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Ibrahim 2005 expressed that information is the selective collection of facts which can be used to perform a task while knowledge is information in action. According to
Macmillan 2001 the rapid and dynamic information and knowledge flow between designers during the conceptual phase of building projects can result in disorganized
behavior within the team. According to Ibrahim 2005 team members can become frustrated by the lack of a common understanding of what the other team members
know. Evidence suggests that design teams are better equipped to undertake design activity when in possession of a general program of events or activities through
which they are likely to pass than when no such structuring concept is held Macmillan, 2001. Macmillan proposed a framework for conceptual design stage of
a building project. Although many researchers such as Macmillan have recognized immense influence of knowledge flow on project performance, their works would not
entail knowledge flow between experts. Therefore, there is a need to synthesize knowledge flow with the proposed workflow by previous works.
2.4.4 Point of Departure for Design Literature Review
After examining the selected design models it became clear that Macmillan 2001 framework can be a good choice for our study. Justifications to choose this
framework have been explained below. As mentioned earlier, this framework has been established on many other researches’ work see Table 2.8 in order to cover
their gaps. In addition, comparison between existing models highlighted that most of the base models have similar activities such as identify problem, search for solution
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and so on. Eventually, to make this framework applicable in real projects detailed definitions have been provided for its activities. Possessing detail definition for
activities is a reasonable justification for choosing this framework. These definitions are used to provide link between the knowledge and the framework activities. To
provide this linkage, performed activities by concept design team members will be compared with detail definitions for Macmillan 2001 framework. In this way, the
exchanged knowledge during team members’ activities can be related to the Macmillan framework activities. Then, Macmillan activity-based framework will be
extended to a knowledge-based framework.
As far as the problem, which this research attempts to address, is concerned, two essential issues are involved in relation with the knowledge during conceptual design
stage: 1 the knowledge, and 2 the step in the conceptual design stage for which the knowledge needs to be captured. Regarding these two aspects, this study is
reminiscent of the repertory grid function See Section 2.3.3 which uses a grid to rate elements regarding their associated attributes. Using a relational-matrix, which
borrows its structure from repertory grid technique, the required knowledge during conceptual design phase could be explicated. To provide this matrix, activities of
Macmillan 2001 conceptual design framework will be the first entry of this matrix. To determine the second entity of the matrix, a tacit knowledge capture technique
will be used to capture the experts’ knowledge. Finally, the studied literature revealed that the conceptual design phase is a problematic stage in building projects. Since
Macmillan framework focuses on this stage, this framework can be an appropriate choice for the study.
