International Journal of Project Management Vol. 16, No. 6, pp.

385±391, 1998
# 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
0263-7863/98 $19.00 + 0.00

PII: S0263-7863(98)00001-5

An evaluation of the project needs of

UK building clients
Ezekiel A Chinyio, Paul O Olomolaiye and Pauline Corbett
School of Engineering and The Built Environment, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street,
Wolverhampton, WV1 1SB, UK

The investigation reported established a checklist of 50 di€erent needs from which a client's
speci®c requirements can be identi®ed. The checklist comprises of 34 aspects of needs compiled
from literature, and 16 others ascertained from an empirical investigation, through a question-
naire survey of 42 UK building clients. An evaluation of these needs indicated that `functionality
of buildings', `timeliness of completion' and `value for money' are the aspects of needs, which at
the moment are most frequently desired by clients. In quest of achieving optimal client satisfac-
tion with building schemes, the generated checklist can be developed into a databank which, can
easily be used for verifying a client's project requirements. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd and
IPMA. All rights reserved
Keywords: needs, clients, identi®cation, brie®ng, retailing, evaluation, planning

Introduction Clients' needs

Construction clients' projects needs are still not fully
met1, 2 and, clients are distraught about it.3±5 The
apathy of construction clients can be ameliorated and
their satisfaction improved by stepping-up the extent
to which their needs are achieved in project schemes.
One way in which this is possible is by adequate
identi®cation of each client's exact requirements; for,
according to Weihrich and Koontz,6 accurate problem
de®nition is the panacea for resolving a diculty.
The suggestion of targeting clients' requirements in
construction projects is not particularly strange. In
marketing, for example, suppliers deem it an obli-
gation to determine the particular requirements of
their (prospective) customers and then, supply pro-
ducts in accordance with established expectations.7 By
this approach a pro-active alertness towards custo-
mers' optimal satisfaction is ensured. In like manner,
construction productivity can emphasise on this habit
as a means of improving its clients' satisfaction. In this
regard, this communication aims at providing a basis
for easy identi®cation of clients' needs in building pro-
jects.
Since many clients still adopt the traditional pro-
curement route, Jenks and Bacon8 advocated the for-
mal establishment of clients' requirements during brief
formulation, prior to any work being commenced.
Their call underpins the quest for establishing a struc-
tured databank from which project speci®c require-
ments can be generated with clients.
A need is a state of felt deprivation which pertains to
health and well-being.9 For a deprivation to qualify as
a need, it must be desired with regularity such that it
can be treated as a feature of one's personality.10 For
example, the deprivation of shelter, oce space, or any
other type of building accommodation would be per-
ceived as a building need.11, 12 Wants, on the other
hand are objects (goods and services) for satisfying
cravings for mental and physical pleasures.13±15
Pertaining to buildings, clients' desires like: beauty of
product, timeliness of completion, safety of delivery,
etc. would be classi®ed as wants.
Despite the di€erence in meaning between needs and
wants, construction industry scholars often refer to
both as needs. To maintain a consistency with con-
struction literature, `needs' is herein used in reference
to both needs and wants.
Compilation of clients' needs
Being that clients' needs are not listed in any one
documented source, an attempt to compile and evalu-
ate them was made in the course of the study. The
compilation was done both through a literature search
and a practical study. The essence of the former was
to collate popularly expressed needs while the later
was to ascertain clients' other implicit needs. Being
that clients' needs are many their collation into one
documentary source would assist clients in spotting or
verifying what they particularly want, as they formu-
late their requirements with construction professionals.
385
An evaluation of the project needs of UK building clients: E. A. Chinyio et al.
The literature search was conducted within the time
frame of the investigation and it identi®ed 34 descrip-
tions of needs. These are shown on Table 1, and are
discussed in a later section.
Grouping of needs
Some descriptions of needs are interrelated,16±18 and,
can be grouped under topical concepts.19 Consider the
attribute of `project duration' for instance. This is
reported in literature to encompass the aspects of:
early start, timely completion, earlier completion,
securing timely (planning) approvals, etc. In view of
such interrelationships and, for easy co-ordination of
the investigation, the descriptions of needs in literature
were by reasons of communality and semantics col-
lated into eight main groups namely: aesthetics, econ-
omy, functionality, quality, safety, surprises (lack of),
working relationships and time. This grouping is
re¯ected on Table 1 where, Column 1 shows the eight
main classes of needs and Column 2 the various
aspects assigned to each class.
The survey
A semi-structured questionnaire was used to ascertain
the opinions of some sampled building clients. Within
the questionnaire, aspects of needs compiled from lit-
erature were presented in form of a checklist of clients'
needs. In completing the questionnaire, especially the
section pertaining to the checklist, clients were asked
to tick as desirable those aspects of needs that were
Table 1 Checklist of clients' requirements
Attribute
Aesthetics
Economy
Functionality
Quality
Working relationships
Safety
Surprises
(i.e., Lack of:)
Time
386
applicable to them as per a speci®ed project. In ad-
dition, they were asked to indicate any additional
needs and meanings thereof, that they have which
were not mentioned in the questionnaire. A free space
was provided for this purpose (Table 1 is an excerpt
from the questionnaire showing the checklist of needs
as presented to clients).
UK-based clients were sampled for information at
random from among those known to the Built
Environment Research Unit of the School of
Engineering, University of Wolverhampton. One hun-
dred and eighty-®ve questionnaires were mailed out
and 42 of these (23%) were completed and returned.
Ninety-three percent of the respondents were organis-
ations while the other 7% were private individuals.
Clients' characteristics
In terms of number of employees, 25% of the organis-
ations are relatively small, 46% are medium sized and
29% are big organisations. The ®rms are made up of
Property Developers (21%), Building Societies and
Housing Associations (15%), Public Establishments
(57%), Industrial Organisations (5%) and Schools
(2%). Amongst the types of developments on which in-
formation was supplied are: Oces (10%), Financial
Institutions (5%), Residential Buildings (39%),
Academic and Educational Buildings (4%),
Commercial Buildings (14%), Industrial Buildings
(4%) and miscellaneous facilities like hostels, swim-
ming pools and leisure centres (24%). The reported
projects are not predominantly clustered in any UK
Needs: aspects associated attribute(s)
Beautiful looking product
Beautiful interior
Beautiful exterior
Beautiful ®nishes/decorations
Lowest price whatsoever
Price of the product to meet a given budget
Reducing tendering costs by inviting few bidders
Balance between capital and maintenance (or life cycle) costs
Maximising taxation bene®ts
Indication of a ®rm price with minimal variations
Building to be operationally ecient with its intended purpose
Durable building
Keeping existing buildings operational during construction
Quality of the product to match current standards
Innovative design incorporating high/latest technology
The Building to re¯ect your activities and image
Value for money i.e., desired quality at appropriate price
Avoidance of disputes
Familiarity with contractor
Desire to be actively involved in your project(s)
Desire to be kept informed about the project throughout its life
Non-confrontational relationship with the contractor
Probity (Internal and Public accountability)
Minimal exposure to risk for the client
Recognition of risks associated with the project
Clear allocation of responsibilities between you and contractor
Flexibility to change the design during construction
Avoidance of claims
Guarantees of, and on construction
Timely construction (i.e. being on schedule)
Securing timely planning approvals
High speed of design and construction
Early start
Minimal interference with the works
 An evaluation of the project needs of UK building clients: E. A. Chinyio et al.

Table 2 Clients' ranking of aspects of needs

No. Aspect Frequency (%) Rank
1 Building to be ecient with intended purpose 100 1
2 Timely construction 98 2
3 Value for money 90 3
4 Recognition of risks and uncertainties associated with projects 81 4
5 Clear allocation of responsibilities 79 5
6 Balance between capital and life cycle costs 71 6
7 Price of product to meet budget 69 7
8 Desire of client to be actively involved in project schemes 64 9
9 Desire of client to be kept informed of project developments 64 9
10 Guarantees on construction and or products 64 9
11 Beautiful exteriors 62 12
12 Probity (internal and public accountability) 62 12
13 Minimal exposure of client to risk 62 12
14 Durable buildings 60 14.5
15 Quality of product to match existing standards 60 14.5
16 Beautiful looking product in general 57 17
17 Minimal interference with the works 57 17
18 Avoidance of claims 57 17
19 Avoidance of disputes 52 19
20 Beautiful interiors 50 21
21 Firm contract price with minimal variations 50 21
22 Securing timely planning approvals 50 21
23 Beautiful ®nishes and decorations 48 23
24 Building to re¯ect clients activity and image 43 24
25 Non-confrontational relationship with contractors 38 25
26 Keep existing buildings operational (where necessary) during construction 36 26
27 Familiarity with contractor 31 28
28 Beauty of buildings to match clients image 31 28
29 Beauty of buildings to match those of the surroundings 31 28
30 Flexibility to change designs during construction 26 30.5
31 Fast designs and constructions 26 30.5
32 Early start of physical construction 24 32
33 Procedures to conform to CDM regulations 20 34
34 Consider contractor"s housekeeping and safety records in prequali®cation 20 34
35 Adequate reaction by contractors to identi®ed risks 20 34
36 Innovative designs (Incorporating high/latest technologies) 19 36
37 Lowest price of product 12 37
38 Reducing tendering costs by inviting few bidders 10 38
39 Maximising taxation bene®ts 7 39.5
40 Parties to work as a team (especially by partnering) 7 39.5
41 Buildings to satisfy occupiers" (other than clients") use 5 41.5
42 Bureaucracy in securing planning permission can be reduced, especially between 5 41.5
Local Authority and Central Government
43 Energy eciency to be considered in design options 2 46.5
44 Contractors to provide reference from previous clients 2 46.5
45 Good communications at all levels 2 46.5
46 Contractor to assure of controlling subcontractors 2 46.5
47 Detail design prior to construction 2 46.5
48 Adequate planning of briefs, especially in terms of scheduling 2 46.5
49 High quality of workmanship to be provided by contractors 2 46.5
50 Keep statutory standards to a minimum 2 46.5
NB: Tied ranks are assigned their average rank.

location. Seventy percent of the reported projects were Results

completed between 1995±96, 2% were completed in
the late eighties and, the other 28% were on-going
developments at the time of data collection.
As per experience with construction undertakings,
10% of the clients have within the last 5 years, each
initiated only one project. Within the same time frame,
a further 10% of the clients have each initiated
between two to ®ve projects, 24% have each embarked
on between six and 20 projects, and, 56% have indivi-
dually commissioned over 20 projects. Designations of
ocers who replied to the questionnaire included
Senior/Chief Architects, Senior/Chief Building
Surveyors, Project Ocers, School Administrator, and,
others in Management positions.
Results are derived from opinions of the 42 clients
who responded to the questionnaire enquiry. In ad-
dition to verifying most of the presented needs as
desirable features of their projects some of the clients
revealed 16 other descriptions of needs that were not
mentioned in the questionnaire. However, no major
class of need was suggested as an addition to the eight
categories that were presented. The 16 additional
requirements and the 34 initial aspects of needs that
were presented to them are both shown on Table 2.
Attributes in normal text of this Table are those com-
piled from literature while the italicised descriptions
refer to aspects generated with clients in the research
survey.
387
An evaluation of the project needs of UK building clients: E. A. Chinyio et al.
The frequency with which needs are desired was
computed leading to their ranking. The frequency
score of a need was calculated by the notation:
F = [a(ni/42)  100]%, where:
F is frequency;
n is the number of yes votes recorded for the i-th
meaning of need; and
42 is a constant for the maximum possible vote.
Table 2 shows the resulting ranking of all the aspects
of needs. This ranking infers that functionality of
buildings, timeliness of completion and value for
money are at the moment the most frequently desired
clients' requirements.
Discussion
The following discussion of needs is made on the basis
of their eight main groupings as listed in column 1 of
Table 1. The opinion that needs have a sociable dispo-
sition and are shaped by ones' age, society, environ-
ment, etc.2, 20, 21 is borne in mind as observations
underpinning the discussions are made.
Aesthetics
Attributes assigned to aesthetics in the survey, and, as
compiled from Franks,4 Potter,3 NEDO22 and
Masterman23 were beauty, and prestige of construction
products. The investigation showed that aesthetical
aspects are desired by about 50±60% of the clients.
Thirty-one percent of the surveyed clients clari®ed
an additional aspect of aesthetics that they like. This is
a ``be®tting beauty that is commensurate with the cli-
ent's image and with the building's surrounding''. This
assertion of clients is in line with the opinion that,
needs have a sociable disposition and are shaped by
society.2, 21
Economy
Economy is concerned with the following attributes:
. getting the lowest price;24, 25
. meeting budget price;19, 26
. reducing tendering costs by inviting few bidders
(Anonymous);
. balancing capital and life cycle costs;3, 23
. maximising taxation bene®ts;12, 27 and,
. getting a ®rm price with minimal variations.4, 23, 28, 29
The responses of the surveyed clients indicated that
clients are not particularly enthusiastic about lowest
price, reduction of tendering costs and maximisation
of taxation bene®ts. Only about 10% of clients are
thus minded. Fifty percent of respondents are inter-
ested in ®rm project prices. This o€ers a fair support
of Dickinson's30 comment that English law has made
clients to expect projects to be delivered at agreed con-
tract prices. About 70% of respondents indicated they
preferred building prices to meet budgets and to re¯ect
a balance between capital and maintenance costs. Thus
not only is the initial outlay important to clients but
the life-cycle costs of buildings.
An additional desirable feature of economy
expressed by one client was energy eciency. This
respondent is engaged in developing public houses for
388
letting. In a bid to keep rents down, this client prob-
ably desires buildings that will conserve energy.
Functionality
The three meanings attached to functionality in the
survey were: performance eciency;22, 23, 26 durability of
products;3 and, keeping existing buildings operational
during construction.27
All respondents (100%) indicated they wanted their
buildings to be functionally ecient. From this result
alone, clients' most predominant need can be said to
be functionality. Concerning the other attributes, 60%
of the respondents desired durable buildings, and 36%
the use of existing buildings while construction works
are in progress. Seventy-three percent of those who are
interested in keeping existing facilities functional are
clients whose works were mainly concerned with
alterations and renovations. Their reason was thus
obvious.
The additional meaning of functionality derived
from the survey was that buildings should ®t the occu-
pier's use. If the end-users are known, their functional
requirements can be assessed in this regard.
Quality
Quality was described as: matching existing stan-
dards;3, 16 designs to incorporate latest technol-
ogy;4, 27, 31 buildings to re¯ect client's activities and
image;27 and, Value for money.19, 28, 29
Amongst the above meanings, value for money was
the only one that was rated most by 90% of the cli-
ents. The other features of quality did not score very
highly. By desiring value for money, clients may want
their quality standards to be optimised based on what
they can a€ord and not necessarily on their taste.
Value for money ranked third on the frequency of
`most desirable needs' (see Table 2). The preference
rankings of Table 2 may be an indication that clients
are willing to sacri®ce some aspects of quality in order
to attain some particularly stronger need(s).
Working relationships in the course of project execution
Clients were surveyed on relationships under the
aspects of: dispute avoidance; familiarity with contrac-
tor; desire to be actively involved, and kept informed
about project developments.25, 32, 33 Further aspects
were non-confrontational relationship with contrac-
tors;28, 29 and, accountability.34
In their responses, 64% of clients expressed a desire
to be involved in their building schemes both at design
and construction stages. Amongst these, are regular
clients (36% of the sample). Fifty-two percent of all
the surveyed clients desired a less confrontational re-
lationship with contractors. These (above) average
levels of desires may be a re¯ection of clients' keenness
to avoid construction disputes. Regular clients are con-
versant with building schemes, hence, their desire for
involvement may not be strange. It may not be unwar-
ranted if clients with complex schemes express a desire
for involvement, as they might want to keep a close
eye on their investments.
Few clients o€ered recommendations for the
improvement of working relationships in building pro-
 An evaluation of the project needs of UK building clients: E. A. Chinyio et al.
ject schemes. These suggestions are in respect of:
adopting a partnering approach; ensuring contractor's
performance (by means of references); and, ensuring
good communications between project participants.
The call for good communications is supported by
Carrington.35
Safety
The two attributes associated with safety pertain to
recognition of and exposure to risks.28, 29 The need for
minimal exposure to risks scored 62%, and the desire
for identifying risks scored 81%. These high scores,
coupled with the previous discussion on working re-
lationships, indicate that clients' risk aversion may be
on the high side. If so, Flanagan and Norman's36
opinion that most construction clients are risk averse,
may not be wrong.
Some uncertainties may still plague projects, as one
respondent explained that ground conditions are
always dicult to predict. There should thus be a lee-
way on the part of clients that, a few uncertainties
beyond the control of contractors may be inevitable.
In addition to rating the two attributes of safety,
some clients (about 20%) pointed out their desires for:
CDM application; consideration of contractors' house-
keeping and safety records; and, adequate contractor's
response-re¯exes to identi®ed risks. These suggestions
infer that some clients want to see a more thorough
evaluation of contractors before they are selected.
Lack of surprises
Lack of surprises to clients comprised the four features
of: clear allocation of responsibilities between parties;19
susceptibility to change the design;4, 24, 32 avoidance of
claims; and o€ering guarantees on construction/pro-
ducts.3
In clients' responses clear allocation of responsibil-
ities in contracts (with a score of 79%), ®rm o€ers
that avoid claims (57%), and, guarantees on construc-
tions (64%) were returned. In addition, one client
mentioned that full design prior to construction will
assist in avoiding surprises. Another client mentioned
the need for contractors to prove their ability to con-
trol subcontractors who are a possible source of sur-
prises.
Clients may have to realise that construction pro-
ductivity delves into the future which, is not always
certain. Therefore, and, as one anonymous respondent
recommends: ``expect the unexpected and you will not
be surprised''. Clients should expect uncertainties to be
minimised, as avoiding them totally may be imposs-
ible.
Time (project duration)
The overall aim of time factor in building production
is to minimise the duration in which the ®nished pro-
duct is delivered to the client. Time thus concerns:
timely construction;26, 30 securing timely approvals; fas-
ter designs;19, 27 minimal interference with the works;
and, early start.28, 29
Amongst these, timely completion of projects was
rated very strongly by 98% of the studied clients. The
only client who did not desire any aspect of time com-
mented that: as long as completion time remained
reasonable, economy was the main desire. At a mini-
mum, therefore, the (foregoing) ®ndings indicate that
timely completion of projects (with a score of 98%)
and e€ectual functional products (scoring 100%) are
clients' current most frequently desired two needs.
It can be asserted from the high score of timely
completion that the ®ndings seem to have con®rmed
Naoum and Langford's24 assertion about private cli-
ents' strong desire for timely completion. The ®ndings
also reveal that non-private clients are desirous of the
timely completion of their construction works.
Two other time-related features of: securing plan-
ning approvals on time; and, minimal interference with
construction works were rated moderately. The
remaining attributes of time were rated on the low
side. Two suggestions for improving the timely delivery
of projects were made by a few clients. They opined
that pre-construction phase bureaucracy can be
reduced and that the scheduling of construction activi-
ties should be made more realistic.
Clients' diversity and the need for establishing a
databank
The foregoing discussions re¯ect clients' perceptions
on needs. Clients' individual priorities over these needs
were found to vary. This seems to con®rm the opinion
of some scholars that needs vary with individuals.6, 37
An inference from these opinion is that clients and
their needs cannot be treated as unitary,26 but, pluralis-
tic.38 Due to clients' diverse preferences therefore, pro-
ject teams should endeavour to identify clients'
requirements on an individual basis. The thrust is to
be able to identify each client's exact requirements.
Such identi®cation will help in tailoring the supply of
products. However, no model exists for identifying cli-
ents' particular needs.
Establishing clients' needs
One way of establishing a client's needs is to ask or
probe, as would a Doctor to a patient, a Mechanic to
a car-owner seeking repairs, an Employer to prospec-
tive employees, etc. However, construction pro-
fessionals often adopt an over-simplistic view of
clients,38, 39 and, the appraisal of their priorities has
often been ignored.28, 40 This attitude of construction
professionals may partially be accountable for the non
attainment of clients' needs in project schemes. Several
questions can be posed. These include the following:
. What are clients' needs, and, how can they be ident-
i®ed, and or, evaluated?
. Why are clients' needs hitherto not adequately eval-
uated by clients' advisers in project schemes?
. Can clients' satisfaction be improved or optimised
by the conscious attainment of their needs?
The likelihood is that a detailed evaluation of cli-
ents' needs in the course of construction production
will lead to greater levels of achievement. This will in
turn lead to greater clients' satisfaction.
E€ective probing of needs with clients demands
artistic and behavioural skills. However, the process
can be eased by the availability of a checklist which
can be used as occasion demands. The study sought to
389
An evaluation of the project needs of UK building clients: E. A. Chinyio et al.
establish such a checklist from clients' responses.
Within the time limitations of the research, the litera-
ture review conducted did not fully de®ne clients'
requirements as more were discovered in the practical
survey.
Table 2 is a checklist of 50 meanings of needs as
established in the study. It is a combination of require-
ments generated from both the literature search and
the client survey study. It can serve as a reference
source for identifying clients' requirements. The initiat-
ive of the research was to generate such a checklist of
needs, enroute to establishing a databank for construc-
tion project practice. If the checklist of Table 2 is
adopted by construction practitioners, it would pro-
vide a reference to brief formulators while establishing
clients' needs. It would also provide a spring-box for a
future development of a databank.
Limitations
The limitation of the sample size upon which the in-
vestigation was conducted is acknowledged. A larger
sample and more elaborate mixture of clients might
reveal more needs. Thus the generated checklist of cli-
ents' needs might not be exhaustive, but is still valid in
that it represents clients' many desires.
Needs vary over time,6, 37 thus while the checklist of
Table 2 might be tenable during the mid-nineties it
might be untenable in the 21st century. This dynamism
calls for the continuous monitoring and upgrading of
needs and especially the priorities attached to them.
Our intention in this regard is to establish a dynamic
databank of clients' requirements that would be
updated on a regular basis.
Conclusion
In an ever competitive setting, suppliers endeavour to
determine the particular requirements of their (pro-
spective) customers, and then, supply products in ac-
cordance with these expectations. The construction
industry can learn from this approach. The research
therefore examined the need-desires of construction cli-
ents to ascertain where their preferences lie. Respective
clients' desires were found to vary. However, the three
broad needs of functional buildings, contract duration
and quality of buildings were found to be clients' cur-
rent most frequently desired needs. Contrary to indi-
cations in literature, economy of project schemes was
not found to be a frequently desired client-need. In
general, the ®ndings show that while some needs are
desired communally by all clients, others are desired
by only a few clients.
A checklist of construction clients' needs has been
set-up from the ®ndings of the investigation. It can be
used for establishing clients' project requirements and
thus, as a basis for developing project implementation
criteria. By conferencing with one another, clients and
their advisers can use the checklist as a memory source
for spotting the requirements which are applicable to a
particular project. If the checklist and its usage is
adopted in project planning, development of project
schemes on the platter of clients' needs will be
enhanced. If so done, clients' needs will most often be
targeted and met, and, their level of satisfaction with
project schemes would be improved.
390
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Ezekiel Chinyio is a PhD Pauline Corbett is a Senior

student at the School of Lecturer in Quantity Surveying at
Engineering and The Built the School of Engineering and The
Environment, University of Built Environment, University of
Wolverhamtpon, UK. Mr Wolverhampton, UK. Her back-
Chinyio has worked as a ground is representing clients' inter-
Quantity Surveyor and has ests in her professional capacity as
taught at tertiary level before a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. Her
embarking on his current research interests stem from RICS
research on the evaluation of APC assessment work and concen-
client's needs. trate on evolving professional skills.

391