IMPROVING THE OUTPUT PERFORMANCE OF DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENT TOOLS

摘要

Attitudes towards Design for Environment (DfE) tools show a number of barriers to adoption. A common issue is the lack of support offered by tools when dealing with environmental design. DfE data is often widely dispersed, making the ability of a tool to provide guidance to the user all the more important. A better understanding of this guidance component could improve DfE tools. This study analysed the types of guidance in 10 DfE tools. Three types of guidance: strategy; case study; advice and the eco-design resource component are identified and quantified. They are assessed and ranked accordingly. The guidance types present in the tools are then linked to the tools performance through further analysis. The paper concludes that to maximise the performance of DfE tool outputs, all three guidance types as well as an eco-design resource are required in a structured framework.