Overview of Landscape Design Validation Issues and Process

When I first started looking into the concept of validating landscape designs I prepared a diagram to help understand and explain the issues and process.  A copy of that diagram is shown below.

Design Process Interrelationships

Beginning in the upper left, clients obviously have a site.  The also have needs and values.  They may have a vision.  They may also have some prior experience with landscape design as either do-it-yourselfers or using a designer.  All of the clients “soft” components, needs, values, vision, and experience, combine to form the basis for the client’s expectations from their design.

The designer, in the upper right, completes a site analysis and a client analysis.  That information is used to perform analysis, synthesize the data, and develop design ideas and concepts.  The designer completes the design process creating a final design.  Changes to the client’s site as a result of that design create either a positive or negative experience for the client.

At the bottom center of the diagram are the potential results of positive and negative outcomes for the designer.  All of them in some form are related to client satisfaction and the benefits that come from having happy clients.

Across the lower center of the diagram, the red double-headed arrow highlights the two areas of concern for validation.  First, do we have all client needs and requirements and are they right?  Second, does the design meet the client’s needs and requirements?  Will it meet their expectations?

As I have indicated before, my initial thoughts on this problem were toward 3D virtual reality as a way to validate that the design would work for the client.  Subsequently, many of my posts have been focused on analysis and documentation that can be used as validation tools.  However, the question of making sure all client needs and requirements are obtained and obtained correctly needs to be addressed.

Although I think this diagram explains the fundamental issues and processes, I think the segment from the designer to the design on the right side of the diagram needs to be depicted in more detail.  The tools, procedures, and iterative steps need to be defined.  My August 28, 2009 post, “A Layer Design Model?” [http://ldvalidate.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/a-layer-design-validation-model/] discusses some of my early thoughts on this model.