Traditionally, the building design process has been poorly understood and planned, and has
been treated as completely separate from the construction process. This has resulted in a range
of inefficiencies in the overall project process. This paper describes two related research
projects which have produced techniques for planning and managing the design process, and
improving the way the design and construction processes interface. These techniques are
based around the use of process models and the application of dependency structure matrix
(DSM) analysis, an optimisation tool, and have been developed through joint industry and UK
government research. The research is being undertaken at Loughborough University in the
UK, and the findings and techniques are being tested and applied in industry by designers and
planners from the projects’ collaborating organisations
