Architectural project programming can be greatly enriched with the active participation of all stakeholders during the problem definition phase. Documenting a programming process can become the foundation of a knowledge base that is used throughout a project, instead of a static report that gathers dust on a shelf. Too often, the knowledge and insights gained in programming and early design are forgotten in the long slow march toward a completed building. Often the design intent behind important early decisions is not adequately preserved. It is virtually impossible for anyone to keep in mind the comprehensive history of even a simple design problem—all the tradeoffs between conflicting goals, all the reasons behind each decision. Often, when they are called upon to reconstruct a decision (or even just to respond to a substitution request during construction), architects often cannot recall in detail why they chose a particular direction. People who made crucial decisions during programming are often not around when a building is finished. A comprehensive record of any project should allow decisions made during the early phases of design to be played back when needed.

With the Internet, programming can include increased interaction between designer and client or end user, and it can enable the results of such interaction to be retained in a format that is easily accessed throughout the project. A Web site can act as a group repository of issues discussed and decisions made. Technical information, photographic documentation, group meetings with whiteboard—all are tools that can be used in the programming stage. In so doing, the relationships among pieces of information become clearer; information gathering and sharing become easier.

Creating a comment-and-information Web site at the earliest stage of programming may go a long way toward catching problems and realizing design opportunities that might have been overlooked. New York–based Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates is using the Web to supplement live programming workshops with clients and user groups. Collaborative programming has long been a hallmark for this firm, and now the Web is part of the tool kit. For a recent project at Northwestern University, a Web site helped prepare participants for programming workshops and allowed students and faculty who could not physically be present to participate “Schools are really interested in collaborative design,” said James R. Brogan, HHPA Director of Information Technology. “They want the students and faculty to have real input into the project. With the Web, we can have fewer live meetings and less travel—it’s the perfect supplement to what we do, and I can easily imagine that for some projects it could substitute for the workshops completely.”

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