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definition states that “POE is the examination of the effectiveness for human users
Post Implementation Evaluation can also be found in the literature. By extension,
I propose the term Post Use Evaluation (PUE) that refers to feedback regarding the
use of products.
POE continues to be in wide use (see e.g., Wall and Shea
2013
), which attests to
a comprehension that the design lifecycle does not terminate with the materializa-
tion of an artifact, but rather that there is an aftermath. In the case of POE, PUE, and
the like, this aftermath is rather practical: the feedback is used to provide better
guidelines for future designs of artifacts in the same category. I would like to claim
that beyond immediate practical implications we should be interested in a post-
design phase because this is when the effects of the design are revealed. Designers
know that a good design should benefit society at large, and not only the direct users
or sponsors of a particular artifact. In extreme cases the impact is far reaching and
the design serves as a prototype or inspiration for many future designs, independent
of the degree to which it performs its intended function. There are many examples
of designed artifacts that have had a profound cultural impact long after the product
was put in the market or erected. Apple's iphone is an obvious example, as it gave
rise to the entire industry of smartphones. The Sydney Opera House is a building
that although its design had won a competition, was constructed with great diffi-
culty and at a cost that grossly exceeded the budget, and therefore its architect was
fired in the process. Nevertheless the building, which suffers from functional
shortcomings (e.g., seats with a partial view of the stage in a performance hall)
has become an iconic symbol of Sydney. In a belated act of recognition the architect,
Jørn Utzon, who was for a long time a persona non grata in Australia because of the
problems associated with the building, was invited to return to Sydney as a guest of
honor. Naturally most buildings and artifacts do not have a dramatic social and
cultural impact that can compare to the iphone or the Sydney Opera, but they
certainly can make a change in the lives of individuals and communities and they
are always sources for feedback that can improve further design.
We see that the lifecycle of a design can and should encompass a pre-design
phase and a post-design chapter to complete the picture, as the pre- and post-design
portions are those that anchor the design in the culture in which it is rooted and on
which it has an impact, large or small.
5.3 The Pagoda Structure
To explicate the design process, including the pre-design and post-design phases,
I would like to use a metaphor, that of the five-tier pagoda. The metaphor will
be described in the next section;
in this section the pagoda structure is
briefly introduced.
The five-tier pagoda: Goju-no-t¯ (see Fig.
5.5
) in Nara, Japan, which is part of
the compound of the Buddhist temple K¯ fuku-ji, was built in 1426 and is one of a
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