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Design+ Evaluating a building code app

Relative advantage, 2 – Compatibility, 3 – Complexity, Furthermore, the idea of concept mapping was taken into
4 – trialability, 5 – Result demonstrability, and 6 – Their consideration with a simple and easy-to-follow design
intention to adopt this technology in the future. This that helped students navigate to complete calculations.
instrument was used to predict adoption rates, identify The app automatically makes the calculations after users
barriers, and guide strategies to accelerate the diffusion plug in the required information, such as sq ft., giving
of innovations. Questions numbered eighteen to twenty accurate calculations and reducing mistakes that occur
(Q18 – Q20) were related to the participants’ perceptions when calculating codes manually. After completing all the
of their stress levels during the different building code building code tasks, participants were asked to respond
tasks. Demographic information, such as age, gender, to the online survey. Data were collected through the
and prior academic performance, was also collected to Qualtrics online survey tool that ensured anonymity and
examine potential differences between participants. ease of access. The entire process took approximately
40 min per participant.
3.4. Procedure
3.5. Data analysis
As shown in Figure 1, after signing the consent form,
participants were provided with a building code scenario The study gathered data through an online survey. To
in which they were asked to calculate the occupant load analyze the quantitative data, descriptive and statistical
for a given space. They first solved the scenario using analyses were performed. Statistical analyses such as the
traditional methods and then used the Building Code one-sample Wilcoxon test and the one-sample z-test were
Calculator App. Participants were then provided with performed using SPSS. The one-sample median test was
another building code scenario, and they were asked to used to compare a hypothesized median value with the
solve it using only the Building Code Calculator App, as observed median value in a representative sample.
shown in Figure 2. The Building Code Calculator App
was designed according to the cognitive load theory of 4. Results
multimedia to eliminate irrelevant visual information to Responses to questions about participants’ demographics
reduce cognitive load and allow students to learn how were analyzed through descriptive analysis. Table 2
to use the tool to calculate building code requirements. presents participants’ gender, age, race, and grade in the

Building Code Building Code Building Code
Scenario #1 Scenario #2
Consent Pre-Using the Scenario #1 Using Post-Using Survey
Form the Building Code
Building Code the Building Code
Calculator App Calculator App Calculator App
Figure 1. Study procedure

Figure 2. One of the participants using the Building Code Calculator App

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/dp.4730