Assessment of factors influencing the development and implementation of the architectural program

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to present an assessment of the factors that influence the process of developing and implementing the architectural program (design brief) for buildings projects. Design/methodology/approach: Published literature has been analyzed and interviews with a group of design professionals and owner's representatives were conducted for the purpose of identifying the factors that influence the process of developing and implementing the architectural program for building projects. This resulted in the identification of 28 factors, which were classified into several groups. A questionnaire was developed that included the identified factors to assess their level of importance. Responses to the survey were received from 50 Architectural/Engineering (A/E) design firms and three major owners of building projects. These 53 respondents were distributed throughout the Eastern Province, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Findings: The research has confirmed the importance of all the identified factors, and identified the most influential factors in each of the factor groups. The survey findings indicate that the respondents recognize the significance of the factors that relate to the architectural programmer, the role of communication throughout the programming process, the program data, the management and control of the architectural programming process, the allocated time and budget, and the owner and their representatives, in descending order, respectively when endeavoring on the development and implementation of the architectural program for building projects. Originality/value: This paper provides a practical value to architectural programmers, design professionals, facility managers, and building owners endeavoring on planning, designing, constructing, and operating new building projects.