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1.6.1 Research Framework
Yin 2003 stated that there five components for this case study methodology: 1 research question; 2 theoretical proposition; 3 unit of analysis; 4 linking data to
proposition; and 5 criteria for interpreting data. The framework of this research is shown in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1. Research Framework
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Five main components of case study according to Yin 2003 are explained in the following sections:
1.6.2 Research Questions
Main research question of this research is, “how can tacit knowledge of mechanicalelectrical requirements be formalized for improving knowledge flows
among design professionals during conceptual design phase of a building project?”
1.6.3 Theoretical Proposition
With reference to Yin 2003 there are two general analytic strategies consisting of: 1 relying on theoretical proposition and, 2 developing a case description. Since we
have a theoretical proposition, we will rely on a theoretical proposition.
Based on literature -about knowledge flow in construction industry, conceptual design process, difficulty of organizing and formalizing tacit knowledge- the study
proposes, “By understanding tacit knowledge early at the conceptual design stage of a building project, a project team can improve its organizational performance by
facilitating knowledge flow” as the project progresses.
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1.6.4 Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis for this study is a team of six 4
th
year architectural students in a public university who won a competition to design a building project. The Faculty of
Design and Architecture undertakes the concept design stage of the project. This project investigates various building technologies that could reduce the impact of
building on the environment. This building project was selected due to importance of considering all mechanical and electrical requirements for Green building project.
1.6.5 Linking Data to Proposition
To provide a linkage between collected data and proposition there is a need to go through the following steps:
1- Capturing mechanicalelectrical tacit knowledge of experts through the conceptual design stage of ITMA building project, by observing team
members’ activities to specify the required knowledge during this stage; 2- Explicating mechanicalelectrical tacit knowledge during conceptual design
phase of ITMA building project, by proposing a tacit knowledge capture technique to expedite knowledge movement;
3- Making the mechanical electrical knowledge applicable through the concept design stage by proposing a knowledge-based framework to enable work
flow; and
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4- Validating the proposed knowledge-based framework, during concept design phase by simulating the results using SimVision.
To validate the proposed knowledge-base framework for the conceptual design phase of the building project using Simvision, we develop three hypothesizes which arise
from tacitness and explicitness of knowledge. The results from simulation corroborate improvement of project performance arising from utilizing knowledge-
base framework for conceptual design phase. More details about linking the collected data to the proposition are explained in Chapter 3.
1.6.6 Criteria for Interpreting the Findings
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