Toward Effective Visualization of Sustainable Scope Development

The A/E/C industry needs effective tools to support visualization of sustainable scope development. Simple assessment systems, such as variations of the LEED checklist, are commonly used to establish a project's sustainable goals as well as to monitor progress towards these achieving these goals. Despite their ease of use, these do not always identify issues in sustainable scope development, such as specification or procurement of unacceptable materials for a project's sustainability goals. They also mask the full range of environmental impact metrics, such as carbon emissions and water intake, that might help compare alternatives. To illustrate the importance of effective management of the sustainable scope development process, the authors analyzed the attained credits of several LEED certified projects and identified success factors in multiple case studies of LEED-certified projects. These factors help identify of components of a framework to improve the effectiveness of sustainable scope development.