This thesis explores the relationship between designer intent and consumer response. A novel approach to evaluate the degree of correspondence between designer intent and consumer perceptions has been proposed. The empirical results have shown the influence of consumers’ cultural backgrounds on the way they perceive semantic and symbolic product personalities (characteristics of a product and its owner, respectively), comparing British and Japanese consumer groups. Semantic product personalities are more likely to be universally perceived and more easily intentionally elicited from consumers than symbolic product personalities. The research project consists of a pilot study (Phases I) and an experiment (Phase II) in which mixed methods of interview and survey are employed. Phase I seeks to explore the in-depth understanding of a designer’s thoughts by interviews, and to develop and test newly elaborated consumer surveys termed Designer-driven semantic differentials and Consumer-driven adjective selection. The findings have been considered to construct an analytical framework, characterised by Agreement among consumer perceptions and Correspondence between designer intent and the consumer perceptions, for evaluation of designers’ elicitation of intended product personalities from consumers. Phase II conducts a statistical examination of the impact of cultural difference on consumer perceptions under experimental conditions. The perception of target and non-target consumer groups as categorised by nationality were gauged by Designer-driven semantic differentials and Personality selection, specifically perception of USB sticks designed by three different designers. The survey results are analysed by using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and Chi-squared test within the analytical framework. Subsequently, the results from Phase I and II are extensively discussed based on a framework based on brand personality and Affect Control Theory, both of which may involve potential impact on the development of design research into product development with emotional attachment. The scene is set for future research opportunities based on the approach and findings of this study.

The development of technological innovation, driven by the internationalization process of companies, products and markets, is triggering major changes in economic performance, competition, in deregulation and in the revolution of knowledge. In this sense, the construction of new solutions for products and services and, mainly, the reconciling of the industrial products to their demands, become essential to the enterprises restructuring, in order to integrate the characteristics of an open and demanding market. Realizing of essential importance to understand what function and role design plays in the national furniture industry and to understand how its products are developed, the focus of this study is to identify culturally how the furniture industry in Alto Uruguai/RS operates, and how Design Management can generate competitive advantage, add value to the product and help to increase sales. To perform the study, it was necessary to provide an overview of the furniture industry of Alto Uruguai/RS, emphasizing the application of design in the development of new products. The report was supported by bibliographic and documental resources, structured and semi-structured interviews and also by fieldwork. The research showed that the vast majority of companies demonstrate to understand the importance of design for the development of its products; however, there are few that invest in its accomplishment. This conservative attitude in the point of view of some managers is, in part, related to the paradigm which is associated to short-term view, in which design is seen only as a cost. Therefore, the design management, being a means of integration and interaction of different areas, can reverse this situation by promoting in the companies the competitive differential that is so necessary for their survival, such as the economic development in the region in which it operates. / O desenvolvimento da inovação tecnológica, impulsionado pelo processo de internacionalização das empresas, produtos e mercados; vêm desencadeando importantes mudanças no desempenho da economia, na competição, na desregulamentação e revolução do conhecimento. Neste sentido, a construção de novas soluções em produtos e serviços, e, principalmente, a compatibilização dos produtos industriais às demandas, tornam-se imprescindíveis para a reestruturação das empresas, de forma a integrarem-se às características de um mercado aberto e exigente. Por julgar de essencial importância compreender qual a função e atribuição que o design desempenha no setor moveleiro nacional e entender como são desenvolvidos seus produtos, o foco deste estudo é identificar culturalmente como as indústrias moveleiras da região do Alto Uruguai/RS atuam, e como a Gestão de Design pode gerar diferencial competitivo, agregar valor ao produto e contribuir para o aumento das vendas. Para realização do estudo foi necessário estabelecer uma visão geral a respeito das indústrias moveleiras do Alto Uruguai/RS, dando ênfase a utilização do design no processo de desenvolvimento de novos produtos. O trabalho contou com levantamento bibliográfico e documental, entrevistas estruturadas e semi-estruturadas e pesquisa de campo. A pesquisa apontou que a grande maioria das empresas demonstra compreender a importância do design para o desenvolvimento de seus produtos, porém, são poucas as que investem no sentido de sua efetivação. Essa atitude conservadora no ponto de vista de alguns gestores, em parte, relaciona-se ao paradigma que está associado à visão de curto prazo, onde o design é visto apenas como custo. Logo, a gestão de design, sendo um meio de integração e interação de diferentes áreas, pode reverter este quadro promovendo nas empresas o diferencial competitivo tão necessário para sua sobrevivência, tão como o desenvolvimento econômico da região na qual está inserida.

Com a expansão dos serviços digitais por meio de tecnologias móveis na última década observa-se a importância crescente da atitude de design para compreender o contexto de uso e as emergentes necessidades funcionais e emocionais dos usuários nas quais se baseia a percepção de uma boa experiência do usuário (UX). Levando em conta que a estratégia de negócio e a estrutura organizacional são determinantes para o resultado da experiência percebida pelo usuário e o consequente sucesso do serviço, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo principal investigar as práticas de design nas dimensões operacional, tática e estratégica em diferentes empresas prestadoras de serviços digitais tendo em vista a identificação de padrões relacionados com a adoção da gestão de design e da estratégia de design, e qual o impacto desta adoção nas medidas de desempenho. Para isto, foi adotada como estratégia de pesquisa o levantamento teórico preliminar seguido da realização de estudos de casos múltiplos. Neste estudo de caso, foram investigadas empresas com designers e UX designers trabalhando no desenvolvimento de serviços digitais. As evidências compiladas a partir da teoria, combinadas com os padrões obtidos com os casos, resultaram em um modelo de referência sobre a geração de valor através do design, e em quatro proposições teóricas principais que mostram que as práticas de design executadas pelas áreas de experiência do usuário possuem um potencial de integração interdisciplinar e geração de novas ideias propício para melhorar a sinergia e o resultado de uma equipe ágil de projetos, gerando insumo para decisões estratégicas e potencialmente valorizando a determinação de métricas de uso e engajamento. / With the expansion of digital services through mobile technologies viewed on the last decade, it can be observed the growing importance of the design attitude to understand the context of use and the emerging functional and emotional needs of the users on which the perception of a good user experience (UX) is based on. Taking into account that the business strategy and the organizational structure are determinant to the result of the experience perceived by the user and the consequent success of the service, this research had as main objective to investigate the practices of design in the operational, tactical and strategic dimensions on different digital service companies in order to identify the standards related to the adoption of design management and design strategy, and the impact of this adoption on performance measures. Following this purpose, the preliminary theoretical survey followed by multiple case studies was adopted as a research strategy. In this case study, we investigated companies with designers and UX designers working on the development of digital services. Evidence compiled from the theory combined with the patterns obtained with the cases resulted in a reference model on value generation through design, and in four main theoretical propositions that shows that design practices performed by the user experience departments have the potential for interdisciplinary integration and generation of new ideas conducive to improving the synergy and the result of an agile project team, generating input for strategic decisions and potentially valuing the determination of metrics to follow use and engagement.

This theses examines the process of the order in companies, whose main specialization is the projecting in construction. The study analyses the position of project and architectonical office on the market and process of order based on analysis of related activities. The thesis consists of following parts: theoretical, analytical and practical. Theoretical part describes and clarifies the main concepts and terminology related to the topic. Analytical part analyses current state of the company, i.e. its inner and outer conditions and subsequently, and also the process of concrete contract. The goal of the analysis is to suggest own solutions, which should help to improve the current state of the company. The conditions of the realization and benefits are part of the suggested solution.

Abstract The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate of what use the method Visual Planning can be in the construction industry in general and in the design phase of construction projects in particular.   The investigation and empirical part of the thesis has been based on semi-structured interviews with process developers, design managers and designers from Swedish companies where Visual Planning is used. The interviews have been the base for a comparative case study with the aim of providing an overview of how the method is currently used, interpreted, experienced and perceived in the Swedish construction industry and by its professionals. The master thesis has been made in collaboration with the Swedish consultancy firm Tyréns AB in Stockholm.   The results of the interviews differ on an individual level. The majority of the respondents are however positive and believe in the future of the methods. All respondents stress the lacking documentation, however, as the major difficulty. Several respondents have stressed the difficulties of working in a scattered team due to the analogue format as a shortcoming of the method as well. The biggest benefits stated are the easy accessible overview provided and the clarification of commitments, due to the active participation of the design participants, the analogue format, and the way of mapping of the information process.   It has been found that Visual Planning can be of use as a support in the process of construction project management, since it may facilitate the understanding of how to reach objectives and provide an easy accessible overview of the progress and status of a project. It should however be viewed as a complement to the process of construction project management, and not as a replacement. In conclusion it may facilitate earlier problem solving, since commitment is raised, which in the end facilitates the project to stay within budget as well as to meet the deadline. / Sammanfattning Syftet med detta examensarbete är att utreda vilken nytta metoden Visuell Planering kan vara av i byggbranschen i allmänhet och projekteringsfasen av byggprojekt i synnerhet.   Undersökningen har baserats på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med processutvecklare, projekteringsledare och projektörer från företag inom den svenska byggsektorn där Visuell Planering används. Intervjuerna har utgjort grunden för en jämförande fallstudie med avseendet att skapa en överblick och insyn i hur metoden i dagsläget används, tolkas och upplevs i den svenska byggbranschen och av yrkesverksamma i branschen. Examensarbetet har genomförts i samarbete med konsultföretaget Tyréns AB i Stockholm.   Intervjuresultaten varierar på individnivå. Majoriteten av intervjupersonerna är dock positiva och tror på metodens framtid. Alla tillfrågade beskriver den låga mängden dokumentation som det största problemet hos metoden. Flera yrkesverksamma beskriver även metodens tillkortakommanden då arbete bedrivs i spridda team. En följd av metodens analoga format.  Den genererade lättöverskådliga helhetsbilden och förtydliganden av åtagande och engagemang, som följd av projektmedlemmarnas aktiva deltagande, det analoga formatet och sättet som informationsprocessen kartläggs beskrivs som det största vinsterna.   Det har framkommit att Visuell Planering kan vara av användning och fungera som ett stöd i byggprojektledning, då metoden underlättar förståelse för hur mål ska uppnås och skapar en lättuppfattad bild av ett projekts status och framåtskridande. Metoden bör dock ses som ett komplement i processen av byggprojektledning och projekteringsledning, snarare än en ersättning. Visuell Planering kan slutligen främja problemlösningen i tidigare skeden, då känslan av förpliktelse, åtagande och engagemang höjs, vilket i sin tur skapar bättre möjligheter för projektet att hålla sig inom budget så väl som att möta deadline.

Samhällsbyggnadssektorn står inför många utmaningar. Inte minst har fokus legat på att reduceratid och öka kvalitet i byggprojekt. Dessutom sker en utveckling inom digitalisering. Nya digitalaverktyg och tekniker kräver nya arbetssätt och utmanar nu den bransch som länge ansetts varabåde konservativ och karaktäriserad av låg produktivitet.Ett byggprojekt involverar aktörer av flera slag där beställare, projektledare, projekteringsledareoch produktionsledare är några av de mest självklara rollerna. För att möta utvecklingen krävs detförändringar i arbetssätt och förhållningssätt för dessa positioner. I detta examensarbete studerasförmågor som en projekteringsledare bör besitta för att kunna leda projekteringsgruppen somockså står inför nya digitala arbetssätt. Projekteringsprocessen studeras som processen där inputförvandlas till output under ett konstant flöde av informationsutbyte som slutligen resulterar i envärdeskapande produkt för beställaren. Dessa tre koncept har ledarskapet inomprojekteringsledning sina rötter inom.Examensarbetet utförs som en kvalitativ studie där syftet är att undersöka projekteringsledaresförmågor att leda projekteringsgruppen samt hur rollen och ledarskapet påverkas avdigitaliseringen med BIM och VDC. I studien studeras projekteringsledares roll utifrån att leda,samordna och hantera människor och information. BIM studeras som samlad och delad digitalinformation i en virtuell modell som kan användas som ett arbetssätt. VDC studeras som enstrategi för att integrera virtuella modeller och ett arbetssätt inom projekteringsprocessen för atteffektivisera och underlätta samtliga aktörers arbetsuppgifter genom att använda BIM och följaICE.Utifrån studiens resultat kan sägas att det generellt finns sex olika områden med förmågor som enprojekteringsledare bör besitta för att leda projekteringsgruppen; 1) erfarenhet inom projekteringeller produktion, 2) ledarskapsförmåga, social kompetens och engagerad, 3) beslutsförmåga, 4)generalist, 5) organiserad, tydlig och insatt samt 6) lyhörd. Examensarbetet visar att samarbete är en väldigt viktigt del för en lyckad projekteringsprocess. Vidare, påvisas att det efterfrågas forumdär projektörer kan projektera tillsammans. Därför bör projekteringsledare samlaprojekteringsgruppen i större utsträckning för en lyckad projekteringsprocess. Examensarbetetpåvisar att projekteringsledare ställs inför utmaningar att planera och styra projekteringsprocessenutifrån BIM och VDC. De möter förändringar av roller och ansvarsfördelning samt svårigheter attstyra ICE-möten. Projekteringsledare bör vara ”vakna på nya professioner” och hålla kvarprojekteringsgruppen mot slutmålet istället för den digitala modellen. / The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is facing many challenges. Notleast, the focus has been on reducing time and increasing the quality of construction projects. Inaddition, there is a development within digitizing. New digital tools and building techniquesrequire new working methods and now challenge the industry that has long been considered bothconservative and characterized by low productivity.A construction project involves actors of several kinds, where clients, project managers, designmanagers and production managers are some of the most obvious roles. To meet new challenges,changes in working methods and attitudes for these positions are required. In this thesis, an indepthstudy takes place within the role of the design managers’ abilities in order to be able to leadthe design team, which also faces new digital working methods. The design process is studied asthe process where input is transformed into output during a constant flow of informationexchange, which ultimately results in a value-creating product for the client. These three conceptsare the roots within the leadership of the design management.This thesis is carried out as a qualitative study, the purpose of which is to investigate the designmanagers’ abilities to lead the design team and how the role and leadership are affected by thedigitizing with BIM and VDC. The study studies the role of design managers when it comes toleading, coordinating and managing people and information. BIM is studied as collected andshared digital information in a virtual model that can be used as a working method. VDC is beingstudied as a strategy for integrating virtual models and a working method within the designprocess which implicates facilitating and making all actors’ tasks more efficient by using BIMand following ICE.Based on the results of the study, it can be said that there are generally six different areas withabilities that a design manager should possess in order to lead the design team; 1) experience indesign or production, 2) leadership skills, social skills and engagement, 3) decision-making skills,4)generalist, 5) organized, clear and well-grounded and 6) responsive. The thesis shows thatcollaboration and interactivity are very important parts for a successful design process.  Furthermore, it is demonstrated that a forum is requested where the design team can designtogether. Therefore, design managers should gather the design team to a greater extent for asuccessful design process. This thesis demonstrates that design managers are faced withchallenges to plan and manage the design process from BIM and VDC. They experience changesin roles and responsibilities and difficulties in controlling ICE meetings. Design managers need tobe “awake of new professions” and keep the design team towards the final goal instead of thedigital model.

[pt] O conhecimento ou reconhecimento da marca é conceituado de acordo com um modelo de memória associativa e ocorre quando o consumidor está familiarizado com a marca, tendo em mente um conjunto de associações favoráveis. O alinhamento das estratégias de branding garante que as premissas do posicionamento da marca sejam identificadas pelo cliente. A partir da revisão de um referencial teórico multidisciplinar e de pesquisa de campo com entrevistas semiestruturadas, pretendemos compreender o conhecimento organizacional a partir da gestão pelo design, buscando a integração de competências transdisciplinares, a fim de garantir o alinhamento das diretrizes de branding no varejo de moda omnicanal. Inicia-se, assim, um ensaio sobre a geração do conhecimento organizacional transdisciplinar, baseado nas diferentes práticas de design, incluindo a projeção e avaliação de seus impactos, e garantindo a transformação contínua desse conhecimento para a manutenção de uma política de branding. / [en] Brand knowledge (or recognition) is conceptualized according to an associative memory model and occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand, holding a set of favorable associations in mind. The alignment of branding strategies ensures that the brand s positioning assumptions are identified by the customer. Building on a review of a multidisciplinary theoretical framework and field research using semi-structured interviews, we aim to understand organizational knowledge from a design management perspective, enabling the integration of transdisciplinary competencies to ensure alignment of branding guidelines in omnichannel fashion retail. Thus, an essay begins on the generation of transdisciplinary organizational knowledge based on different design practices, including the projection and evaluation of their impacts, and ensuring the continuous transformation of this knowledge for the maintenance of a branding policy.

The traditional project methodology which is influenced by the waterfallmodel and planning tools such as the work breakdown structure and thecritical path method has been found to be redundant when contextualizedwithin the construction industry. Specifically, as they have been proven to beunable to ensure valuable and efficient work processes during the project’sdesign phase. Suggestively, both variables shall be fulfilled. This has beenfigured to be possible by utilizing the agile project method Scrum. In the strive to optimize the reoccurring issues of the project design, theinformation, work, and values must recreate flows. Variations averts this fromever happening by clogging the flows. Make-do is the primary cause ofvariations during the construction project and emerges from an unfulfilledplanning and a hierarchical communication. Within the levels of the pyramid inwhich the flows are expected to stream, the flows are put into an unavoidablerisk of encountering variations during each project hand-over. The moreactors that are taking part within the chain of flows, the greater the risk ofthe information becoming distorted, the workflow of being done in vain, andthe distance of the value flow to ever become attained. This wholeorganizational situation surrounding how the information misguides the workdraws its parallels with the telephone game, in which, during the game, thegiven information is jeopardized relative to the number of participating“children”. By establishing Scrum during the design phase, the communication paths areshortened by relating the design manager’s responsibilities to that of theScrum Master. The transformation implies that the design manager loses ittitle of being a project manager by converting the management responsibilityto the design workers. What remains is the design manager’s responsibility ofcoordinating the workers which is translated by assigning the work; this is anadded dimension within the prioritization system depicted by the ProductBacklog. Instead of having a design phase that is set out by an early providedplanning with the work breakdown structure and critical path method, theplanning is complemented by the design manager’s interface management ofthe product backlog which follows the required product specifications thatmaterializes upon the occurring Sprint meetings between group of designworkers and the project manager. / Den traditionella projektmetoden som upprättas med vattenfallsmodellen och planeringsverktyg som arbetsfördelningsstrukturen och kritiska linjen har länge blivit förklarad bristfällig inom byggindustrin. Detta genom att metoden har suttits i ett sammanhang där projekten inte åstadkommit värdefulla eller effektiva arbetsprocesser under byggprojektets design-fas—projekteringen. Förslagsvis ska båda av dessa två variabler bli uppnådda. Detta är förklarat möjligt med den agila metoden Scrum. För att optimera projekteringens återuppstående brister ska projektets information, arbeten och värden flöda i strömmar. Variationer avvärjer ifrån detta och täppar till flödena. Få det gjort är det främsta variationsskälet inom byggprojekten och uppstår när planeringarna inte blir fulländade och kommunikationen sker hierarkiskt. Inom pyramidnivåerna som kommunikation förväntas flöda inom ställs samtliga flöden inför en oundviklig mängd variationer vid varje projektöverlämning. Desto fler aktörer som deltar inom denna flödeskedja, desto större är risken av att informationen blir förvrängd, arbetsflöden sker förgäves och att värdeflöden inte blir uppnådda. Det hela organisatoriska scenariot kring hur informationen missvisar arbeten och värden liknar därför viskleken som, under lekens gång, sätter den tillgiva informationen för en risk av att bli missuppfattad relativt till mängden deltagande ”barn”. Med Scrum förkortas projekteringens kommunikationsvägar genom att hänföra projekteringsledaren med Scrum-mastern. Omvandlingen innebär att titeln förlorar sitt ledningsansvar som blir överlåtet till projekteringskonsulterna. Kvar återstår projekteringsledarens samordnaransvar som blir förklarat med arbetstilldelningen; detta blir en tillagd dimension i den prioriteringsordnade product backlogen. I stället för att projekteringen bedrivs av en tidigt förutsatt planering med arbetsfördelningsstrukturen och kritiska linjen kompletteras den med projekteringsledarens gränssnittshantering av backlogen enligt specifikationerna som uppstår under sprint-mötena mellan projekteringsgrupperna och projektledaren.

Stora infrastrukturprojekt kännetecknas ofta av osäkerheter och att många arbetsmoment och tekniker både är komplexa och icke-rutinmässiga. Som svar på komplexiteten och osäkerheterna blir entreprenadformen totalentreprenad allt mer förekommande inom anläggnings- och infrastruktursektorn. I totalentreprenader ansvarar entreprenören för projekteringen men på grund av komplexiteten på projekten saknar entreprenören ofta den nödvändiga kunskapen för att genomföra projekteringen och således behöver en eller flera externa projektörer upphandlas. Detta anses vara en av de främsta fördelarna med entreprenadformen då den främjar ett ökat kunskapsutbyte mellan projektörer och entreprenörer vilket, i teorin, bör leda till en optimering av resultatet gällande både projekteringen och produktionen. I anbudsskedet för totalentreprenader ska entreprenören, utifrån översiktliga funktionsbeskrivningar, projektera och prissätta projektet. Ett problem med anbudsprojektering för totalentreprenader är att konsultkostnaderna betalas av totalentreprenören och om entreprenören inte bli tilldelad entreprenaden är kostnaden för projekteringen förlorade pengar. Anbudsprojekteringen blir således en balansgång för entreprenören att projektera i tillräcklig utsträckning för att identifiera kostnadseffektiva lösningar samtidigt som projekteringskostnaderna hålls nere. Tidigare studier om upphandling av anläggningsprojekt har främst fokuserat på entreprenadupphandling medan det finns begränsat med forskning kring upphandling av konsulter. Syftet med studien har således varit att undersöka hur arbetet med upphandling och genomförandet av anbudsprojektering vid totalentreprenader för anläggningsprojekt sker i dagsläget. Med studien avsågs det även att kartlägga vilka som anses vara de största utmaningar som finns i arbetet med upphandling och genomförande av anbudsprojektering för totalentreprenader. Utifrån de identifierade utmaningarna var målet sedan att fram rekommendationer som byggföretag skulle kunna använda sig av för att förbättra arbetet med att anbudsprojektering. För att besvara studiens forskningsfrågor samt uppfylla studiens syfte och mål har studien genomförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi där fokus har varit att skapa djupare förståelse för problemområdet. Insamling av data för studien har primärt genomförts genom två olika insamlingsmetoder, en litteraturstudie och en intervjustudie. Intervjustudien är den huvudsakliga datainsamlingen i studien och består av totalt tio stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer, tre stycken med projektörer och sju stycken med entreprenörer. Genom att intervjua både projektörer och entreprenörer erhålls möjligheten att analysera processen och jämföra åsikterna mellan de inblandade parterna. Studien visar att anbudsprojektering är en komplex process som kännetecknas av osäkerheter och tidspress där de inblandade parterna saknar erfarenhet och kunskap för att kunna bedriva ett effektivt arbete. Studien visar även att valet av upphandlingsstrategi både har stor påverkan på resultatet av projekteringen samt en direkt påverkan på hur genomförandet av anbudsprojekteringen måste utföras. Entreprenörer är vana vid traditionell, kontrollfokuserad projektledning med fokus på tid och pengar medan anbudsprocessen, som är kantad av osäkerheter och tidspress, kräver ett utvecklat projektledarskap med fokus på samarbete, explorativt lärande och anpassning. / Large projects in the infrastructure sector are characterized by the fact that many work steps and techniques are both complex and non-routine. In response to the complexity and uncertainties, design-build contracts are becoming more and more common in the infrastructure sector. In design-build contracts, the contractor is responsible for the design, however, due to the complexity of the projects, the contractor often lacks the necessary knowledge to carry out the design and thus an external consultant needs to be procured. The advantage of design-build contracts is that it promotes an increased exchange of knowledge between the consultants and contractors, which, potentially, should be able to optimize both the design process and the production in order to respond to the complexity of the projects. In the tendering stage of design-build contracts, the contractor have to, based on general descriptions, design and calculate a price for the project. A major problem with the tendering design for design-build contracts is that the consulting costs are paid by the contractor and if the contractor is not awarded the contract for the project, the cost of the design is considered as lost money. The contractor must therefore choose between designing the project in detail or keeping down the costs of the design work. Previous studies on procurement of infrastructure projects have mainly focused on procurement of the contractor, while the focus on consulting procurement is more unusual. The aim with this study was to investigate how the contractors should work with procurement of design in the tendering stage of design-build contracts in order to create a basis for a successful project. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the work with procurement and implementation of tendering design for design-build contracts for infrastructure projects currently looks like. The study also intends to identify the biggest challenges that exist in the work with procurement and implementation of design in the tendering stage of design-build contracts.  In order to answer the study's purpose and aim, the study has been carried out with a qualitative research strategy where the focus has been on creating a deeper understanding of the problem. The data collection for the study was primarily carried out through two different methods, a literature study and an interview study. The interview study is the main data collection and consists of a total of ten semi-structured interviews, three with consultants and seven with contractors. By interviewing both consultants and contractors, the opportunity to analyse the process and compare the opinions between the parties involved is obtained. The study shows that routines and methods for procurement, assignment specification and project management of design in the tendering stage of design-built contracts are inadequate. The tendering stage in design-build contracts is a complex process where the parties lack experience and knowledge. It also appears in the study that the contractor would need to implement alternative working methods in order to be able to lead this process. Contractors are used to traditional, control-focused project management with a focus on time and money, whilst the tendering process, which is fraught with uncertainties and time pressure, requires a flexibility-focused project leadership with a focus on collaboration, exploratory learning and adaptation.

Previous research highlighted consumer dissatisfaction with fashion clothing products on offer. There is a lack of information about real consumers needs due to the industry standards of beauty and behaviour as well as a constant rush for innovation that feeds fashion cycles. This research identifies the elements that will enable fashion clothing companies to become more inclusive, and aims to find a methodological relationship between the stakeholders in the fashion industry: consumers, designers and companies. The research considered the difference between a mature market as opposed to emergent ones, and addressed differences between Western and Eastern cultures.