The Client Brief (CB)

The need for KM in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industries is fuelled by the need for innovation, improved business performance and client satisfaction (Yu and Chan, 2010). The industry operates within a dynamic and changing environment. Clients are becoming more sophisticated, insisting on better value for money, and demanding more units of construction for fewer units of expenditure (Egan, 1998). The demanded products are also becoming more complex, with increasing emphasis on environmentally friendly facilities. The fragmented nature in which the construction industry is organized means that efficiency in project delivery is less than expected, resulting in dissatisfied clients, and low profitability for construction firms (Egbu et al., 1999; Carrillo et al., 2000). This interest in capturing knowledge has been expressed in the development of products such as a knowledge based expert systems

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(Anumba et al., 2000) and post project reviews in attempts to capture learning (Scott and Harris, 1998).

A set of definitions of the process of preparing client briefing and implementation of projects vary from project to project, however, one common correlation between all projects is that client want to be satisfied with the output and outcome of their project. Client briefing is the process whereby a client clarifies and informs a design team of their requirements, needs, aspirations and desires, formally or informally (CIB, 1997). It provides a channel to convey decisions and information between clients and consultants. Thus, a better understanding of their requirements and preferences at the project inception stage can be achieved (O’Reilly, 1987; Fisher, 1998). Blyth and Worthington (2001) describe briefing as a problem formulation and solving process, which identifies an organisation’s needs and resources, and matches these to its objectives and mission. Example of such could be identifying housing needs and then providing proposing a solution by initiating a housing building project. In addition, briefing helps to balance the distinct interests of the users, client advisors, client founders and legislators from the demand side and those of the architects, consultants, contractors, property agents and facilities managers from the supply side (Shen and Chung, 2006).

Smith and Jackson (2000) explains that briefing is the process of capturing the purpose, intended use, requirements, objectives, and desired qualities of a construction project, resulting in an output document: the client’s brief. Furthermore, the brief provides the client team with data to commence their design, without the preservation of their artistic expression. There are two general theories underpinning the function of the construction brief in construction projects. The first theory considers the brief as a static developed document, which serves as a set of client conditions. The second approach considers briefing as a dynamic process, which is developed throughout several stages in the process (Smith and Jackson, 2000). Yu et al (2006) posit that instead of an event; briefing should be seen as a social interactive procedure. Furthermore, it is a method of iterative learning about the client’s organisation needs and requirements (MacPherson et al., 1992; CIB, 1997; Blyth and Worthington, 2010; Kamara and Anumba, 2001 and Kamara et al., 2002). Briefing concerns the identification and formulation of client requirements in construction processes (Blyth and Worthington, 2010). Moreover, client requirements generally are about issues like spatial dimensions, number of rooms, building aesthetics, flexibility, indoor climate, logistics, security and so on. In most projects, these requirements are captured in briefing documents which record them in documentary form.

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These documented requirements are captured from the client and are assumed to be tacit in nature at the point of capturing. Briefing documents have been identified as means of communication in the interaction between client and architect (Kamara et al., 2002). For architects, and others involved in construction project, the brief should give a clear overview and understanding of the accommodation needs and ambitions of the client organisation which helps to structure the debate about the quality and value of client proposals between client and architect (Van der Voordt and van Wegen, 2005).

Due to the importance of the brief, it is expedient that clients and architects devout adequate time and effort to the successful delivery of the client brief (Bogers et al., 2008). In the traditional procurement route, the architect is responsible for developing the brief on the basis of interviews with the client and end-users, discussions with facility managers, and the expertise of external consultants (Bogers et al., 2008). Briefing generally starts with a statement of need, followed by different stages such as drawing up a functional brief, concept client and schematic client (Shen and Chung, 2006). Gould & Joyce, (2009) assert that at every first stage of a construction project, a brief is created. The brief is a document where the requirement of the building to be constructed is stated. Some of the properties of this document include the functions of the building, what particular spaces are needed and so on. Constructing excellence (2004) defined briefing as ‘a process by which client requirements are investigated, developed, documented and communicated to the project board responsible for the construction’. These requirements need to be agreed and signed by the client before progress is made for client. Every project is preceded by a brief, though the quality can vary considerably. Good briefing is not easy to achieve, yet it has been suggested that improvements to briefing lead to clients getting better buildings Gould & Joyce, (2009).

According to Salisbury (2013), the briefing process is composed of elicitation and communication of the client requirements and exists in two types,

 Strategic brief: this is a document that communicates the overall project scope, aim and

objectives; the key issues in this briefing are the success parameters, budget and brief.

 Project (functional) brief: this is the functional statement and operational needs for the

construction of the project. The development of the brief is the process of clarifying the objectives and requirements of a project.

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 Static briefing

This approach considers the brief as an entity in itself, which should be frozen after a critical period; hence briefing becomes a stage or stages in the client process (Yu et al., 2007; RIBA 2013). The traditional approach to briefing views it as a separate activity that takes place before client starts (Jensen 2011), resulting in the production of a document, set of documents or collection of correspondence material containing the clients requirements (Barrett & Stanley 1999). This approach is driven by an emphasis on the importance of the early stages of development to a projects success (Smith et al. 1998; Shen et al. 2004) and the widely acknowledged impact that late changes can have on cost, time and quality, mainly due to the reworking of construction documents and the implementation of additional work. Changes made after the early stages of a construction project are a major source of dispute and litigation worldwide. This has led to a culture that generally views a change order as the failure of a party to fulfil their function in the construction process (Othman et al. 2004). The static briefing approach emphasises the need to freeze the brief. A commonly used process map for construction, the ‘plan of work’ developed by the RIBA (2008) takes this approach, pushing for the development of an explicit and detailed brief as early as possible in the project. The brief is then frozen at the end of the client development stage. Another popular map, the ‘Process Protocol’, developed from a manufacturing industry perspective, encourages fixing the brief before the construction phase (Kagioglou et al. 1998). Although it allows development of the brief until a later stage in the process, it can still be considered as leaning towards a static approach.

 Dynamic briefing

The second approach regards the brief as a live and dynamic document that develops iteratively in a series of stages from an initial global brief which is deemed an on-going activity that evolves during the client and construction process Yu et al., (2007). The limitations of the static briefing approach are based upon the inevitability of changes occurring throughout the project, most significantly when the client has been 'frozen', after the static briefing stage. This is well described by Nutt (1993) who suggested that the traditional (static) briefing process is challenged by the nature and pace of change, that future needs cannot be predicted with confidence and that there is a need for a dynamic process. Extensive research by Othman et al., (2004) supports this theory, identifying drivers for development of the brief during later stages, using an extensive sample of case study data. He suggests that this should be embraced using an approach called ‘dynamic briefing’. The dynamic briefing approach has been defined in various ways. Jensen (2011) suggested that briefing should be ‘a process of feedback to, and dialogue with,

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all stakeholders’ (Jensen 2011). It has also been defined as ‘the process running through the construction project by which means the client's requirements are progressively captured and translated into effect’ (Barrett & Stanley 1999).

‘Exposing client values’ involves the identification of the needs and requirements of the client, from the level of their mission statement or business outlook, down to their specific needs from the construction project. Green (2010) offers insight into the use of dynamic briefing to expose client values, drawing from the observation by various sources (Bennett 1985; Goodacre et al. 1982) that extensive collaboration over time is required between designer and client, as clients are often incapable of describing their own needs and objectives without being probed in depth. Other researchers also suggest that architects need to conduct a facilitated and guided learning process with the clients and users of a project (Green 2010; Jensen 2011). It is also noted by Barrett & Stanley (1999) that architects can easily misinterpret requirements expressed by the client, however this can be resolved through continuous follow-up and re-visiting of the issues through prolonged client-designer collaboration. The interpretation of the client’s requirements and how they correspond to their real requirements greatly influences the efficiency of the client (Chatzi 2012). Barrett & Stanley (1999) offer further insights into how a dynamic briefing approach can be effective in exposing client values. Firstly they describe how, as the client’s confidence, knowledge and feel for the issues increase throughout a project, their requirements may change from those first given during the early briefing. If these changes are not picked up, the client may become dissatisfied with the project. They describe how the identification of these changes in requirements is dependent on continued interaction with the client throughout the process. ‘The briefing process must support the client through this journey from uncertainty to certainty in such a way that aspiration is turned to delight’ (Barrett & Stanley 1999). Sustained interaction is likely to ensure the client’s continued satisfaction with the developing scheme and enables them to highlight any potential problem areas before they develop further.

As well as the gradually developing exposure of client values, there are a number of other internal and external influences that can cause late development of the brief. Some of these drivers, which were identified as being highly influential by Othman (2004) included:

 Meeting new technology changes.  Incorrect construction documents.

100  Unavailability of materials.

 Changing of regulations.  Response to market demand.  Other unforeseen conditions.

Othman et al. (2004) asserts that the dynamic approach to briefing can enable innovative response to these drivers for the benefit of the project. Although dynamic briefing offers the potential to capture client value, techniques are then required to guide this approach as a client management strategy. Thyssen et al. (2011) described this process as an on-going value conversation or interpretation and suggested that one way of capturing client value is through the use of Value Management (VM). This involves maximising the value of the solution from the concept stage through to building use, by auditing decisions against value systems based on the client’s exposed ‘values’. There are however limitations to the use of dynamic briefing which must be taken into consideration. Feedback from the research by Othman (2004) suggested that if top management lack desire or willingness to use a dynamic briefing management strategy such as the Value and Risk Management Protocol, then its adoption will be limited. Therefore the benefits must be clearly presented to the top management of all parties to gain support. It is also noted that a dynamic brief approach such as this is time consuming and requires a large volumes of information. Having discussed what the client brief is, a quick look at its importance is discussed in the next section.