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This paper explores the patterns of the current needs of users' social characteristics in post occupancy evaluation (POE) associated with the environmental performance of green buildings using systematic literature review (SLR). This paper aims to establish a conceptual nexus between environmental performance mandates and the current needs of the users' social characteristics.

This paper adopts a SLR approach designed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for 21 articles that were selected as qualitative synthesis in this study. The search parameter for the selected articles in this review was limited to publications in three databases, Scopus, Web of Science and Emerald, between January 2016 and January 2023, with the help of qualitative software ATLAS.ti 9© in the presentation of the network codes. The initial literature search has retrieved 99 papers which sequentially excluded 42 papers due to exclusion criteria, and the researcher was left with 57 papers. Out of 57, 14 papers were then removed due to duplication of records found in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, and 43 articles were further screened for qualitative synthesis. A thorough critical appraisal was applied to ensure that only selected papers were included, consensus was achieved among the authors and 22 papers were excluded. The qualitative synthesis has finalized 21 studies, and they are selected as confirmative findings.

Using network codes presentation of ATLAS.ti 9©, the result shows that the social characteristics are influenced by the evaluated building category and the users' category – the stakeholders (owners, designers) and the occupants. New-fangled elements in environmental performance mandates are legitimacy and accessibility. The users’ social characteristics are derived from the category of users, where the stakeholders (designers, owners) are relatively a novel benchmark in meeting the POE objectives towards environmental performance. The least attention on the users’ social characteristics based on the findings shows that image, experiential (conjoint), happiness, interactive behaviour, morale and values are depicted as the social current needs in the environmental performance using POE. However, all stakeholders and the building occupants’ social characteristics must have a confirmative relation to the performance mandates, especially for newly performance mandates elements: legitimacy and accessibility.

The research limits the literature search between the recent January 2016 and January 2023 in Scopus, Web of Science and Emerald databases. Limiting the year of publication to the recent years is important to select and rank relevant scientific papers which encompass the reviewed subject. Other limitations include the selection of papers focusing on the POE approach and environmental performance as the main subject of evaluation. Other evaluation purposes that are not related to environmental objectives are excluded in this study.

The characteristics of the social elements become a challenging subject in meeting the environmental performance needs as they lean more towards intangible elements. The novelty of the findings is drawn from the new pattern and current needs of users' social characteristics in POE for environmental performance.

Over the past 30 years, both the governmental and private sectors have made use of a feedback mechanism, which helps improve the quality of environments: post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) or similar systematic processes, which gauge the satisfaction with, and importance of, the designed and built environment. How does this process work, what kind of input does it require? What value, if any, does it add to the core business of an organisation? When should it be carried out, and how should the resulting data be used in enhancing the quality of existing and future buildings? Who should commission POEs and who should be in charge of developing databases, which can be used for benchmarking and the development of building performance criteria for future projects? What is the cost of these POEs in relationship to the benefits to be derived? All of these questions will be addressed in this paper.

There are rising issues with the delivery performance of Malaysian low-cost housing (LCH) because the occupants are inclined to perceive safety hazards. Among the safety issues raised during the occupancy period in LCH are structural instability and falling building fragments. Without defining the occupants’ requirements in the early housing development, it is hard to determine the prevailing safety factors. Hence, this paper emphasises the application of post occupancy evaluation (POE) that incorporates participation from the occupants as a tool to assess the safety performance of Malaysian LCH. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework of POE integrated with safety elements for Malaysian LCH.

This research was carried out with a quantitative method using questionnaires as the survey instrument involving safety inspection survey and satisfaction surveys. The inspection survey and Occupants’ Satisfaction Survey were carried out based on 24 LCH projects located in the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In total, 380 samples were used for both surveys. Statistical correlation was used to affirm the incorporation of occupants’ participation towards safety performance in the POE approach. The Spearman’s rho (r) correlation was used in the analysis for variables in both surveys which consisted of an ordinal scale.

The correlation result revealed that there was a significant relationship among all safety attributes between safety performance and occupants’ satisfaction. Therefore, a framework consisting of POE and safety elements has been proposed based on the significance of both variables. The development process of the framework used the vital phases of POE and inputs of safety elements which consisted of three main stages: planning phase as safety input, conducting phase as safety process and applying phase as safety output.

The surveys were limited to the rented People’s Housing Programme located in Kuala Lumpur and not extensively to all LCH programmes in Malaysia. The surveys were also not carried out to other LCH programmes such as the Hardcore Poor Housing Programmes and the low- to medium-cost housing because of the limitations of time and resources.

This research has introduced a new dimension for safety performance assessment in LCH using the POE as the safety performance tool. By allowing the participation of occupants for safety assessment, this study stresses the fundamental concept of POE by highlighting the importance of obtaining feedback from the building occupants.

As a proactive measure, the proposed framework was introduced as an improved procedure to inspect safety performance in LCH during occupancy, in lieu of the current assessment process. Receiving complaints from the occupants after the occurrence of incidents is demarcated as a reactive approach, whereas the current inspection survey does not incorporate the occupants’ participation. Feedback from occupants is not a routine of building assessment during occupancy; hence, using POE is generally a new dimension of safety performance in Malaysian LCH.

Post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) is a diagnostic tool and system which allows facility managers to identify and evaluate critical aspects of building performance systematically. This system has been applied to identify problem areas in existing buildings, to test new building prototypes and to develop design guidance and criteria for future facilities. Outlines the numerous benefits of POE, including better space utilization, as well as cost and time savings. Describes a conceptual framework and evaluation data‐gathering techniques. Presents examples of the outcomes of a case study POE on a medical facility. Highlights the primary effect of a POE database development project on FM software and summarizes the outcomes of an IFMA Pilot Survey on Academic Facility Performance Feedback.

This is the third article in a series on post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) and its uses in facilities management. The first (Facilities, 5/11, November 1987) covered the background to the current interest in POE, and discussed general principles and organisation. The second article (Facilities, 5/12, December 1987) focused on the use of POE to provide information for upgrading or improving existing facilities; and it described in some detail the technique of the planning workshop. This article is about applying POE for the future, either for a move to new offices, producing a new building, or even stocktaking for future planning purposes. So far the term POE has been used to cover all types of user‐based evaluation whether for management, upgrading or planning. But in the present context it would be more accurate to speak of ‘pre‐design’ rather than ‘post‐occupancy’ evaluation. Yet is this really an important distinction? If we see design in facilities management as the continuous process of shaping and reshaping offices rather than viewing it — as many architects do — as a series of one‐off projects, then any contradictions between pre‐ design and post‐occupancy are resolved : they are one and the same.

Client satisfaction is a key element of repeat business and for securing future work in the construction industry. There are areas still in need of improvement for contractors; these areas include the handover process to clients and the subsequent aftercare and organisational learning. Post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) offers an opportunity for a holistic perspective towards continual improvement in construction. While the challenges of POE have been well documented in the design phase, the role of the principal contractor in this area has been under‐researched. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the contractor in the POE process and to identify good practice in improving the building environment for the end users.

The research comprised a comprehensive review of current literature with a focus on existing practices. The review highlighted a need for further research into contractor involvement in POE in the UK construction industry. An electronic questionnaire survey was produced and distributed to the United Kingdom Contractors Group. Subsequent semi‐structured interviews were conducted with willing participants from the survey, to further investigate the responses to the survey.

The key findings from the research highlighted the lack of contractor involvement in POE and insufficient knowledge on how or when to conduct POE on a project. Many of the barriers to POE identified by previous research are not applicable to contractor involvement in POE. The majority of construction professionals believe that POE is time intensive and that there is difficulty in interpreting the information collected from POE. Dissemination of information internally and externally has the potential to offer significant value to organisational and individual development of all stakeholders involved in the process.

The findings are likely to be of interest to designer's facilities management professionals and those involved in construction. Contractors should view POE as a business opportunity to improve the end output for the client and end‐users and not as another expensive problem.

This paper addresses the perceptions of POE within the major UK contractor group. It identifies relevant barriers to POE in the construction process and highlights the lack of POE penetration into the wider construction industry. The research has highlighted that POE has the potential to improve contractor performance and add value to end users of new projects. It has identified that previous research has focused on consultant‐led research as opposed to contractor‐led.

This is the first of three articles on post‐occupancy user evaluation and its uses in facilities management It discusses the background to the present growth of interest in post‐occupancy evaluation (POE); the different purposes of carrying out POE, and some general considerations for facilities managers wanting to employ POE. Subsequent articles will cover techniques for user consultation in more detail; how these are related to the purpose of the POE, and the type of information that is required.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise the main post occupancy evaluation (POE) techniques currently available and illustrate which method would be the most appropriate as a performance enhancement tool within higher education (HE) facilities.

The history of, and barriers to using POE as a performance enhancement tool are analysed through an extensive literature review.

Despite a historic resistance to POE by construction professionals, interest has emerged in recent years, particularly with government clients and public funded projects, with a focus on the outputs of a project as opposed to the inputs. While plenty of methods exist, only a few are specifically suited to evaluate the building performance of educational facilities to maximise student success and productivity.

Practitioners and academics who are interested in the various POE methods will find this review relevant in order to choose which method is most appropriate for the assessment needs of HE facilities.

Research on POE has been emerging in the field of facilities management for commercial and domestic buildings, but little attention has been drawn to HE buildings; although they are a great contributor to individual success and society. This paper provides an historic overview of POE while also assessing its scope, identifying drivers and barriers to it, and outlining the various methods by which it can be conducted.

To highlight the importance of effective post occupancy evaluation (POE) as part of a sustainable approach to workplaces and guide facilities professionals in their choice of POE tools.

A literature review provides an insight into sustainability and an introduction to POE options, with detailed discussion of key factors influencing the effectiveness of POE. A POE case study (at the Eden Project) provides an applied analysis of POE tools, focussing particularly on the usefulness of obtainable data.

POE is shown to be useful in addressing client satisfaction and user needs as part of sustainability assessments. Improvements to the assessment of occupants' experiences are suggested, in consideration of a more holistic approach to POE.

This paper is grounded in UK experience, but the international relevance of the issues could also be explored by readers/further research. Further exploration of novel and holistic methodologies is needed, in order to test the integrated value of the evaluation of environmental data and human perceptions.

This paper will help facilities professionals determine suitable POE approaches for workplaces, as part of an evaluation of available tools.

This paper evaluates a current topic in the property sector and demonstrates the value that facilities professionals can provide in implementing effective POE of workplaces.

This paper aims to identify user-centred facilities performance attributes of higher education buildings and how they can be used to evaluate individual learning spaces. These attributes are then consolidated for developing a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) framework in this context.

A systematic review of the literature on the POE of higher education buildings is conducted.

This study identifies 36 facility performance attributes in higher education buildings, which can be categorised into four dimensions: ambient; spatial; technology; and building support and services requirements. These facility performance attributes need to meet user requirements to achieve satisfactory feedback. It is also important to note that user requirements differ from one learning space to another; thus, it is essential to consider the characteristics of individual learning spaces.

The proposed evaluation framework is context-based and may not be suitable to evaluate other types of buildings. It may be further extended and enhanced to meet other facility management evaluation needs.

The POE framework developed in this research can be used to generate facilities management analytic to inform future design and improve existing higher education facilities.

This research has developed a holistic POE framework tool to meet user requirements in higher education buildings.