Capital costs versus costs-in-use: a content analysis of design team member communication patterns

The verbal interaction of a number of building design teams was observed, recorded and analyzed using content analysis. A pilot and main study design team were observed on a longditudinal basis while a range of validation design teams were observed on a cross sectional basis. Variations in the communication content of individual design team members were recorded and measured in relation to a number of specific interest areas. One interest area was the measurement of the reconciliation between capital costs and expected costs-in-use, as a function of design team communication content in the pre-contract design stages. This paper considers the development of design team communication, particularly conflict development, in relation to the essential incompatibilities between capital cost minimization and cost in use optimization objectives and how this relates to design team development.