Assume you are the manufacturer of modular office systems and furniture as well as office organization elements (desktop and wall organizers, filing systems, etc.). Your company has been asked to propose an observation study to examine the use of office space by white-collar and managerial workers for a large insurance company. This study will be part of a project to improve office efficiency and paperwork flow. It is expected to involve the redesign of office space and the purchase of new office furniture and organization elements.

(a) What are the varieties of information that might be observed?

(b) Select a limited number of content areas for study, and operationally define the observation acts that should be measured.

(c) Develop a checklist to be used by observers in this study; determine how many observers you need and assign two or three to a specific observation.

(d) Compare the results of your group members’ checklists for stability of recorded perceptions.