Scoping review of post occupancy evaluation of office buildings with focus on indoor environmental quality and productivity

Post occupancy evaluation (POE) is used widely to evaluate if a building performs as envisioned during the design phase, and more importantly, if the occupants feel healthy and well. The aim of the present study was to review the practices of post occupancy evaluation in office buildings and assess how they evaluated indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and productivity/performance. This was done using a systematic literature search process. A total of 136 papers summarising the findings of 116 studies were included. The studies were analysed according to study type, country, number of buildings, study purpose and objective, applied methods, indoor environmental quality parameters, occupant responses, and productivity/performance assessment. The findings suggest that there is no overall “one-size-fits-all” post occupancy evaluation protocol dominating the assessment of office buildings. The methods and practices varied between studies but questionnaires to the occupants were used consistently; many of the questionnaires were inspired by existing survey schemes. The assessed indoor environmental quality parameters also varied between studies and depended on the purpose of the specific study. Productivity or performance was evaluated in approximately 1/3 of the studies, primarily by self-reported assessment via the questionnaire. Major shortcomings identified were the uncertainties associated with the performance assessment, how to put the findings into practice, and how to assess the cost-benefit of the findings.