Discovery and User Research
To understand the pain points, we visited construction sites to conduct in-person interviews with the construction site managers and superintendents. After several interviews, we found out the digitalization of pull planning would help facilitate the construction process.
Pull planning is the get-together of all project stakeholders, like the subcontractors, material suppliers, owners, and designers, to reverse engineer the schedule from a targeted completion date. This collaborative effort helps to determine the milestones of a project. For instance, the pouring of the foundation, the completion of structural framing, installing of the floor, or completing the landscaping work.
Traditionally, stakeholders would go into a room and put sticky notes on the wall to map out the timeline of each trade and determine the number of labor and materials involved. This does not only map out the process but shows the potential roadblocks or extra time needed in each task. The updates are done through texting, phone calls, and emails.
