Page 102 - DP-2-3

Design+ Building code app benefits for designers

occupant load calculation—a common challenge for design Table 1. Instructors’ interview questions
professionals, as it requires consideration of variables such
as floor area, egress routes, and occupancy classification. No. Interview questions
The BCC app automates this process, allowing professionals 1 Which institution are you affiliated with?
to quickly determine the maximum occupancy for a space, 2 What is your current position?
ensuring compliance with safety regulations. In a typical 3 Do you teach/do research, or both?
scenario, the app could be used to calculate the occupant 4 What classes/levels do you teach?
load for a dining space. For instance, the app will allow 5 Do you teach building code?
the designer to input dimensions and occupancy type, 6 Can you tell me more about the building code components that
such as a dining area, and then automatically calculate the you teach?
maximum number of people allowed in that room based 7 Can you walk me through a building code exercise that your
on fire safety codes. This functionality saves time and students work on?
reduces the risk of errors compared to manual calculation 8 What did you like about the teaching experience related to
methods, which require interpreting complex tables and building code?
formulas from the building code. To explore how interior 9 What did your students like about their building code learning
design educators and industry professionals perceive the experience?
benefits and usability of the BCC app, this study employed 10 What is frustrating about building code teaching experience for
a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative you?
interviews and quantitative surveys. 11 What is frustrating about the building code learning experience
for your students?
2.1. Participant recruitment
12 Have you ever thought of looking up existing building code
The mixed-methods study recruited 31 participants, apps?
including instructors from universities in the Midwestern 13 Have you ever had students mess up their building code
and South Central regions, as well as industry professionals calculations at a late stage in the design process? If yes, can you
from different sectors, such as interior designers, architects, describe that experience to me?
fire marshals, code officials, sales representatives, and 14 How much would you/or your students pay to make this
individuals working in finance. These participants problem go away?
were recruited through snowball methods, personal 15 What other features would you like to see incorporated into the
interceptions, personal contacts, and emails. BCC app?
2.2. Study location and platform of the app, including its relative advantage, compatibility,

The study took place in a south-central university. The complexity, observability, and trialability.
interviews were conducted in person and virtually.
In-person interviews took place in different settings, such 2.4. Interview procedure and app demonstration
as at networking events, conferences, and at institutions, After providing consent for recording and participation,
while virtual interviews took place through Zoom. These participants were interviewed about their use of and
sessions were recorded for transcription and analysis. challenges with building codes. They were then shown
a video demonstrating how the BCC app functions.
2.3. Data collection Following the demonstration, the participants were allowed
Data were collected through interviews and surveys. to try the app on their personal devices by scanning a QR
Interviews were conducted with instructors and code. Finally, instructors were asked to complete a survey
industry professionals to understand their perspectives, assessing their perceptions of the app, with items derived
challenges, frequency of use, available resources, and from the innovation diffusion theory. The interviews took
implementation of building codes in their companies approximately 20–30 min.
or classroom settings. The interview questions are
outlined in Tables 1 and 2. The interviews were recorded, 2.5. Data analysis
and field notes were taken when transcription was not Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected in
feasible within the study’s timeframe. Toward the end this study. Transcriptions of the interview recordings were
of the interview, participants were shown a tutorial obtained through Otter (version 3.57), an AI transcription
demonstrating how the app functions and were given the tool. All transcriptions were carefully reviewed to correct
opportunity to trial the prototype. Subsequently, surveys errors and to understand the overall meaning of the
were conducted to understand instructors’ perceptions responses. These transcripts were then analyzed in NVivo

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/DP025190025