Using Human Factors to Establish Occupant Task Lists for Office Building Simulations

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this research is to establish an in-depth understanding of task-related occupant behaviors toserve as the basis for the design of an occupant-building interaction interface. Building simulations arefrequently used to design buildings and predict energy performance. Yet, all of these assumptions are relatedto occupant behavior and interactions with the building. In an occupant-controlled environment, anunderstanding of the occupant decision-making process must be represented in the simulation task lists.Current task lists assume general occupant behaviors based on averages, and lack the details required for thisunderstanding. This paper looks to strike a balance between simplicity and complexity in the generation oftask lists to establish a process for developing an understanding of occupant behavior at a greater level ofdetail than current practice. A contextual task analysis questionnaire characterizes occupant behavior toprovide the link between the building, occupant, and task. Generation of a sample task list demonstrates howa detailed understanding of task-related occupant behaviors can be effectively used as the basis of anoccupant-building control scheme.</p>