A Sociotechnical Systems Approach for Assessing University Campus Developments

Abstract

Recent university campus developments in the UK represented capital investments of more than 3 billion GBP in 2016/2017. They are, driven by the need to provide an excellent student experience and the prevalence of student-centric learning approaches. These developments, need to prove effective in use, promote institutional ethos and image, prove efficient in terms of resource use, make effective uses of learning technologies, and support its users. This has placed pressure on campus planning professionals to ensure the development of satisfactory solutions to meet multiple, and sometimes conflicting, stakeholder requirements. This paper sets out to explore the application of sociotechnical systems, in particular Work Domain Analysis (WDA), as a novel approach to model and understand these complex requirements, and thus, support campus design professionals develop new learning spaces and facilities. A first iteration of WDA is developed based on the review of recent learning space design guidelines, the analysis policies and documents from the HEI, and through interviews with stakeholders. The results provide insights on the complex criteria and general functions that informal learning spaces need to meet. This initial template is expected to serve as the basis of a holistic assessment of the effectiveness of existing and prospective campus developments. The initial findings show promise in regard to the suitability and applicability of WDA as a complementing instrument for early design stages of learning environments and facilities.