An Activity Based Workspace Project: A study to explore how actual user behaviour reflects original design intention

Today, many organisations are implementing Activity Based Workplaces (ABW), which offer an open and transparent workspace with flexible seating configurations to enhance numerous work activities. Whilst many researchers propose the ABW facilitates interaction, collaboration, concentration, privacy and distractions, existing literature also evidences inconsistencies and contradictions as to the benefits and the potential to enhance specific behaviours. Human behaviour can be unpredictable, it is influenced by a diverse range of factors, i.e. attitude, emotion, culture, values, accordingly, users’ perceptions, use and needs are often not aligned with the presuppositions and expectations of designers and leadership teams. The success of the ABW implementation is commonly assessed through satisfaction and productivity, with negligible focus on how the workspaces are being used in comparison to design intention expectations.

This study explores the events, factors and characteristics of an activity based workspace, which users consider facilitate positively or negatively upon their day to day activities. Through its objective to understand how individuals use the workspaces, as against original design intention, this study brings a new focus within workplace research. It explores, through the lens of the individual, how they adapt the workspace to best meet their requirements, compared with the conventional benchmark of how workspace impacts users. The repertory grid technique, an innovative method within workplace research, was used to enable individuals to share their tacit thoughts and meanings explicitly, enhancing the understanding of the congruency between the original design intentions and actual use.

Key findings revealed, through the exploration of preferences and needs, that participants frequently used workspaces in ways which were not assigned by the original design intention, appropriating them in accordance with their preferences and needs. Daily work activities were dynamic and predominantly aligned with a more informal way of working. Motivation to collaborate was perceived as a fundamental component of their job role and self determined, and not purely shaped through the provision of collaborative spaces. The findings advocate a need for continued detailed inquiry and a deeper understanding of ABW workplace features and characteristics, which either enable or hinder daily working activities, through contextual user behavioural feedback.

A framework is presented which introduces a more user centric approach to the ABW design implementation process, through the exploration and in-depth assessment of user perceptions and meanings of how they use and adapt to the workspace. Design decisions are simply hypotheses of desired performance parameters, therefore fundamental to the design process framework is the commitment to measuring their success.

This study also offers two original contributions to knowledge and practice. The first, through the repertory grid technique, which encompasses a robust and structured approach to elicit findings. This method acknowledges the uniqueness of individuals, delivers in-depth understanding which adds value to the design process and enhances the assessment of project success. Secondly, through a different study approach which explores how individuals’ use, adapt and modify the environment to meet their personal needs, preferences and activities. The unique findings, through the understanding of congruency between the original design intention and actual use, challenge and add to existing workplace design knowledge and practice.