Client Requirements Processing - A First Step Towards Client Satisfaction (original) (raw)

As the initiators and financiers of projects, clients are central to the construction process. The satisfaction of their requirements should therefore be the ultimate goal of all parties in a project. There are many factors, such as project organisation, design, construction and quality of materials, which contribute to client satisfaction. However, the construction process should begin with a clear understanding of the wishes of the client. This can be achieved through requirements processing, which involves the definition, analysis, and translation of explicit and implicit client requirements into a format that designers can act upon. Client requirements processing (CRP) provides a framework for: understanding the business needs of clients; rationalising and prioritising the various perspectives within the client body; and translating the wishes of clients into a format that designers can act upon. This paper discusses the meaning and need for requirements processing and describes a methodology for CRP which is represented by a client requirements processing model (CRPM). CRP within the CRPM has many advantages over existing practices, and can therefore serve as a first step towards client satisfaction.