Identifying LCC user types using the concept of personas

The increased interest of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry on the economic aspect of sustainability has stimulated the development of tools and concepts for life cycle cost (LCC) calculations. Little is,however,known about how LCC users apply the concept in practice. The aim of this paper is to improve our understanding of the practices of LCC users and identify the requirements of LCC tools from the perspective of users. The study applies user-centric design methods, in particular the concept of personas, to explore the different approaches that building designers are willing to make use of LCC tools with regard to integration of data. The authors conducted qualitative and quantitative user research, including observations, interviews and questionnaire surveys, in a Danish architectural firm that is a frontrunner with a high sustainable profile including LCC.Through the analysis, the case-subjects were grouped by role and several behavioral variables were identified.Then, thecase-subjectsweremapped against each of those variables and three significant behavioral patterns of different user types wererecognized. The first pattern indicates that users with low technical skills,aremorefeeling than thinkingand usually face challenges of spending time and effort to perform tasksmanually. The second patternindicates that users whoare more introvert and have medium programming skills, are dissatisfied for the lack of compatibility between the software that theyuse and face challenges of continuously repeating task. The third pattern indicatesthat userswithadvanced programming skills, are more adaptive in new technologies. Hence, they are willing to fully automate the procedures and reduce time spending on tasks.In conclusion, the identification of significant behavioral patterns of users is a fundamental step of constructing personas. Mapping potential users as personas provide a better understanding of the practices of LCC users, and the identification of their requirements is the first step towards the development of LCC tools and approaches that can be effectively used by the AEC industry.