Forty years ago the RIBA published its Plan of Work which included Stage M – Feedback. In spite of this, it is still not routine for designers, builders, and sometimes even procuring clients to engage closely with the performance of the buildings they have created. Hence low level, chronic problems tend to persist, innovations miss their targets, and true successes may be overlooked – even in some of the best buildings, as the Probe series of post-occupancy surveys revealed. This paper discusses how feedback, follow-through from design and construction into occupancy, and post-occupancy evaluation could become a natural part of project delivery and how this could improve the quality and sustainability of our buildings. It describes progress made by Probe team members and colleagues in encouraging this since Probe stopped in 2002, reviewing options, establishing a website to provide access to feedback techniques and results, testing this with a user group and setting up a charity to promote and support feedback.
