Exploring the use of ICT to capture client requirements in construction briefing

Abstract

Briefing is the most important activity but it is also a persistent problem area for the construction industry. Many research exercises have been undertaken to explore the use of ICT in improving data processing, information management and communication, but very few of them focus on team management in briefing. Collaboration technology which helps people to working together in a virtual environment is believed to offer valuable contributions to briefing. This paper introduces a conceptual collaborative briefing framework which is designed to support distributed asynchronous discussions among stakeholders in project briefing. This framework is expected to improve the effectiveness of current practices by shortening the durations of physical meetings, drawing in the values of stakeholders, improving the decision quality and promoting the true integration of stakeholders. Some limitations of the proposed framework are also discussed.