrittenforthesamepurposeastheresearchquestion

ContentAnalysis

lowcostformlongitudinalanalysiswhereaseriesofdocumentsareavailable

difficulttoassesscausalrelationships

62

Appendix B: Document Analysis Protocol 

OtherDataInstrumentInputs

1) None

PotentialOutputs

1) Listofpotentialkeydecisionmakers2) Listofcandidateprojects3) Listofpossiblemeetings4) Meetingadministrator’scontactinformation

ItemsNeededtoExecute

1) IRBapproval(ifapplicable)

Introduction: 

Eachofthefollowingsectionsprovidessomegeneralguidelinesforfindingoneofthepotential

outputsofthisprotocol.Forallofthesections,theresearcherwillbelookingfordocumentson

theweborpaperrecordsfoundattheorganizationinquestion.Generally,oneshouldtryto

obtaintheinformationforallofthesectionsunlessonlycertainoutputsareneeded.

Theoverallgoalofthisresearchistoidentifykeydecisionmakers.Thisprotocolfeedsseeding

informationtotheotherprotocolsintheframeworkinordertoidentifykeydecisionmakers.

Decision Makers: 

Thegoalfortheresearcheristolookthroughtheorganizationalchartsandoperating

procedurestodeterminewhomakesthedecisionsforthesixlargestbuildingsystemsfoundon

theHighSystemCostChart(HSCC)(SeeAppendixA).Specifically,whomakesdecisionsthat

affecteachsystem’scharacteristicsorproperties.Someexamplestatementstolookforare,

63

“______issolelyresponsibleforevaluatingandapproving________”,“groupxshallfollowthe

specificationsprovidedby_______”,or“______signedoffon_____.”Anyphraseologysimilar

totheseexamplesshouldindicatewhomakesdecisionsconcerningeachbuildingsystem.The

researcherthenrecordstheperson/officethatmakesthedecision.Peopledesignatedbyoneof

theabovephrasesorasimilarphrasecanbeconsideredakeydecisionmaker.

Itstillmaybeverydifficulttodetermineifthepersonistheactualdecisionmakerbecause

documentsdon’tindicateifadecisionmakerisa“rubberstamp”typeornot.Anexampleofa

“rubberstamp”decisionmakerisasuperiorwhosimplysignswhateverhissubordinatessend

himwithoutlookingatit.Theresearchershouldnotworryaboutthiseventualitytoomuchbut

focusongeneratingalistofnameswhomightbedecisionmakers.

Somedocumentstospecificallylookforareasfollows:

1) Organizationchartsorsimilarchartsthatdescriberolesandresponsibilities2) Standardoperatingprocedures,particularlyfortheconstructionprocess3) Organizationalwebsites4) Annualreports5) Historicalprojectfiles

Candidate Projects

Institutionalownerswillnormallyhaveareportthatliststhecurrentprojectsandwhereeach

onestandsintermsofcompletion.Searchingthefacilitydepartment’swebsiteusingterms

“currentprojects”or“constructionprojects”shouldyieldsomeofthesedocuments.

Oftenalongwiththecurrentprojects,theprojectmanagerwillbelisted.Itisveryimportantto

capturetheprojectmanageralongwiththeprojectbecausetheywilloftenbethestarting

pointfortheinterviewprotocol.

Thelaststepofthissectionistocreateamapofthecurrentprojects(Figure1).Dependingon

theinstitution,itmayormaynotmakesensetosortlaboratorybuildingsandofficebuildings.

64

Themajorcategoriesthatoneshouldaimtomaparethestageoftheconstructionlifecyclethe

buildingisin,theprojectdeliverymethod,andthegrosssquarefootage.

List of Possible Meetings

Constructionprocessdocumentsorotherdocumentsthathavemeetingslistedonthemcan

normallybefoundbysearching“constructionprojectmeetings”or“projectmeetings”onthe

facilitydepartment’swebsite.Thesearchmaynotyieldalistofcurrentorfutureproject

meetings,butatleastitshouldidentifytypicalprojectmeetingsforanyprojectexecutedbythe

institutionalowner.Thesetypicalmeetingsaresometimesdescribedinthepolicydocumentsof

theorganization.Attheveryleast,theresearcherwillknowthestandardmeetingsthatmaybe

beneficiallateron.

Figure1:ExampleProject

Map

65

Meeting Administrators Contact Info

Someofthesamedocumentsthatlistthemeetingstypicallyhaveatleastthenecessary

attendeeslistedaswell.TheywilltypicallyidentifyofficessuchastheUniversityArchitector

ProjectManager,buttheactualpersonwhofillstheofficecanthenbetrackeddownunderthe

“staff”or“contactus”sectionsofthewebsite.Ifofficesarenotidentifiedorifthereare

multiplepeopleintheoffice,writedownallthepotentialmeetingadministrators.This

informationcanthenbeusedintheinterviewprocess.

66

Appendix C: Semi Structured Interview Protocol 

OtherDataInstrumentInputs:

1) Listofrecentprojects2) Listofpotentialkeydecisionmakers

PotentialOutputs:

1) Validatedkeydecisionmakerlist2) Listofpotentialkeydecisionmakers3) Listofpotentialmeetingstoattend

ItemsNeededtoExecute

1) Keydefinitionssheet2) HighSystemCostChart3) CopiesofDecisionMakerListingsheet

Instructions for Interviewer: 

Generalinstructionsforconductingtheinterviewwillbeinanormalfontandspecificitemsto

asktheintervieweewillbeitalicized.Tostarttheinterview,readthepurposestatementtothe

interviewee.Belowisanexamplestatement.

This interview is being conducted to collect data for an NSF funded research project at 

Virginia Tech. It is the aim of the researchers to develop a tool for optimizing investment 

in sustainable facility features. All responses to this survey will be kept strictly 

confidential, and if at any point you do not wish to continue participating, you may leave 

with no consequence. 

Asktheintervieweeifthereareanyquestionsbeforeproceeding.

HandtheintervieweeacopyoftheHighSystemCostChart(HSCC)anddescribetheoverall

researchobjective.Youwillalsoneedtohavethedefinitionssheetwithyou,butdonotgiveit

totheintervieweeyet.Anexamplescriptcanbefoundbelow.

67

In order to optimize investment in sustainability, it is important to know who makes 

decisions about building systems with the largest impact on the Total Cost of Ownership 

of the facility. The High System Cost Chart is a depiction of the top 6 most expensive 

building systems according to a study done by the US Department of Commerce. These 

six systems are a focus of this research.  

Next,establishastandarddefinitionforsomeofthekeyterms.Seetheexamplescriptbelow.

Before we get to the interview questions, it is important for you to understand some 

definitions used in this research. The definitions are as follows:  

1. A key decision maker is the person or group who has the most influence on the system selection or system characteristics. If it is a group, the group must act like a single entity. For example, imagine a software company trying to sell its product to an institutional owner. The procurement representative, Lawrence, who interacts with the software company’s sales representative may not have the authority to actually purchase the software. Lawrence can only send a recommendation to his superior, Ashton. If Ashton just rubber stamps what Lawrence recommends, Lawrence is the key decision maker. However, if Ashton takes the recommendation INTO CONSIDERATION BUT makes his own decision, then the he is the key decision maker.  

Handtheintervieweeasheetwiththesedefinitionsafterreadingthemaloudandaskifthere

areanyquestionsaboutthedefinitions.

Nowbegintheinterviewwiththefollowingquestionsastheyseemrelevant.Youcanremind

themthatthedefinitionofeachsystemisonthedefinitionssheetiftheyneedit.

Were you involved in any of the following projects: (Handtheintervieweethelistof

recentprojects)?  

 

 

Of those projects, which one are you most familiar with?  

68

 

 

Iftheyarenotfamiliarwithany,askthemthefollowingALT.questionsandskiptothename

generationpartoftheinterview:

ALT:“Think about some of the recent projects that you were involved in. Which one 

would you consider “typical” of your organization?” 

 

 

ALT: What are some of the characteristics that made it “typical” in your opinion? 

 

 

ALT: Would you consider the project successful? Why or why not? 

 

Would you consider <insert project name> to be a relatively typical project for your 

institution? If not, why? 

 

 

NAME GENERATION: 

YoumaywanttohandtheintervieweetheDecisionMakerListingsheetandhavethemfillit

outthemselves.Iftheyneedmoresheets,givethemmore.

69

Think about who was involved in making decisions that affect the characteristics of the 6 

building systems on the HSCC for the ICTAS II project. For each of the following systems, 

please list everyone who was involved in making decisions.  

1) For the exterior enclosure? 

 

 

2) For the HVAC system? 

 

 

3) For the electrical system? 

 

  

4) For the superstructure? 

 

 

5) For interior finishes? 

 

 

6) For conveyance? 

Now, I would like you to examine the lists you created. Cross out anyone who is not part 

of the owner organization (architects, outside engineers, etc.).  

 

70

Now, could you please rate the remaining names according to the amount of influence 

you perceive them to have on each system, 10 being the greatest amount of influence 

and 1 being the least amount of influence. 

 

 

Do you know of any meetings that the decision makers you identified would attend in 

the near future? If not, who would be a good person to ask to find out? 

 

 

Can you give me the contact information for that person? 

 

 

This interview is complete. Do you have any final questions? 

 

 

 

 Thank you very much for your time.

71

DecisionMakerListingSheet

Thinkaboutwhowasinvolvedinmakingdecisionsthataffectthecharacteristicsofthe6buildingsystemsontheHSCCfortheICTASIIproject.Foreachofthefollowingsystems,pleaselisteveryonewhowasinvolvedinmakingdecisions.

1) For the exterior enclosure? 

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

2) For the HVAC system? 

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

3) For the electrical system? 

___________________________________ ___________________________________

 ______________________________________________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

4) For the superstructure? 

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

5) For interior finishes? 

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

6) For conveyance? 

___________________________________ ___________________________________

___________________________________ ___________________________________

72

InterviewDefinitions

1. KeyDecisionMaker‐thepersonorgroupwhohasthemostinfluenceonthesystem.Ifitisagroup,thegroupmustactlikeasingleentity

2. ExteriorEnclosure–exteriorwall,windows,anddoors

3. HVAC–energysupply,heatingandcoolinggeneration,distributionsystems,terminal&packageunits,controlsandinstrumentation

4. Electrical–service&distribution,lighting&branchwiring,communication&security

5. Superstructure–floorandroofconstruction

6. InteriorFinishes–wall,floor,andceilingfinishes

7. Conveyance–elevators,lifts,escalators,andmovingwalks

73

Appendix D: Indirect Observation Protocol 

OtherDataInstrumentInputs

1) Listofpossiblemeetings2) Listofpotentialkeydecisionmakers3) Contactinfoformeetingadministrator

Output

1) Validatedkeydecisionmakers

ItemsNeededtoExecute

1) ResearchInformationSheet2) Notificationofapprovaltoattendbymeetingadministrator3) Referencebysomeoneelseintheorganization(optional)

Introduction: 

Themeetingsthattheresearchershouldattendshouldhavebeenidentifiedbetweenthe

documentreviewandinterviewprocess.Oncethemeetingshavebeenidentified,the

researcherneedstocontactwhoeverisresponsibleforrunningthemeetingtoobtain

permissiontoattendit.Acopyoftheresearchinformationsheetshouldbesentwiththe

requesttosubstantiatethereasonforattending.Ideally,areferencefromsomeoneelseinthe

organizationwillalsohavebeenobtainedandincludedintherequest.Oncetherequesthas

beenapproved,datacollectioncanproceed.

Beforearrivingatthemeeting,besuretodevelopalistofattendeesandtheirroles.Ifthere

aremultiplepeoplewiththesamefirstnameandtheirlastnameisnotclear,arbitrarilyassigna

person#1andperson#2fordatacollectionduringthemeeting.Eitherbeforeorattheendof

themeeting,askeitherthemeetingadministratororoneofthetwopeopleinquestionto

clarifywhoiswho.

74

AT THE MEETING: 

Besuretoarriveatleast15minutesearlysoyoucanfindthemeetingroomandstartputting

namesandfacestogether.Ideally,youshouldgoaroundtheroomaspeoplearriveand

exchangebusinesscards.Thiswillhelpputanamewiththefaceandgiveyoucontactinfoif

furtherfollowupisnecessary.Iftimepermits,quicklysketchthemeetingroomwithwhere

eachpersonissitting.Itmaybebeneficialtobringsomeonealongtodothisforyou.

Atthemeeting,theresearchershouldbeginlisteningforphraseslike“Iwillberesponsiblefor

_____”,“Youtaketheleadwithitem_____”,orsimilarphraseswheresomeoneisindicatedto

makedecisionsconcerningoneofthebuildingsystemsofinterest.Anytimesomeoneis

delegatedaresponsibilityforormakesastatementconcerningoneofthesixHSCCsystems,

theresearchershouldrecordthatperson/officebyputtingatickmarkbytheirname.Oncethe

meetingisconcluded,thekeydecisionmakerspreviouslyidentifiedshouldhavethegreatest

numberoftickmarksbytheirname.

75

Appendix E: Interview Transcript A 

Interviewer:Allright.So,thisshouldn'ttaketoolong.Ihaveonlygotabout6or7questions.

Bob1:Okay.

Interviewer:Butthereisafairamount‐well,thereispotentiallyafairamountofwritingthat

willneedtobedone.SothefirstthingtostartoffwithisI'mgoingtoshowyouthis,whatwe

callahighsystemclasschart,andthatchartisbasicallyabreakdownofbuildingsystems

accordingtotheUniformatII.AreyoufamiliarwithUniformatatall?

Bob:No.

Interviewer:Wellit'sbasicallyaspecificationorganizationmethod.Normallythereis‐well,a

lotofpeoplehavebeenusingMasterFormatandithasunit,orsection1,2,3,4through16.

Bob:That'stheoneI'mfamiliarwith.

Interviewer:Yeah.SoUniformatislikethat,exceptforit'sorganizedaccordingtowork

packagesalittlebitmore.

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:Asyoucansee,electricalisinonegroup,soanythingelectricalisinthatgroup.

HVACisinonegroup,andit'sjust,it'seasierfromawork‐packagingstandpoint,andalso,I

think,acost‐estimatingstandpoint,becauseyou'relookingforsimilarthings.

Bob:Right.

Interviewer:So,basically,thisisasummaryofastudythattheDepartmentofCommercedid

whentheylookedatan8‐storeyofficebuildingthatonlyhadafootprintofabout6,000ft2.But

theywentthroughandtheycostitout,eachofthesystems,usingthisUniformatmethod,all

1Nameshavebeensubstitutedtopreservesubjectanonymity

76

thewaythroughtotalinstalledcost.Soithasalltheconstructionmaterials,andtheyeven

includedsomethingforlaborandthecontractormarkup.

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:Okay?

Bob:Mmhmm.

Interviewer:So,thefirstquestionis,basedoffofyourexperience,arethosesystems‐arethey

representativeofhowexpensiveeachofthoseare?

Bob:Okay,I'mhavingtroublehere,becauseI'mnotsurewiththecolorswhichis‐aretheyin

order?

Interviewer:Theyareinthesameorder.Yeah.

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:Ididn'thaveacoloredprinter,sorry.

Bob:Whatareyoucalling"conveying"?

Interviewer:Conveyanceislike‐here'sasheetofdefinitions,sorry.

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:Conveyanceiselevators,lifts,escalators,thatsortofthing.

Bob:Ididn'tknowifthatwasthattypeofconveyingorlikethemanagementcomponent,see.

Interviewer:Okay,no.Theseshouldallbelike,buildingsystems,physicalbuildingsystems.

Bob:Andthesuperstructureistheexterior?

Interviewer:Itiseverythingfromthefoundationup.Sothatwouldbelike,yoursteelbeams,

or,inthisbuilding,Ibelievethey'reconcreteforms.Themainstructuralmember.

77

Bob:Exteriorenclosure.Sothisistheenvelope,here.BecauseIknowthattick,thatmaybea

littlemorebecauseoftheHokiestone.

Interviewer:Mmhmm.

Bob:SoIthinkitwoulddependon,likeattheCorporateResearchCenter,thisisprobablymore

truethanitwouldbeoncampus,becauseIknowHokiestoneaddsapremiumjustbecauseof

thelabor.It'slaborintensive,so…

Interviewer:Okay.Butingeneral,lookingatthose‐

Bob:Thatchartlooksprettybalanced.

Interviewer:Itlooksprettybalancedaccordingtototalinstalledcost.Like,whatyou'veseen.

Bob:FarasIknow.Idon'tworkalotonthebudgetside,butjustfromwhenwe'redoingvalue

engineeringIknowthesearesomeoftheplacesthatwewouldstartcutting,wouldbe‐

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Probablyinsomeofthelowercostitems.

Interviewer:That'sawesome.Sothefollowupquestiontothatis,ifyouweretoconsiderthe

samesystemsfromanoperationsandmaintenancestandpoint‐

Bob:Mmhmm.

Interviewer:Aretheystillprettyrepresentative?Orwouldyouchangetheorder,like,which

onescostmoreorless?Wouldyouaddanythingtothem?

Bob:Iguesstheothersystems‐you'relookingatthat‐well,theotherthingyou'regoingtorun

into‐areyoutalkingaboutlabfacilities,orofficefacilities?Becausethiscouldchange

dependingonfunctionoffacility.

Interviewer:We'regoingtojustconsiderICTASI.

78

Bob:Okay,becauseitisalabfacility.So,maintenancecostsarecominginfrommaintaining

program‐specificequipment.Andagain,Idon'tmanagethebudgetforphysicalplants,soI

don'tknowwhattheircostsareasfarascustodialservicesor…ButIknowfrommystandpoint,

ourcostsarecominginwithmaintenanceagreementsforHVAC‐Imean,theairandvacuum

systems‐

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Theautoclaves,theprogram‐specificequipmentinthebuilding,thefumehoods,those

typethingsthatyouwouldnothaveinanofficebuilding.Sothat'swhyIwasaskingonthat

front,becauseyouwouldnothavethoseassociatedcostsinWilliam'sHall.

Interviewer:Right,right.SotheHVACcomponentmightbealittlebit‐

Bob:TheHVAC,seeagain,Idon'tknowbecausethat'shandledthroughtheUniversity,anda

personthatyouwouldprobablywanttotalkwiththerewouldbeSam,whoisthedirectorof

facilities,andhewouldknowmoreabouttheactualbuildingcosts,theenvelope,andthe‐

minewouldbemorefromamanagementstandpointoftheinteriorsandthe,again,the

program‐specificequipment.SoIcouldn'tspeaktothose,butIknowtheydohavepreventive

maintenanceontheHVACsystem,soI'massumingthatthatcostisapremiumbecausethat

personisdedicatedinthisbuilding,particularlytotheMEPs.

Interviewer:Okay.Alright.Perfect.

Bob:Andprobably,interiorfinishesgoesdown.SoIwouldthinkyouwouldhavelessofa

maintenancecost.Imean,asfarasbuildingit,thisisprobablyaccurate,butinteriorfinishes

wouldgodownasfarasmaintenance.Ithinkitwouldbealotlessthantheseothers.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Doesthatmakesense?

Interviewer:Yep,makesperfectsense.

79

Bob:Andevenatthat,theelevatorsmaypickupalittlebit,becausethat'swhereIhavealotof

trouble‐withjusttheelevatorsingeneralIthink.Justthemaintenanceonthoseisprobablya

littlemore.

Interviewer:Okay,soelevatorsorconveyancewouldprobablygoup,interiorfinisheswouldgo

down,electricalwouldfluctuateprobably.

Bob:I'dsaythe‐wedon'thavealotofissueswithmaintenanceonelectrical,no.Wedohavea

lotofrenovationwork,butyou'renotlookingatthat.You'relookingatwhatwasintheproject

andwhatitcosttomaintainthat,right?

Interviewer:Or,basically,I'mmorelookinglikethisstudygoesuptototalinstalledcosts.Ikind

ofwanttojustthinkaboutandcaptureyourthoughtsonfrominstalledcosttotheend,tolike,

demolition.

Bob:Wherewerunintoaproblem,ifyou'regoingthere,whichisdifferentthanmaintenance,

isrenovations,becausearchitectstendtomissalotofelectricalneeds.Wehavespenta

tremendousamountofmoneyalready,andwehaveonlybeeninheresinceApril,onadding

electricaloutletsthatweremissedindesignorwheretheprogramneedshavechanged.AndI

thinknomatterhowmuchyouplan,it'sreallyhardtohitthemarkonwhatelectricalneeds

you'regoingtohave.Sowedospendalotofmoneyonelectricalupgrades.

Interviewer:Gettingelectrical‐okay.Good.Perfect.

Bob:Again,wedon'tdoalotwith‐Idon'tdoalotwiththeelevators.TheothersystemsasI

mentionedthatwouldbeourcost,wherewehavequiteabitofcost,butyou'vegotthat

capturedalreadythere.Interiorfinishesother‐againthen,somebodydecidedjustlastweek

theywantedthedownstairswallpaintedredinsteadofwhite,andthat'sjustgoingtocome

withpersonalities,butthat'sstillminimal.Thesuperstructure,Ican't‐iftheroofisinstalled

correctly,Iwouldthinkyouwouldn'thavealotofissueswiththat,totheend.Youknow?It's

goingtobeacostattheendofthewarrantyperiod,foriftheyhavetogoanddorepairsor

replacingit.Butasfarasonacontinuum,Ican'tthinkthattherewouldbealotofcost

80

associatedwiththatpartofit.Floors,andyou'renottalkingcarpetsandthosekindsofthings,

you'retalking‐

Interviewer:Nope,that'syeah,aninteriorfinish‐wouldbe‐

Bob:That'sinaninteriorfinish‐

Interviewer:Yeah,thatwouldbetheinterior‐

Bob:Sonotinthesuperstructure.

Interviewer:No,no.Thesuperstructurefloorwouldbethe‐

Bob:Butstill,withtheinteriorfinishes,again,ifthecarpetsaremaintainedastheyshouldbe,

cleanedatleastonceayear,andthat'sgoingtobeaminimalcostversusreplacingit.SoIthink

yourcostsaregoingtobecorrelatedwithhowwellthebuilding'smanaged.Doesthatmake

sense?

Interviewer:Ohyeah.

Bob:Becauseifyouhavesomeonecleaningyourcarpetsasyou'resupposedtobe,thecarpets

aregoingtolastlonger.IfyouhavesomeonechangingthefiltersintheHVACsystem,asit

shouldbe,thecostisgoingbelower‐eventhoughtheup‐frontcostforthefiltersismore,in

thelongrunit'sgoingtopayoffbecausetheequipmentisgoingtorunlonger.

Interviewer:Right.

Bob:SoIthinkthebuildingcostsdirectlycorrelatewithhowwellthebuilding'smanaged.

Interviewer:Okay.Ifweassumethat,youknow,standardoperatingormaintenance

proceduresaredone,andsomeonedoesn'tlike,slackoff,then‐

Bob:Right,likeIsaid,Ithinktheinteriorcostswouldgodown.Ithinktheelectricalcostscould

goupjustbecauseoftheadditionalwork,ifyou'reincludingthat.It'snotsomuch

maintenance,butit'sjustadding.SuperstructureIthinkwouldprobablystaythesame,orit

couldevengodown.Interiorfinishes,again,saiditwouldgodown.ElevatorsIthinkcould

81

possiblygoupinpercentagewiththeothersystems.Theexteriorenclosure,andthereagain,if

it'sinstalledproperly‐wedidhaveissueswiththeeffervescence‐so,ifthatwasdoneproperly,

that,Ithink,wouldbeminimal.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Justbecausethat'swhytheyusedtheHokiestone.It'sveryminimalmaintenanceifit's

doneproperly.AndsoIthinkthatwouldbealess.It'sgoingtobemoreupfrontbecauseofthe

typeofstructureitis,butbecauseofthetypeofstructure,itwillbelessinthelongrun.SoI

thinkthecostwillpayforitselfinmaintenanceeveryyear.But,ifit'snotinstalledproperly,

thenthereisahugecostassociated.

Interviewer:Okay,okay.

Bob:Assumingit'sinstalledproperly.

Interviewer:Right.

Bob:It'sgood.Iwouldthinkitwouldbealotless,percentage‐wise.

Interviewer:Okay,excellent.Nowwearegoingtogettothe,Iguess,secondpart,wherethat

waskindoflike‐justtogetanideaofthesystemsandthegeneralgistofwhatI'mdoingfor

theresearch.Thisnextpart,I'mspecificallylooking‐I'mtryingtoidentifykeydecisionmakers

forourconstructionproject,andhowthisplaysintothatisI'mtryingtofindkeydecision

makers,orpeoplewhomakedecisionsaboutthesesystemshere.

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:Because‐becausetheycomprisebasicallythemajorityofthecostofasystem,I'm

tryingto‐I'mjustgoingtolookforthosepeoplefornow.

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:So,somethingstokeepinmind,we'regoingtoassumethatalltheguidelinesand

codes,requirements,areallmet.

82

Bob:Okay.

Interviewer:IknowthatVirginiaTechhasawhole‐

Bob:Thingthateverybodyelsedoes‐

Interviewer:Thingthateveryonehastomeet‐thesearethespecifications,guidelinesfor

VirginiaTech,youknow.So,ifwetakeallthatsortofstuffasagiven,we'retryingtolookfor

peoplewhomakedecisions‐becausethere'sstillwiggleroom,youknow.

Bob:Oh,there'slots,andthere'slotsofpeople.

Interviewer:There'slotsofwiggleroomforeachofthesesystems,buttherearetwoother

things.

Bob:AndareyoulookingspecificallyforVirginiaTech?Becausethat'swhereI'mcomingback

to,soyou'relookingatVirginiaTechfacilities.

Interviewer:Yeah,I'mlookingatVirginiaTechfacilities,andI'mspecificallylookingatthis

building,okay?Sothisbuilding,ICTASI,usingthe‐allthecodesandguidelinesasagiven,and

thentherearetwootherconceptsthatIneedtoquicklycommunicatetoyou.Thefirstoneis

there's‐I'mnotlookingforarubberstampdecision‐maker.

Bob:Right,IunderstandbecauseI'minthatprocess,soIunderstandwhereyou'recoming

from.

Interviewer:Okay,yeah.I'mnotlike‐ifthere'sasubordinatewho,youknow,makesa

recommendation,andthebossiskindoflike,"Whateverhesays,"thenitwouldbethe

subordinatewhomakesthedecision,asopposedtothebossmakingthedecision,so‐to‐speak.

Bob:Right.AndI'mpullingsomethingoutjustsoyoucangetanidea.From‐I'mtheenduser,

andthat'smyrolebecauseI'mtheenduserrep,andIdogotoalltheconstructionmeetings.

WegottohelptakethisCM@Risk,soweallhavevoiceinthat.Iwastryingtofindthe‐it'snot

inhere,it'snotfiledwhereit'ssupposedtobe.Butwejustrecentlywentthroughthisprocess

ofdetermining‐ah,herewego.Sothesearethereviewcomments.Soyoucansee,wewent

83

throughwiththeA&Eteam,andaconstructionmanagementteam,andwebeingICTAS

Administration,arepresentativefromCapitalDesignandPlanningand‐areyoufamiliarwith

CapitalDesignandPlanningatVirginiaTech?

Interviewer:The‐

Bob:TheCDC,PlanningDesignandConstruction.

Interviewer:Thedepartmentoverinfacilities?

Bob:It'sSterrett.

Interviewer:Yeah.

Bob:Right.

Interviewer:Yeah.

Bob:Okay,sotheyhaveaprojectmanagerandanassistantprojectmanager,andthat'sthe

University'svoicefortheconstructionsideofthings.Andyou'relookingonlyat

constructability?Orareyoulookingatfinance?Or…?

Interviewer:Akeydecisionmakerisdefinedasanyonewhomakes‐

Bob:Hasadecision‐

Interviewer:Who‐whosignificantlyimpactsthecharacteristicsofthis,notnecessarilythecost

‐

Bob:Right.

Interviewer:Butwhoeverdeterminesthecharacteristicsofthesesteps.

Bob:Okay,becausethat'sjustwhatIwantedtoclarify,becausethere'sdifferent‐becausewe

canmakearecommendationbutthebudgetmaydictatethatit'snot…

Interviewer:Right.

84

Bob:SoyoucanseethesearejustsomenotesthatIhadpulledout.ThisisfromChristine,and

letmeseewhathis‐whoChristineis.Heapparentlyworkedwithreviewingthemechanical

systems.SoChristineisapparentlysomeonethat'sinthemaintenancesideofphysicalplant.So

hehadavoicein‐he'sgotdown‐he'scommentingontheaircompressorsandthesensor

controller,soheapparentlyworkswiththeSiemenspieceofthemechanicalsystems.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:AndthiswasPhil,whowastheAIArepresentative,andhe'sresponsibleforADA.So‐

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Sohehadacomponentinthedecisionmaking,sohereviewedtheproject.Theseareall

fromourdesignreviews.Weallreviewedtheplans.WesubmittedonefromICTAS

Administration.Andsowhattheydoistheytakethese,andthisisLizzy,andheiswiththe‐I'm

thinkinghe'sworkingwiththecommissioningcomponentandthesustainableenergy

component.Sotheirofficehadsomesay.Sowhatthesedo,theseevengooutto‐there'sa

wholelistandthat'swhyIwasasking‐PlanningDesignandConstructioncouldtellyouwhothe

listgoesoutto,andtheywouldbeagoodresource‐butitgoesouttothepeoplewhomaintain

thesystem'sinvisibleplant,soitwouldbethesupervisorsofthosecrews.Sotherewillbean

electricianrepresentativethere,andthat'susuallyDan.Therewouldbeamechanicalperson

there,andthat'susuallySam.

Interviewer:That'smechanical?

Bob:Yeah.That'sSam.Donworkswithcommissioning.HewouldbereviewingBill.Andthisis

onethingIthinkisreallygood,he'sthecustodialsupervisor,andhegetstoreviewthefinishes

becauseof,youknow,knowingthatthisisgoingtobeamaintenanceproblem,orifthereisa

lotofglassinthebuilding,andheknowsthatit'samisfitbecausetheydon'tcleanglass.Hehas

somesayinthat.Like,recently,fromICTASItoICTASIIwehavedoneawaywithstainlesssteel

toiletdividersbecauseBillsaysitcoststoomuchtomaintainthem.

Interviewer:Oh,okay.

85

Bob:We'regoingwiththemoreplastic‐typedividerinICTASII.Sohehasavoice.

Interviewer:Whatwashisnameagain?

Bob:Bill.AndthenJohnisthearchitectforinteriorfinishes.Sheworkscloselywithme.Sheand

Iwillpickoutthefurnitureandthefinishes.Wehavealreadydonethat.Infact,betweenthe

architectsandICTASandtheinteriordesigner,wepickedallthecolorsandallthefinishes.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Letmethink,whoelseisthere?Whatothersystemsdoyouhave?Thereisa

representativefrom–Zoeusedtobe,andI'mnotsurewhoitis‐Juilie,let'sjustputJuilieand

thatwillcoverit.JuilieoverseestheHokiestoneinstallationprocess.SohewouldreviewHokie

stone,anythingdealingwithHokiestone.

Interviewer:Juilie,whatwashislast‐

Bob:BishopisfromtheHokiepassportoffice,soshereviewsthesecuritysystemdrawing.She

andIworkcloselytogetherwiththat,whichmaynotsoundlikeabigdealbutitwasabigdeal

inthisbuilding,becauseyouneedsomeonethatknowstheuserinterfacetohelpwiththe

designofthesecuritysystem,andthat'sBishop.Andlet'ssee,andthenthere'sarepresentative

fromOtis,andIdon'tknowhisname.

Interviewer:What'sOtis?

Bob:Theelevators.

Interviewer:Oh.

Bob:BecauseOtishasthecontractforallelevatorsoncampus.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:SoitwillbeanOtis‐supportedelevatoroncampus.

86

Interviewer:Who‐ImeanobviouslyVirginiaTechhastohavesomeonewhoreviewsthe

elevators,ormakessurethat‐

Bob:WhofromVirginiaTech?Theyhave‐that'stheirOtisrepresentative.Thereisaperson

assignedtoVirginiaTech,andIdon'tknowtheirname.

Interviewer:ButVirginiaTechdoesn'thavelike,theirownpersonwhojustkindofmakessure‐

Bob:It'scontractedout,samewithSiemens.

Interviewer:Oh,okay.

Bob:Yeah,sotheHVACcontrolsare‐so,well,Dan,IguesstheelevatorsfallbacktoDan.

Interviewer:BacktoDan?

Bob:Yeah.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Shedoesthose,too.

Interviewer:Okay.Whowouldmakedecisionsaboutthesuperstructure?

Bob:Thestructure…Whoisthestructureperson?Andhereagain,thatprobablyfallsbackto

theprojectmanager,andwhattheydoisthey‐thatispartoftheAEteam.There'snotreally

anybodyatVirginiaTechthatIknowof,excepttheycoordinatewiththeprojectmanagerfrom

PlanningDesignandConstruction.Andtheyhireaconsultant,usuallyeitherfromtheAEfirmor

anindependentconsultant.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Andthenthere'salsothecommissioningpersonthatoverseessomeofthat.Mostofthe

timethough,thecommissioncomponentsareonlytheMEPs.

Interviewer:Okay.

87

Bob:Yeahbuttomyknowledge,thereisnotanyone‐thestructuralengineerwiththeAEteam

iswhooverseesthesubstructure.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Andthesuperstructure.

Interviewer:ThereisnoonefromICTASnecessarilywhosaysanythingaboutstructure?Okay.

Cool.

Bob:Well,yes,no.Wewillgivethemourvibrationrequirements,yes.Sothat'sus,that'sfrom

ourside.SoEllie,he'sourlabmanager,hewillreviewthe‐willworkcloselywiththe‐they

havealabdesigneronICTASII,theydidn'tonthisone.Iwishtheyhad.Buttheywillaskusfor

thespecsheets,andwewillreviewthespecsheets,checkforanyelectricalrequirements,

specialelectrical,specialexhaust,andthat's‐EllieandIdothat,andwecheckforvibration

requirements.

Interviewer:Andthatnormallygoesinwithliketheprogramrequirements,orsomethinglike

that.

Bob:Well,itdoesn'tgoinwiththeprogram.Itgoesbackwhenweactuallyweredoingthe

designofthelabs.Itwasduringlike,theworkingdrawings.

Interviewer:Oh,okay.Soafterschematicdrawingshappenyourealize,"Okay,thisbuildingis

actuallygoingtohappen."

Bob:Right.Butit'snottheconstructiondrawings.

Interviewer:Butit'snottheCD‐okay,okay.Alright.Excellent.

Bob:Andthetrickypartthere,isyoudon'talwaysknowwhoisgoingtobeassignedtothe

building.

Interviewer:Right.Soyouhavethe‐

88

Bob:I'mjustgoingtoturnthisoffbecauseit'sdistractingme,so.Ineedtoresetthatthing.It's

gotthatslideshowthingthatkeepsswitching,soit's‐

Interviewer:Oh,yeah.Yeah.I'mthesameway,whenever‐anytimeIgo‐Idon'twatchTV‐so

anytimeIgooutwithmyfriendsorsomething,I'mlike,"Wow!"

Bob:That'swhat'sgoingoninthere!

Interviewer:Yeah,exactly.It'slike,"Wow,sothisisthecommercialeveryone'sbeentalking

about."Yeah,Ifeelkindoflike,Idon'tknow,Ifeellikealittle5‐year‐old,like"Huh?What?"

Yeah.

Bob:[laughing]

Interviewer:It'sprettybad,tryingtohaveconversationsisalmostimpossiblesometimes.Ihave

tochoosetofaceawayfromit.

Bob:[laughing]

Interviewer:Arethereanyothergroupsorofficesthathaveasignificantimpactontheexterior

enclosure?

Bob:Yes.Theboardofvisitors.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Alldesignsgothroughtheboardofvisitors.Wedon'tgoanyfurther.Theyhavetoreview

everything,andthereisapercentage,anditmaybe20%ofallbuildings,thefacehastobe

Hokiestone.That'sintheUniversityguidelines.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Buttheboardofvisitorshastoapproveeveryexteriorfinish.

Interviewer:Sotheywoulddefinitelygetlike,yayornay‐

Bob:Yes.

89

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Andwewentthroughseveraldifferentdrawingsbeforewegotonethattheboardof

visitorsactuallyliked.Sothisiskindofthepackagethattheypresentedandwentthrough

whereitwasgoingtobelocated.Soallofthiswaspresentedtous,andwemadeour

comments,andthenitwenttotheboardofdirectors.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:I'mtryingtofind‐theygotintothedrawingsinthisone.Thisgoeswayback.Butthenthe

building‐evenwhenthebuilding‐wehadtotakeitfrom73,000ft2backdownto‐yeah,this

wasveryearly‐butevenatthisstage,theboardofvisitorshadasay.Wehadtokindofsay,

thisiskindofwherewewantittobe,andtheyhadtoapprove,"Yeah,that'swhere‐that'sfine.

Youcanputitthere."Sothisisourbuildinghere.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:So‐butwehadalotofsayinthat,andICTASdesignedthemedallions.Seehowitworks?

Itgoesonit‐

Interviewer:ICTAS‐

Bob:ICTASdesignedthose.Wepickedwhatwewantedtoberepresentedandthenitwent

backtotheAEteam'sartisttogodothefinal‐butwegottopickwhatwewantedonthe

exterior.

Interviewer:Okay.Sowehavetheboardofvisitors,Juilie,ICTAS,andtheAEallweresignificant

‐sotheyhad‐theyweredecisionmakerswhosignificantlyaffectedtheexteriorenclosure.

Bob:Theexteriorenclosure‐right.

Interviewer:Okay,isthereanyoneelse?

Bob:NotthatIcanthinkofrightoff.

Interviewer:Okay.Isthereanyoneelse‐

90

Bob:Ohlike,theUniversityarchitect'soffice.It'sjustaUAofficeiswhattheycallit.The

Universityarchitect'soffice.Theyallsayyouhavetoweighin.

Interviewer:Okay.IsthereanyoneelsefromtheHVACsideofthings?

Bob:AndagainIdon'tknowalltheplayers,IknowSamisthepersonthatIworkwith.And

again,weprovidefeedbackonwhatourneedsare,andthenthey‐asfarastheyreviewthe

drawingsafterwegetthempassedthatpoint.

Interviewer:Youknowtheseguysareinphysicalplant,right?Christine‐

Bob:Idon'treallyknowwhoChristineis.Let'slookhimup.I'mjustsayingthathewasoneof

theones‐I'massuminghe'stheSieman'srepresentative.So‐

Interviewer:Ohokay.

Bob:[typing]HemaynotbewiththeUniversity.

Interviewer:That'sfine.ButSam's‐

Bob:Yeah,Idon'tknow.Samis‐Sam,right.

Interviewer:He'sfromphysicalplant?Okay.

Bob:Yeah,Ithinktheycallitfacilityservicesnow,butyeah.

Interviewer:Okay.Electricalsystem,superstructure,interiorfinishes.

Bob:AndwouldyouincludeADAwithinteriorfinishes?Ordoesthat‐

Interviewer:No,that'salittle,alittletoospecificatthispoint.

Bob:Operationalissue‐okay,okay.

Interviewer:AtsomepointIwouldliketoincludeallthewaydowntothatlevelofdetail,but

sincethisislikethefirststabatthisI'mtrying‐I'mkeepingthingsalittlehigh‐level.

Bob:Okay,that'sfine.

91

Interviewer:Yeah.Becausewhat'sgoingtohappenis‐whatI'multimatelygoingtodo,whenI

gettomyPhD,whichhopefullywillbetheendofthissummer,I'llstartthat‐isI'mtryingto

actuallycreateacomputermodelthatoptimizesinvestmentinsustainability.Butwewantto

includethesocialaspectofthings,becausethathasahugeimpacton‐like,whatissustainable

inalargeparthastodowithusersandlike,thewholeprocess.

Bob:Becausewhenyougetintosustainability,there'sanothercomponent,andthatisanother

personalongwithBill,whoisareally,custodial‐wouldbeSamwhoreviewsalltheareasfor

recycling,makessurethere'sarecyclingspaceavailable,andhealsolooksattrafficforwaste

cominginandout,makingsureit'sagoodpathwayandthattypeofthing.

Interviewer:Okay.Good,good.Verygood.Yeah,sothat'sjusthowthistiesintowhatI'm

doingnext.Alright,soyoudon'thaveanyoneelsethatyoureallywantedtoaddtothislist

necessarily?

Bob:Again,fortheelevators,andthattypething,lifts,thatwouldalsobetheADAoffice,but

foryourpurposes,ifyou'relookingatsustainabilityprimarily,Danwouldbe‐

Interviewer:OhI'mjustlookingatdecisionmakers.

Bob:Yeah,right.

Interviewer:So..theykindofviewADAasjustlike,that'sacodethathastobecompliedwith.

Bob:Right,right.

Interviewer:Theydon'treally‐theyjustmakesurethattheADArequirementsaremet.So‐

Bob:Right,andsomebodyelsecanmakethedecisiononhowthey'remet.Isee,right,okay.

Interviewer:Yeah,yeah.

Bob:That'sallIcanthinkofrightoff.

Interviewer:That's‐that'sfine.That'sperfect.

92

Bob:Theremightbeothers,butIcan't‐

Interviewer:JustsothatIcankindofgetanideaofscale,foreachofthesethathavemore

thanoneperson,whowouldbelike,themostinfluential.Ifyouhadapick,whohadlike,the

mostinfluenceoryes/no‐

Bob:Thiswouldbetheboardofvisitors.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Imean,theydon'tmake‐wesetdown,weliterally‐thearchitectsgaveusabasicdrawing

andthenICTASsaidyes,no,yes,no.Thenwhenwegotittothatpoint,theUniversityarchitects

office,theyprobablyhadthesamelevelaswedid,withyes,no,yes,no.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Butultimately,itwastheboardofvisitorsthatsaid,"Yes."

Interviewer:Alright‐

Bob:Andyou'renotlookingatfunding,soyou'renotgoingallthewayuptoBCOMlevel.Are

youfamiliarwithBCOM?

Interviewer:Yeah…

Bob:Okay.BCOM'smoreworriedaboutthecodeandthebudget.They'renotsoworriedabout

design.

Interviewer:Yeah.

Bob:Itdoeshaveto‐BCOM'sonlyroleisgoingtomakesureit's69%efficient.Allstate

buildingshavetomeettheefficiencyrateof69%aspastthat,they'renotreallyworriedabout

thedesign,aslongasyou'vegotthemoneytopayforit.

Interviewer:Okay,yeah.

Bob:Idon'tthinkthat'sthelevelyou'relookingfor.

93

Interviewer:I'mnot‐Idon'tthinksoatthispoint,because,Imean,really‐

Bob:BCOM'sastateagency,andmoreandmore,assoonaswegetStephentrainedon

buildingcodes,we'reprobablynotgoingtobeusingBCOMalotanymoreanyway,because

we'reacharternow.

Interviewer:Oh,okay.

Bob:So,we'reseparatingsomefromRichmondonourcapitalprojects.They'llstillhavefinal

sayinthebudgetsbecauseit'sallstillstatefunds.Asfarasthedesign,they'llgetlessandless

involved.

Interviewer:Okay.Goodtoknow.Goodtoknow.Alright.For‐well,letssee‐fora

superstructureit'sprettymuchgoingtobe‐

Bob:That'stheengineerfromtheAEteam.

Interviewer:Theengineer,okay.Andtheninteriorfinishes,whowouldyousayhasthemost

influence?

Bob:I'dsayICTASactually.

Interviewer:ICTAS?

Bob:Again,we‐Johnmakessuggestions,theA&Emakessuggestions,butultimatelytheydefer

toourdecisions.

Interviewer:Okay,okay.

Bob:Andjustfortherecord,Iwasnotherewhenthesecolorswerepicked.Soifyoulikethem‐

Interviewer:[laughing]

Bob:Ican'ttakecredit.Ifyouhatethem,I'mnotgoingtotakecredit.So,somepeoplelove

them,somepeoplehatethem.

Interviewer:Iunderstand.

94

Bob:I'mjust‐becausethiscarpet[laughing],itwouldnothavebeenmychoice.Butthat‐

ultimately,whatyouhavetodealwithiswhoevermakesthatdecisionwithinICTAS,somebody

elseisgoingtolikeitornotlikeit,andsoyoutrynottoadvertisewhomadethefinaldecision.

[laughing]

Interviewer:Exactly.Yeah.Noone'sgoingtoknowwho's‐

Bob:Oh,ImeanIdon'tcare,youknow,Idon'tcare.Ijustalwaysgivethatdisclaimerbecause

whenpeoplemovedinthelabstherearebrightyellowwalls,andthey'relike,"Whopicked

thesecolors?"AndI'mlike,"Don'tlookatme!IloveyellowandIlovered,butIwouldn'thave

putthemintheplacestheyputthem.It'shysterical."

Interviewer:Yeah,yeah.You'renevergoingtokeepeveryonehappy.

Bob:Oh,no,no.

Interviewer:Itdoesn'tmatterwhatyoudo.

Bob:Wehadsomepeoplethatlovedthisfurniture,andwe‐ohmygosh,onthisbuilding,on

ICTASI,I'llsayontheinteriorfinishes,liketheactualfinishes‐butthenthefurnishings,they

hiredaninteriordesignerthatwasapartoftheA&Efirm,andtheywouldnotlistentous,so

wedidn'treallygetwhatwewanted.

Interviewer:Uh,oh!

Bob:Butshewasjustheadstrong,soevenJohnbuttedheadswithherattimes.But,so‐we,we

pickedthecolors,sowegottopickthecolors,buttheactualdesignwasn'texactlywhatwe

picked.Butwehadthisbook‐

Interviewer:Ohmygoodness.

Bob:Sotheseareourfinishes,sothisisabigprocess.Sowegetthisbookandwesatdownand

wehadtorevieweverything,allthecolorsandthemock‐updesigns.Soitwasreallyhardtotell

fromthislittlebittypicturewhatwewereactuallygetting.Imean,thatreally‐I'mnotfamiliar

95

withthislinebefore.SomeofitIam.Iknowalotoffurniturelines.ThisisaTec‐Neonproduct,

andthiswastheotherthingthat‐there'samisfitbetweencapitalprojectsandmaintenance.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:AndIthinkbythe‐theUniversitymadeagoodmovebymovingallthatunder‐there

usedtobe‐therewasamaintenancedivision,therewasarenovationsdivision,andtherewas

acapitolprojectsdivision.Andthat'swheresomeofthemisfitscamein,andthisisonething‐

I'malsothecofounderandco‐chairofthecampus‐widefacilitiesmanagersnetwork,andwe

havebeentakingthingsbacktoadministrationsaying,"Look,whenyou'redesigningthese

buildings,youneedtolookatthis.Universitydoesn'tcleanglass.Thisbuildingisfullofglass,so

thatcomesbacktometopayforandmanage."So,they'veheardus.They'renowgoingtostart

cleaningglassIthinktwiceayear.Sotheotherthingis,I'verecommended,andthey'relooking

intothis,whereourgroupasawholewenttothemandsaid,"Youneedtoconsidereventhe…"

‐whathappens,thecontractor,wespecwhatthe‐theUniversityhasaguidelineofwhatthe

specificationsare,fortheirhandling,andthat's‐butthenit'suptothecontractortointerpret,

andtheinterpretationisn'talwaysthesame.Thereisahugecostassociatedwiththemultiple

HVACunitsthey'vepicked,becauseallofthemusedifferentfilters.

Interviewer:Ahh.

Bob:Sowe'retryingtogetthemtostandardizethat.Justfromataxpayer'sconcern.Well,they

don'treallyhaveanythingtodowiththat.That'sthepreventivemaintenancepersonhere.

We'retryingtogetthemtostandardizethatalittlebettertotrytocutsomeoftheUniversity

costs.Becausetheycan't‐there'snowheretostorethem.

Interviewer:Oh.

Bob:So,youhavetohavethem,andthere'smultipledifferentkinds‐wheredoyoustore

them?Soyourunupacostassociatedwithstoringthem.Sowe'retryingtogettogetherfrom

themaintenancemanagementperspectiveandhavemoreinfluenceonthedesign,butwe

havenotquitegottenthere.Becauseit'suptothe‐youhavetobesospecific,withthe

specifications.

96

Interviewer:Yeah.

Bob:Soanyway,whentheypickedoutallthesecolors,thisisthebookweget‐andyoucansee

here,tinylittlesketches.We'renotreallysurewhatthisstuffisandwhatitlookslikeuntilit

actuallygetshere.

Interviewer:Right.

Bob:Butthisiswhat‐wehadtoreviewthis,andsayyes,no,fromtheAEfirm'sinterior

designer.Wearenothiringaninteriordesignerforthenextproject.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Wevetoedthat.

Interviewer:[laughing]Kindofhelpstohaveasecondbuilding,differentfromthefirst.

Bob:Butthisissomethingthat'sawonderful,wonderfultool.WehavetheO&Mmanuals.Iget

thosetomanagethebuilding,thepreventivemaintenanceguygetsthem,butwealsogetthis

bookthatsays‐soifwewanttogobackandbuythisdeskagain,Iknowwhereitcamefrom.I

knowwhatthefinishis.Andthishasbeen‐Ididnothavethisonmyotherprojects.Ihave

donefiveprojectsatTech.

Interviewer:Okay.

Bob:Andsothishasbeenthebestthingfromfacilitiesmanagementstandpoint,tohavean

actualcopyoftheinteriorfinishes.

Interviewer:Goodtoknow.Goodtoknow.Awesome.Alright,that'sbasicallyit.Idon'thave

anythingelseforyou.Thankyouforyourtime.

Bob:Okay,wellifyouthinkofanything.OrifIthinkofanyoneelsethatImayhavemissed‐but

againIdon'tknowwhoallyou'reinterviewing.

97

Interviewer:Ialreadyinterviewed,justsoyouknow,Ialreadyinterviewedseveralpeoplein

facilities.Ijustdidn'twanttosaythat,becauseIdidn'twantyouto‐Ididn'twantyoutostart

assuming.

Bob:Ihopeitwasconsistent.[laughing]

Interviewer:Wellthat'sexactly‐that'sexactlywhatIwaslookingfor,toseeiftherewas

consistency,ortoseeiftherewasadifferentperspective.

Bob:Right,right.

Interviewer:And,forthemostpart,you're‐you'reprettymuch100%consistentwithwhat

theysaid.

Bob:AndlikeIsaid,someoftheplayersImayjustnotknow.

Interviewer:Yeah,yeah.Whichis‐butthefactthatyou‐forexample,theboardofvisitors.

Theyallsaidboardofvisitors,andwewereall‐weallwerethinkingitwouldbesomething

else.

Bob:Right.

Interviewer:Youknow,so,thishasjustbeenapretty‐aprettyinterestingprocessforus,

becausewethoughtthattheremightbesomeonelike,fromICTAS,wholike,makesawhole

bunchofthesedecisions,butitturnsoutthatit'snot.It'sreallytheseotherpeoplegroups.

Bob:Andwemakeprettymuchalldecisionswhenitcomestolabdesign.

Interviewer:Right.

Bob:So,thelabdesign,actuallytheup‐fitsforthelab,that'sallus,andthentheengineers

worktoourdesignspecifications,whichisalargepartofmineandDavid'sjobisdesigningthe

labs,andthenwedon'tgetsoconcernedwiththecodes.Weexpectthemtofitourneedsinto

whatevertheyneedto‐like,inthisbuildingweendedupwithmorefumehoods.Weneeded

morefumehoodsthanthebuildingcouldhandle.Sowehadtogobackandalterourplansa

98

littlebit.Unlessthere'ssomethingfunctionallylikethat,thentheydon'talterourlayoutofthe

labs.

Interviewer:Right.

Bob:That'sallICTAS.Butwhenitgetstothefaçade,that's‐

Interviewer:Yeah,that'skindoflike‐

Bob:AlittlebitICTASand‐

Interviewer:Yeah,yeah.Thespecificlabmakeupiskindof‐becauseitwillchangeovertime.

Bob:Right,right.

Interviewer:Youknow,onceadifferentlabgroupcomesin,orifonelabgroupmoves,then‐

Bob:Itcanandcan't.LikeIsaid,ifit'safumehood,thenthat'sprettymuchthere.

Interviewer:Right.

Bob:Wedon'thave‐thisbuilding'smaxedout.Therearenomorefumehoods.Nowwecould

takeoneandmoveit,likeyousaid,fromthislabtothislab,ifthezoneallowsit.Wehave

verticalzonesinthisbuilding,soifitallowsit,thenyeah,youcandothat.Butyes,butthemore

permanent‐typethingswouldgobacktotheA&E,ortheboard‐theBOV.Andeventhoughwe

designedthemedallions,theBOVhadtoapprovethosetoo.

Interviewer:Right,right.Whichiswhythey'reakeydecisionmaker,they'rethegatekeeper.

Bob:Right.

99

Appendix F: Interview Transcript B 

Interviewer:I'mnotsureifthisisgoingtowork[therecordingdevice],sowe'regoingtosee

howitgoesandyouknow,hopefullyitwillgowell.Alright,okay‐sotostartoff,I'mgoingto

handyouthissheetandbasically,itisa‐thesynopsisofastudythatwasdonebythe

DepartmentofCommerce.AreyoufamiliarwiththeUniformatsystem?

Nancy:Yep.

Interviewer:Okay,sowhattheDepartmentofCommercedidistheywentthroughandtooka

standardbuilding‐itwasan8‐storey,office‐typebuilding;ithadafootprintofabout8,000ft2‐

andtheyestimatedthecostforthisbuildingusingtheUniformat,andso,whentheyfinished

calculatingit,theywentallthewaytototalinstalledcost.Sotheyincludedtheirestimationof

laborcostandanestimationofthecontractor'smarkup,andthentheytallieduphowmuch

eachsystemcost,andthesearethesixsystemsthatcameup.Thissystemcorrespondswiththe

bottomone,andthentheyjustcorrespondontheirwayup.Idon'thaveitincolor,otherwiseit

wouldbealittlebit‐

Nancy:Yeah.Iunderstand.

Interviewer:Clearer.

Nancy:Okay.

Interviewer:Butbasicallywhatitis,isthissystemcomprisedapproximately17%or18%ofthe

totalinstalledcostforthatbuilding.Alright?AndthenHVACwas,Ithink,16.3%ofthatone

building.Andthose‐what'sincludedinthosesystemsisdefinedhere.Oneimportantthingto

noteisexteriorenclosure,thatdoesnotincludetheroofcoveringitself,okay?It'stheroof

coveringlike,theactuallike,shinglesifyouweredoingaslopedrooformalroofingor

whatever.It'saseparatecategoryanditcomprisesabout0.5%ofthecostofthebuilding

accordingtothisstudy.

100

Nancy:Soit'sbasicallytheskinitself.

Interviewer:Yeah,it'sbasicallythe‐theoutsideskin.

Nancy:Okay.

Interviewer:Superstructurestartsfromthefoundationandgoesupfromthere,doesn'tinclude

anysiteworkoranythinglikethat.Okay,sothefirstquestionis,inyouropinion,dothese

systemsalsocomprise‐like,Imentionedthattheycomprisedthelargestsectionaccordingto

totalinstalledcost‐fromyourexperience,doyouthinkthattheyarealsorepresentativeofthe

largestsystemsfromanO&Mperspective?

Nancy:Yeah,IguessyouwantmetoanswerfrommyVirginiaTechexperience,whichisabout,

youknow,almost2yearsnow,or‐

Interviewer:No,your‐

Nancy:30yearsof‐

Interviewer:30plusyears.

Nancy:ofprivateaswell‐

Interviewer:Yeah,everything…inthisquestion.

Nancy:Yeah,Imean,okaysoit'skindofa‐arethese‐Iguessyourquestionis,arethesethe

elementsthattypicallymakeupthebulkofthe‐

Interviewer:Yeah.

Nancy:ofthecost?Iwouldsayyes.Ithinkthepercentagevariesdependingonyouknow,the

typeofconstruction,youknow,andcertainlyhereatVirginiaTechwithourHokiestoneand

youknow,metals,whicharetendingtobeexpensivenow,andourmovetowardsusingspecial

glassyouknow,thatareenergyreflectiveorabsorptionforLEEDcertification,allthosethings

kindofcontributetothedrivingthepercentageofexteriorcoststhatwe‐wepayhere,seems

tobehigherthanwhatIhaveseeninindustry,but,it'sbecauseofthelookwe'retryingto

101

achieveandthestandardsthatwehaveoncampushere,so.I'mtryingtothink‐Imean,the

otheronethatbecomessignificant,dependingonwhereyouarebuilding,isyoursite

preparationcosts.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Youknow,ifyou'rebuildinginabigcityforinstance,andyouknow,you'rerestrictedas

faraswhat‐thelaydownspacethatyouhave,andhowyouhavetostagedeliveriesandthings

likethat,sothosefactorsdocontributetohighercostsifyou'reinanurbansettingforinstance,

asopposedtoagreenfieldsitewhereyou'vegotlotsofroom,so.

Interviewer:Right.

Nancy:But,noIthinkyoucapturedthemainonesthatIalwayssee,ofcourse,istheexterior

andthentheMEP,wecallit,whichisthemechanical‐electricalsystems‐arethebiggestcost

typically,so.

Interviewer:Ifyou're‐ifyouweretotryandbreakuptheelectricalsystemfromtheplumbing

systemfromthemechanicalsystem,arethey‐allthreeofthoseexpensivefromanO&M

standpoint,orisonekindoflessexpensivethantheotherones?

Nancy:Well,whenyousayO&M,you'retalkingabouttheactualoperatingcostsonceit's

installed.

Interviewer:Yeah,onceit'sinstalledtheoperatingandmaintenancecostsandthenlike,

replacementcost,becauseatleastinVirginiaTech'sinstance,andIhypothesizeinmost

institutionalowners‐theydesignbuildingsforaverylonglifespan,like60to100years.

Nancy:That'strue.

Interviewer:So,obviouslytheHVACsystemisgoingtohavetobe‐something'sgoingto

happentoitin60to100years.

Nancy:Youhavetoreplaceitatsomepoint,yeah.

102

Interviewer:Yeah.

Nancy:Andthat'susuallyinthe20years,25‐yearhorizonyouknow,mostequipmentwillhave

tobeeitherrebuiltcompletelyorreplaced,so.

Interviewer:Whereasifyouweretocomparethattolike,theexteriorenclosure,like,youdon't

rebuildthewallsobviously.

Nancy:Completelylowmaintenancethere.[laughing]

Interviewer:ImeanwithHokiestoneyoumighthavemoremaintenance,becauseIthinkthey

havetodolimetreatmentsorsomethinglikethatforsomeoftheolderbuildings,I'mnotsure.

Nancy:Yeah,butideallyyouwouldn't,you'reright,youwouldn'thavealotofexpenseonthe

exterior.Yeah,alotdependson‐thesealllooklikeconventionalsystemstome,too,now.I

guessI'mthinkingfrommyexperienceinthechemicalindustryandthesemi‐conductor

industry;generally,reliabilitywasaconcerntous.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Sowewouldbuildin,youknow,extramotorsandredundantcontrolsystemsandthings

likethat,andbackuppowerandallthat,sothatwedidn'thaveinstanceswheresystemswould

godown.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Andthat'sbecausethecostofthoselosses,youknow,theproductyouweremaking

washuge,andyouknow,itwouldbemillionsofdollarsadaythatyouwouldloseifyoulost,

youknow,controlofyourtemperatureinthebuilding,orelectricityforsomereason,so.So,

we,youknow,frommy‐mypersonalexperience,Ihaveseenalothigheroperatingcostsfor

somesystems,mainlyelectricalactually‐

Interviewer:Okay.

103

Nancy:Becauseoftheneedtohaveeitherredundantchillersystemsorbackuppowersystems

andyouknow,UPSsandallthatkindofstuff,whichareveryexpensivesystemstotrytoinstall,

especiallyifit'sforthewholebuilding,so.[laughing]

Interviewer:Right.

Nancy:Andthenthemaintenanceofthosewashugeaswell,so.Forconventionalbuildings,

likeanofficebuilding,Ithinkyouknow,yourexamplehere‐

Interviewer:OrareyouthinkinglikeatypicalVirginiaTechbuildingthatshould‐

Nancy:Yeah.Youknow,alotofthosearedonewithservicecontractsandyouknow,

competitivesituationswhereyougenerallygetaprettygoodpricingforit,so.Ihaven'treally‐

personallyIhaven'tmanagedalotofoperationsandmaintenancesortofactivities.But,my

focusonthedesignsidehasbeentotrytocomeupwithwaystomakethesystemsmore

reliablesoyoudon'thavethosecosts.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:SoI'mnotsureI'mreallyansweringyourquestion,Ican't,youknow,intermsof

quantifyingwherethedollarsareinO&Myouknow,certainlytheelectricalsystemsare

probablywheremostoftheexpenseis,justbecausethingsseemtowearoutmoreorneedto

betunedmoreoftenthan,youknow,mechanicalsystems.Andmechanicalstuff,you'reyou

know,replacingasealorrealigningapumporamotororsomethinglikethat.Thoseare

relativelyinexpensiveoperationscomparedtothecostoftheequipment,so.

Interviewer:Ifyouweretolookat‐sobasically,ifyouweretolookateachofthosefroma,like

awholesystem,thosewouldconstitutethemajorityofthe‐

Nancy:Theongoingcosts.

Interviewer:Theongoingcostsandmaintenancecostsforasinglebuilding?

104

Nancy:Yeah,Iwouldsayso,certainly,youknow,plumbingfixturesarerelativelycheapto

replace,andotherthingsthatareinsidethebuildings,so.Mostofyourexpenseisgoingtobe

inanyrotatingequipment.

Interviewer:Okay,alright.Excellent.

Nancy:Iguesstheotherpieceofthatwouldbeyour‐ifyouhaveachill‐watersystemor

somethinglikethat,whereyou'vegotcoolingtowersandwhatnot,itwouldbeinthecostof

themaintenanceofthechemicaltreatmentaswell,youknow.Alotofbuildings‐Iwasinvolved

withhigh‐puritywatersystemsandveryspecializedgasorchemicaltreatmentsystemsand

thingslikethatso,butthosewouldbemaybetheexceptiontoatypicalofficebuilding,so.

Interviewer:Okay.That'sfine.Alright.Okay,beforewegoon,I'mgoingto‐likeIsaidwhenI

started,andshowedyouthisresearchinformationsheetandtalkedtoyoubrieflyonFriday‐

myresearchisconcerningidentifyingkeydecisionmakersforconstructionprojects,sothat

eventuallyIcancreateacomputermodelthatincludesdecisionmakersandhowtheymake

decisions.BecauseI'mtryingto‐I'mtryingtomakethismodeloptimizinginvestmentin

sustainability,andinordertodothatyouhavetokindoftakeintoaccount‐ifyou'regoingto

makearealisticsystem,youneedtotakeintoaccounttheparticulardecisionmaking‐

Nancy:You'llwanttoknowwhatreallyhappens‐

Interviewer:Yeah‐thedecisionmakingtendenciesofthekeydecisionmakers.So,akey

decisionmakerI'vedefinedrighthere,andit'sapersonoragroupwhohasthemostinfluence

onthesystemscharacteristics,likethesizeorthecolor,youknow,dependingonwhatsystem

you'retalkingabout‐andifit'sagroupthatmakesthedecision,thegrouphastobasically

operateasasingleentity,solike,Iwouldconsidermostbuildingcommitteesasingleentity,

becausetheyhavetocomeupwithadecision‐

Nancy:Theyhavetoreachaconsensus,right.

Interviewer:Theyhaveto‐theyhavetoreachaconsensus.

Nancy:Tomoveforward.

105

Interviewer:Tomoveforward.Okay,soIwouldconsiderthemasingleentity.

Nancy:Okay.

Interviewer:Okay,soifyouweretothinkabouttheICTASIIproject,becausewe'reonlylooking

atasingleproject‐

Nancy:Okay.

Interviewer:Alright?Ifyoucouldtellme,orwritedown,thepeoplewhoyouthinkmake

decisionsthataffecteachofthesystemslistedherethatwewentoveronthishigh‐systemclass

chart.

Nancy:Okay.WellIwouldsayfor‐forexteriorenclosure,maindecisionmakersasfarasIwas

concernedwouldbethearchitect'sofficehere.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:OfficeofUniversityArchitect,OUA,andthatwouldbeTyler,youknow,asthearchitect,

buthereliesoninputfromhisstaffaswell,youknow,itcomesfromthemasaconsensus

usually.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Andthenalsoprobablyour‐notmyimmediateboss,buthisboss,Amanda,isalso

directlyinvolvedwithlookingatelevationsandyouknow,sortofthecharacterofthebuilding,

we'llsay,andthefeaturesthatareevidentintheelevationsandtheexterior.SoImean,those

arethe‐thosearethekeyfolks,Imeanthereareothersthatareinvolvedinhelpingwithsome

ofthosedecision,maybetryingtoyouknow,swaythemonewayortheother,andthat's

mainlythefolksthatwillbeinthebuilding,so.IntheICTAS'scase,itwouldbeICTASstaff,and

therewas,youknow,severalofthosefolksthatwerealways,youknow,wewouldtalktothem

aboutitandseewhattheylikedanddidn'tlike,butthedecisionmakerswereeitherTyleror,

andAmandatogether,so.

106

Interviewer:Okay,onethingIforgottomention,sowehavekeydecisionmakersandthen

therearealsowhatwewouldcalllikearubber‐stampdecisionmaker,likeifyouhad‐ifyou‐

theexampleI'mgoingtouseis,letssayyouhaveanHVACsystem,okay?Andwe'llassumefor

thepurposeofthisinterviewthatallthecodesandguidelinesthatVirginiaTechhasisjusta

given,okay?Solike,we'restartingfromthatplane,alright?Withintheboundsofthecodesand

guidelines,there'sacertainamountofwiggleroomandyou'llhaveanHVACconsultant,lets

say,whosays,"Okay,I'veunderstoodyourguidelinesand,"youknow,theguidelines‐

Nancy:Thewholeproposals‐

Interviewer:Yeah,who'llcomeupwithacoupledifferent‐

Nancy:What'sgood,andusuallythere'safewcompromises,youknow,thateachonecontains,

right?

Interviewer:Right,sowho‐theywouldbe‐iftheyjustmadethe‐iftheysaid,"Wethinkyou

shouldgowiththis,"andthenitcametoVirginiaTechandwhoeverwassupposedtomakethe

decision,orwhoeverhadtheauthoritytomakethedecision,justkindofgoes,"Okay,you

know,justwhatever,"andjustlike,rubberstampsit?Thentherealdecisionmakerwouldbe

themechanicaldesigner,ortheHVACconsultant,okay?Butiftheconsultantorarchitect‐

Nancy:No,noIunderstandwhatyou'resaying,so.Ithinkyeah,certainlyitdoesn'ttakeone

answerontheexteriorsanyway.BetweenTylerandAmanda,theywilldefinewhatthat

building'sgoingtolooklike.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:AndtheygetalotoftheinputfromtheAE,differentoptionstolookat,butthey

ultimatelymaketheselection.

Interviewer:Okay.Alright.

Nancy:Andthenyouknow,theusersgetashotatit,butgenerallytheyhaveverylittle,Idon't

wanttosayusefulinput,butyouknow,[laughing]

107

Interviewer:[laughing]

Nancy:Justuh,theykindofreviewitandsaywhattheylikeanddon'tlikeaboutit,someofthe

features,butImeantheycan'treally‐theoverallcharacterofthebuildingreallyhastobe

somethingthatTylerandAmandawillapprove,so.

Interviewer:Okay,excellent.

Nancy:OnHVAC,hmm,that'sagoodquestion.Typicallywe‐wehaveamechanicalutilities

department,whichisusuallyrepresentedbyStan.Stanisoneofthe‐Ithinkhe'sassistant

directororsomethingofthe,ofthatgroup,butifthere'saquestionaboutanairhandlerorit's

featuresoryouknow,somethingsthatwecanorcannotdowiththosesystems,typicallyStan

willmakethatdecision.Youknow,andhe's‐hewilltypicallylooktothearchitecttomakea

recommendation,butthenhe'sgoingtoyayornayitso,andifhedoesn'tagreewithithe's

goingtotelluswhattododifferent.SoyeahIwouldsayhe'sthemaindecisionmakerthere.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:There'sanotherfellow,Sam,whosupportshim.Sam'sinadifferentgroup,butSam's

ourleadseniormechanicalengineer,andyouknow,Ilooktohim‐tohimandStantokindof

workthingsout,youknow,andiftheydisagreetheywilleitherfigureoutbetweenthemselves

youknow,whattherightansweris,andletusknow,so.IwouldsayStanisprobablythe

primaryguy,butSam'sinvolvedinalotofthemaybe,supportingdecisionsthatgoalongwith

that,so.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Electrical…Electricalcomesintwoparts,really.You'vegotthemainelectricalserviceto

thebuilding,whichIwouldcallpowerdistributionbasically,andthatwouldbeJoseph.Joseph

isoverintheelectricservice.He'stheengineeringmanager.Andhe'sdirectlyresponsible‐in

fact,theysupplythatservice,sothelinescomingtoabuilding,thetransformer,therearesome

CTsandmaybeameterandthatkindofstuff,allthefrontendstuff,gettingtothebuilding,is

actuallydesignedandsuppliedbyelectricservice.So,youknowtheengineerwilltypicallysize

108

thatequipmentforthem,andgettheirconcurrence,butthey‐theydecidethatpieceofit.

Onceyougetinsidethebuildingthen,Danistheseniorelectricalengineer.Sheactuallysits

overanelectricservice,Idon'tthinkshereportsdirectlythroughthem,but‐somethinglike

that,youcanfindherinthesystem.

Interviewer:Yeah,I'llfindher.

Nancy:Yeah,andshemakesthedecisionasfaraselectricalgearinsidethebuilding,so

questionsaboutpanels,elevators,emergencygenerators,younameit,electricaluses,lighting

systems,dimmingsystems,allthatkindofstuffshe'sgot‐

Interviewer:Alright.

Nancy:Thereviewonthose.

Interviewer:Perfect.

Nancy:Superstructure,that'stypicallytheAE,whoevertheengineerdesigneris.Imean,wewill

takealookatthat,butaslongastheyarespecifyingyouknow,eitherconcreteorsteel,Idon't

thinkanybodyreallycaresonewayortheother[laughing].So,interiorfinishes,youknowthat's

actuallysomethingthattheuser‐whichinICTASscasewouldbetheICTASstaff‐aredirectly

involvedwith.AndtheyareheldtothatdecisiontypicallybyJohn.Johnisourinteriordesigner.

Sosheworksinthat,andAmanda,sheactuallylikestoreview.Amanda.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Youknow,whatwehavecomeupwith,butshetypicallywillletJohnandtheclients

sortofworkitout,youknow,colorschemesandfinish,youknow,qualityandthatsortofstuff.

ButAmandadoeslookatittosee,makesurewedidn'tdoanythingtooweird.[laughing]So

that'skindofacollaborativeeffortbetweentheoccupantsofthebuildingandJohn,primarily,

buttheywillworkwiththeAE‐AEwilltypicallycomeupwith2or3alternativesandwe'llkind

ofpickandchooseamongstthose.

Interviewer:Alright.Sononeongreenwallsoranythinglikethat.

109

Nancy:Yeah,anythingtoocrazy.

Interviewer:Bummer.

Nancy:Conveyance,whatareyoutalkingaboutthere?That's‐

Interviewer:Ithinkthat's‐shouldbeelevators,escalators,lifts‐

Nancy:ThatwouldbeDan.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Danaswell.Thosearekindofthekey‐keyreviewersanddecisionmakers.

Interviewer:Okay.Cool.Forinteriorfinishes,youwouldsay‐sobasicallyICTASstaffandJohn

are‐wouldbethetwomost‐

Nancy:Yeah,butourprocessthereistheAEwilltakeashotatit,andthey'llcreatesome

boards,youknow,theymighthave,Idon'tknow,I'mnotanarchitect‐sotheyhave,youknow,

thecoolcolors,andtheyhavethewarmcolors,anddifferentcombinationsofthingsandthey

kindofcomeupwitha‐sortofacharacter,youknow,ofthebuilding.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:Andthenwewillsayahwell,welikethat,orwedon'tlike‐youknow,there'susually

about2or3meetingstogothoughandyouknow,kindofpickandchoose,andthengobackto

workonitsomemore,comebackwithsomemoreideas,and,youknow,eventuallyweendup

withwhattheycallapalateofalltheinteriorfinishesfromcarpettocountertopstocolorsand

youknow,thatkindofstuff,so.

Interviewer:Okay.

Nancy:That'llbepresentedonsomekindofaboard,toshowlittlesamplesofeachthingand

howtheyworktogether.

Interviewer:Okay.

110

Nancy:But,yeah.

Interviewer:Alright,arethereanyother‐asyouweretalking,didanyotherdecisionmakersor

groupsthatinfluencethedecisionmakingprocess‐

Nancy:Youknowsomeprojectmanagersand[laughing]but,yeah,youknow,wemakethemif

nobodyelsedoes,butfortheseitemsanywaythere'susuallyfolkswhoareinplaceoryou

know,whofeelthatit'stheirdecision,so.Weletthemdothat,andthen,anythingelsethat's

notcoveredI'lljustdecidemyselforyouknow,talktotheusersaboutit,so.

Interviewer:Okay,alright.

Nancy:Butthat'saprettygoodstart.

Interviewer:Cool.Well,I'mprettysurethatthatisallthatIhaveforyou.

Nancy:Wellthatwasprettyeasy.

Interviewer:Yeah.

Nancy:Soyou'regoingtotrytomodelwhattheseguysarethinkingasfarastheirdecision

processIguess.

Interviewer:Yeah,eventuallywhatwillhopefullyhappenis,we'llgetthisallfiguredoutand

thenI'llhaveaframeworkormethodologythatdescribeshowthis‐orwho‐howtofindthe

keydecisionmakers.Thenoncethey'vebeenfound,thenIwillgobackandmeetwiththem

andcomeupwithsomesortoflike,okayhowdoyoumakedecisionbetweenthesedifferent

systemsyouknow,whataretypicallythemost‐whatarethedrivingfactorsforyou‐Idon't

knowwhatthat'sgoingtolooklikeyet.That'sgoingtobesomethingthatI'mgoingtohaveto

thinkaboutnextyear.Andthere'sgoingtobe,I'msure,allsortsofstuffthatgoesintothat.

Nancy:Yeah,soundslikeitwillbeinteresting.

Interviewer:Yeah,no,IpromiseyouIwillbeback.Iwillbebuggingyou[laughing]yes,again.

Nancy:Yeah,that'sfine.

111

Interviewer:Ireallyappreciateyourtime.

Nancy:Okay.

Interviewer:Doyouhave‐arethereanyotherfinalquestionsthatyouhave?

Nancy:No,um,no.Givemeacallifyouhaveanythingyouwanttotalkabout,oranyideas‐I'm

always‐adviceisalwaysfree,so.

Interviewer:[laughing]

Nancy:I'mhappytoworkwithyou.

Interviewer:Excellent,wellthankyouverymuchforyourtime.

Nancy:Okay,goodlucktoyou.

Interviewer:Thanks.

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Appendix G: Document Review Project Map