Evaluating a Post-Occupancy Evaluation App

Corey Schnobrich (Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects)

Many clients do not engage in post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) due to the time and cost expended within the organization and without. A recently developed application offers a possible solution to these issues with a highly structured, easy-to-use website that queries users on several aspects of comfort throughout the day. A medium-sized architecture firm used the app before and after an office move to measure employee satisfaction and evaluate the tool for other clients. Over the course of several weeks in both the old and new space, workers answered a morning and afternoon online survey regarding their thermal, aural, and acoustic comfort. A final question gauged how users felt their environment contributed to their overall productivity.

This presentation will examine the advantages and disadvantages of app-based surveying relative to other methods such as paper surveys, digital surveys, and interviews. Positive aspects include saved survey-development time, saved survey-taking time, time/ place/ clothing specific data collection, and easily-understood graphic results. Negative aspects include limited researcher ability to customize questions and limited user ability to provide critical follow-up data. The presentation will conclude by discussing applications outside of office environments and how other assessments or methods could combine with an app-based survey to best address researcher and client goals.