Enhancing the User Experience and Decision-Making of Green Building Certification Resources through Usability Testing Methods

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dc.contributor.authorJefferson, Dwayne Ernesten
dc.contributor.committeechairPaige, Frederick Eugeneen
dc.contributor.committeememberAgee, Philip Ryanen
dc.contributor.committeememberGarvin, Michael J.en
dc.contributor.committeememberJackson, France Lashayen
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-17T09:00:35Z
dc.date.available2025-01-17T09:00:35Z
dc.date.issued2025-01-16
dc.description.abstractgeneralGreen building is defined as a building providing users with healthy and comfortable living space that also implements efficient use of energy and resources. Guidelines and manuals called green building certification resources help project teams construct green buildings and earn certifications. By focusing on technical aspects, green building certification resource developers overlook usability and likely impact ease of use and overall experience. EarthCraft Multifamily (ECMF) is a green building certification program that has had many years of success in Virginia and Georgia. While ECMF resources have contributed to its success, there is room for improvement. The objective of this research was to investigate ways to improve the user experience and usability of green building certification resources and enhance user decision-making. This research utilized various qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze and discuss various ways that green building certification resources can be improved. Results from this study are based on numerous ways that ECMF resources can be enhanced. Data sources include data from Jefferson et al. (2021), project specifications, developer interview data, stakeholder interview data, and builder interview data. Interviews were conducted with professional architects, builders, and stakeholders that had previous experience with the ECMF program and resources. Interviews were also conducted with members of past development teams that worked on ECMF resources in the past. A comparative analysis following an A/B testing format was conducted on original and alternate versions of ECMF resources. The findings from this study demonstrate that user experiences and usability improvements to ECMF resources can contribute to enhance decision-making. Interview data showed that architects, builders, and stakeholders' experience with ECMF resources were affected by the usability issues present in the resources. Understanding how ECMF resources are utilized and perceived by users allows for the appropriate content and options to be strategically framed to enhance user decision-making in future iterations of ECMF. This research also sets the stage for developers of other green building certification programs such as LEED and Enterprise to replicate this form of study and further enhance their resources which are critical to the development of affordable sustainable housing.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:42158en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/124237
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectGreen buildingen
dc.subjectgreen building certification resourcesen
dc.subjectEarthCraft Multifamilyen
dc.subjectuser experienceen
dc.subjectUXen
dc.subjectusabilityen
dc.titleEnhancing the User Experience and Decision-Making of Green Building Certification Resources through Usability Testing Methodsen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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