Bringing the design team together: coordinating inter-organizational design work using an agile co-working method

Designing buildings requires efficient information exchange and knowledge co-creation between different disciplines to add value for the customer. The high of fragmentation of the AEC industry makes collaboration between disciplines difficult. New methods for increasing collaboration, knowledge co-creation, and customer involvement are needed. This paper presents a case study on developing and using an agile co-working method for coordinating inter-organizational BIM based design work during the conceptual design phase. Data was collected before, during and after the agile co-working sprint. The data includes discussions during four preparation meetings, the audio and video recordings of two-day co-working sprint, and nine interviews after the sprint. The co-working sprint necessitates planning: determining common ways of working, technology to be used, and the practicalities of the shared facility. Shared rules for conduct need to be agreed at the beginning of the sprint to ensure that members know how to exchange knowledge, what technology to use and in what way. The co-working sprint needs a team leader to facilitate the discussion and ensure coherent outcomes. Team members of the co-working sprint need to be motivated to work together. One of the most beneficial outcomes of the sprint was committing to goals that were defined together. The agile co-working sprint increased common understanding between team members about other disciplines’ work tasks during conceptual design. The study sheds light on how to bring the design team together using an agile co-working method which enables the visualization of knowledge for customer’s decision making.