User involvement in Swedish residential building projects: a stakeholder perspective

One factor influencing quality in the building industry is the ability of users, such as residents, to identify and express their requirements for the product, i.e. the residential building. However, the handling of communication with users in building projects has been insufficiently specified and studied. Drawing on a study of user involvement in building project design, production, and management, this paper examines user involvement in Swedish residential projects. To map current perceptions and approaches, building industry actors met in four focus groups. Group participants were asked to reflect on the definition of users, communication handling, how information from users is used, and challenges and opportunities in user involvement. Our initial emphasis was front-end activities, but focus group results revealed that user involvement was a continuous process extending from project initiation to evaluating the finished project as a basis for future projects. Discussions indicated confusion about who constituted users in various situations but, regardless of level of experience, focus group participants agreed on the importance and potential of user involvement and on the need for specific methods to acquire useful input.