Page 36 - RoadCem Manual - PCT BV

The basic user and client requirements and criteria must be defined before a design starts.
The first step in any road project is therefore to define user and client requirements and criteria. Only after this has been completed can the design be made.
Consider the following problem:
A river divides a particular community right down the middle. People need to cross the river to meet each other. The bakery needs to deliver bread to both parts of the community. The Major of the town promised that he will solve the problem of communication between the two parts of the community during last elections. The community is in recession and funds are limited. Nearby communities are growing fast and our community is beginning to follow the same pattern with more and more people moving in and complaining that the road infrastructure between the two parts of the community is limiting economic growth and opportunities, etc. All these forces have come together and resulted in a consensus that we need a solution to cross the river, safely, fast, daily, urgently and for a long period of time in the future.
There are many different options we can use to solve the above problem: different types of bridges, a ferry, a tunnel, a helicopter etc. All of these will meet the basic requirement to cross the river but which option is the best? When the community has decided on a bridge does the consultant have enough information to determine which option is the best??
Figure 3.1 What do the users and the client requires??
In order to meet the user and client requirements and in order to prepare a good design it is important to know what the users and the client really want!
Knowledge of functional specifications and system engineering is a tool to give clarity. The objective must be that the users and the client are satisfied when the work is finished. The golden rule is:
Satisfaction = appreciation + expectation
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