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Design+ Building code app benefits for designers

highlights the app’s unique features, case studies, and workflows. For instance, an industry professional might
testimonials from users would be effective in attracting place more weight on the app’s ability to streamline
both students and professionals. daily code compliance tasks, while an instructor might
be more concerned with its use as an educational tool
5. Conclusion in the classroom. These differences highlight the need
Building codes ensure the safety of buildings for occupants. for further research that directly surveys industry
Hence, designers are required to understand and calculate professionals to better understand how they perceive
them accurately. Conventionally, this process has been the app’s relative advantage, compatibility with current
performed manually, making it time-consuming, error- practices, complexity, trialability, and observability, all
prone, and costly. With technological advancements, of which are key attributes of the innovation diffusion
interior designers are encouraged to stay updated and theory.
explore new tools that can accomplish design tasks more While the study’s qualitative component provided
efficiently. While attempts have been made to automate valuable insights into the challenges and perceptions
building code checking systems, they typically require regarding building codes and the BCC app, it is important
programming skills that many designers do not possess. to recognize a limitation in the data collection process.
Therefore, the BCC app was designed to help calculate Specifically, nearly half of the qualitative data were
codes and improve efficiency. The interviews revealed that captured through field notes, which, while effective for
professionals and students experience frustration with noting overarching themes and key points, may lack
the current available resources and traditional calculation the depth and detail found in full interview transcripts.
methods. They also recognize the potential value of the Future research should aim to transcribe all interviews in
BCC app in improving efficiency, reducing errors, and full to provide a richer and more nuanced understanding
enhancing students’ learning. Moreover, the results for of participants’ experiences. In addition, incorporating
relative advantage, compatibility, image, ease of use, result other methods such as member checking or follow-up
demonstrability, visibility, and trialability demonstrate interviews could further enrich the data and help ensure a
that professionals are willing to adopt the app. Overall, more comprehensive analysis. Despite this limitation, the
the BCC app is an effective tool that can be used in the study offers an important foundation for understanding
industry to help interior designers calculate complex how building codes and the BCC app are perceived
codes and can be integrated into design courses to help by design educators and industry professionals. While
students learn how to calculate codes. For the BCC app to the BCC app currently handles samples of complex
become a permanent and valuable tool in the long-term calculations, we acknowledge that there are additional
workflows of busy design professionals and academic features that could be developed to enhance its usefulness
curricula, addressing geographic and jurisdictional and applicability across various code systems. For
diversity, expanding features, conducting more extensive example, we plan to incorporate additional features such
testing, and executing a targeted marketing strategy as plumbing fixtures calculations and means of egress
are essential. With the right support and adaptations, sizing. These future improvements will help address even
the app can establish itself as an indispensable resource more specific code-related challenges. We also plan to
for building code compliance across a wide range of enhance the app’s ability to support multi-jurisdictional
disciplines and locations. code compliance, which will allow users to automatically
adjust for local building codes when designing projects
While the study’s findings are valuable within the in different geographic regions. This would significantly
specific regions of the study, it is important to recognize that improve the app’s flexibility and value for both educators
variations in building codes, regional industry practices, and professionals working in diverse geographic areas
and educational frameworks could lead to different with varying requirements.
outcomes in other geographic areas. Future studies that
include a wider range of regions with differing codes and Acknowledgments
industry standards will be crucial for confirming whether The authors acknowledge the use of ChatGPT (https://
these findings hold across diverse settings.
chatgpt.com) for grammatical corrections and enhance the
In addition, while the instructors provided valuable flow of the paragraphs. The prompts used include “check
insights into potential educational applications and grammar” and “edit the flow of the paragraph.” The output
challenges, we recognize that industry professionals may from these prompts was used to improve grammar and
have different concerns, such as the app’s practicality clarity. While the authors acknowledge the usage of AI,
in real-world projects or its compatibility with existing they declare that they are the sole authors of this article and

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 20 doi: 10.36922/DP025190025