Practical, step-by-step guides for the busy FM
July 2002
Work Space Requirements Questionnaire
When designing space, understanding the needs of occupants is paramount. The following questionnaire should be used when you wish to survey individuals about their work-space requirements. Most likely you will need to customize this document to meet the needs of your project.
Questions are structured to avoid soliciting opinions about satisfaction with existing work arrangements. Where opinions are requested, they pertain to ease or difficulty of performing work.
This list of questions is exhaustive, and necessarily so. Creating a comfortable, productive work environment is no small task. It requires training and preparation. Tools such as this questionnaire, which appears in BOMI Institute’s Facilities Planning and Project Management course, can help you learn to meet the needs of your customers.
- General Data
- Name
Title or Position
Department or Organization
Present Location (building, section, floor, room no., etc.)
Date Information Submitted
Phone Number - When you are in your office/work space, how is the space used? Please describe the kinds of work activities and processes that go on in your work/office space in a typical month by estimating the percentage of time you spend on each of the following in that space:Percentage (%)
- _____% Writing/dictating (letters, reports, memos, etc.)
_____% Reading (letters, reports, memos, etc.)
_____% Typing, word processing, calculating, computing
_____% Filing/retrieving files
_____% Meeting with others
_____% Talking on the telephone
_____% Other—describe - How often do you have to schedule meetings in rooms other than your office/work space because your regularly assigned space is too small, inadequately equipped, or insufficiently private?
- _____ Once a day
_____ Once a week
_____ Once a month
_____ Never
_____ My job does not require me to hold meetings. - If you use your office/work space for meetings, discussions, or interviews, typically how many people are present, not including you?
- _____ No meetings are held in my office/work space
_____ One person other than me
_____ Two persons
_____ Three persons
_____ Four or more persons other than me - If you had the space available in your own office/work space, would your work be made more effective by having people attend such meetings? If so, please indicate ideally how many people your work space should accommodate:
- _____ The same number of people I indicated for item 4.
_____ One person other than me
_____ Two persons
_____ Three persons
_____ Four or more persons other than me - To what extent is visual privacy necessary in your meetings?
- _____ My job does not require me to hold meetings.
_____ None of my meetings require visual privacy.
_____ Some of my meetings require visual privacy.
_____ Most of my meetings require visual privacy.
_____ All of my meetings require visual privacy. - To what extent is acoustical privacy necessary in your meetings?
- _____ My job does not require me to hold meetings.
_____ None of my meetings require acoustical privacy.
_____ Some of my meetings require acoustical privacy.
_____ Most of my meetings require acoustical privacy.
_____ All of my meetings require acoustical privacy. - Please check off on the list below any furniture items located outside your immediate office/work space that you share with others:
- _____ Desk
_____ Work table or credenza
_____ Conference table
_____ Bookcase(s)
_____ File cabinet(s)
_____ Other (please describe) - How do such space and furniture sharing arrangements interfere with your productivity?
- _____ Not at all
_____ Computer not available
_____ Not enough file space
_____ Not enough privacy
_____ Not enough workspace - How much information that you receive or produce do you store or file for future reference (as opposed to discarding it)?
- _____ 75% or more
_____ 50% to 74%
_____ 25% to 49%
_____ 0% to 24% - How long does the work usually remain in your work area?
- _____ A few hours
_____ A day
_____ A week
_____ A month - How does work arrive at your desk?
- _____ In large stacks
_____ One thing at a time
_____ Unpredictable - Where do you store uncompleted work?
- _____ On work surface
_____ In file drawers
_____ On shelves
_____ In mobile file unit
_____ Other - Below, you will find a list of materials. Indicate the four materials you use the most (1 = most, 4 = least):
- _____ Looseleaf binders
_____ Books
_____ Computer printouts
_____ Video tapes
_____ Removable hard disks
_____ Computer diskettes
_____ File folders
_____ Manuals/catalogs
_____ Paper/forms
_____ Flip chart paper/markers
_____ Drawings 20 in. x 30 in. or larger
_____ Oversize books or ledgers - Does any of your work require lockable storage?
- _____Yes _____No
- How many four- and five-shelf bookcases do you regularly use in your present workspace/office, and how many do you need?
- _____ None
_____ One
_____ Two
_____ Three
_____ Four
_____ Five or more - Do you use a flat desk and/or table with drawer?
- _____ Yes _____No
- How many file drawers do you need? (Assume each drawer can store about 2Z|x linear feet of files; do not include files that could be archived elsewhere.)
- _____ None
_____ One
_____ Two
_____ Three
_____ Four
_____ Five or more - Do you share files with another person and need file space which can be easily moved from one space to another?
- _____ Yes _____No
- How many of your current file drawers contain dead files referred to infrequently and need to go to archival files?
- _____ 1 — 2 drawers
_____ 3 — 5 drawers
_____ 5 — 10 drawers
_____ 11 — 15 drawers
_____ Over 15 drawers - Are the files in your immediate workstation contained in lateral file drawers?
- _____ Yes _____No
- If you use a copying machine frequently, where is it located?
- _____ I don’t use a copying machine.
_____ In my own immediate work area
_____ In a nearby adjacent area
_____ Same floor, but at considerable distance from my desk
_____ On a different floor - How often do you use reference material (items you borrow and must return)?
- _____ Very frequently
_____ Frequently
_____ Infrequently
_____ Very infrequently - Where do you go for reference material?
- _____ Central library
_____ Departmental library
_____ Material kept in workstation
_____ Other (specify) - Do you have large graphic materials on display in your workstation?
- _____ Yes _____No
- Do you use a chalkboard or flipchart board in your immediate workstation for writing or planning?
- _____ Yes _____No
- How many business-related telephone conversations do you participate in during an average day, while in your own office/work space?
- _____ None
_____ 1 — 5
_____ 6 — 10
_____ 11 — 20
_____ 21 — 30
_____ More than 30 - What portion of the above telephone conversations require privacy from your fellow staff members?
- _____ None
_____ 1 — 25%
_____ 26 — 50%
_____ 51 — 75%
_____ Over 75% - . How many computers do you use at your workstation? (Include your laptop if you carry it back and forth to work/home.)
- _____ One exclusively
_____ Mainly one; occasionally, others
_____ Two
_____ Three or more - Where is the most frequently used printer located?
- _____ I don’t use a printer.
_____ In own immediate work area
_____ In a nearby adjacent work area
_____ Same floor, but at considerable distance from my desk
_____ On a different floor - Place a check beside each of the following distractions in your current office/work space.
- _____ Machine noise
_____ Nearby telephone rings and phone conversations
_____ Other conversations in surrounding area
_____ General noise
_____ Background music
_____ Public announcement system
_____ Total quietness
_____ Printers or other office equipment
_____ Personal radios - List the three people you must communicate most with personally during a typical work day:
- Name
Department
Location- ___ Same floor
___ Adjacent space
___ Another floor - Do you work in a team with any other individual or individuals?
- _____ Yes _____ No
- How long do your team assignments last?
- _____ A few days
_____ A week
_____ A month
_____ A few months - List the three other work groups with whom you communicate most frequently, in person, as part of your daily work:
- List the three individuals with whom you participate most frequently in conferences:
- How do you like to work? Check all that apply?
- _____ Desk facing workstation entry
_____ Desk facing window area
_____ Facing away from workstation entry
_____ Conventional desk configuration
_____ Long, narrow work surface
_____ Table desk with conference seats
_____ Low table with seating
_____ Stand-up desk
_____ Work area visually separated from rest of office - What is the best arrangement for meetings you conduct?
- _____ I don’t conduct meetings.
_____ Adjoining conference room
_____ Within office comfortable seating area
_____ At desk with chairs opposite
As a final note, all responses to such questionnaires should be reviewed and interpreted carefully, not followed verbatim. Occupants are very close to their work environments, and so it can be difficult for some to fully understand their own needs. They can sometimes understate or overstate their needs. Spot-checking written responses against actual conditions is suggested in some cases.