Immersive Design Reviews and Stakeholder Alignment in Airport Terminal Renovations: Trace Analysis

Oliver Morgan; Bethany A. Webb

Authors

Oliver Morgan Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England, United Kingdom Author
Bethany A. Webb Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England, United Kingdom Author

Keywords:

Airport Renovation, Immersive Design Review, Trace Analysis, Stakeholder Alignment, Immersive Design Reviews

Abstract

Airport terminal renovations represent some of the most complex endeavors in the modern construction sector, demanding tight coordination among a diverse array of stakeholders with competing operational, financial, and security priorities. While immersive design reviews leveraging virtual reality have emerged as a promising tool to facilitate spatial comprehension, empirical methods to measure and understand stakeholder alignment during these reviews remain underdeveloped. This study proposes and evaluates a comprehensive trace analysis framework designed to capture, reconstruct, and analyze stakeholder interactions within multi-user virtual environments. By tracking spatial movement, eye-gaze trajectories, and verbal communication streams, the framework maps the cognitive and collaborative pathways that lead to design consensus or divergence. The methodology was tested on a major terminal expansion project, revealing that immersive reviews significantly lower cognitive load and accelerate the path to consensus compared to traditional two-dimensional and desktop three-dimensional formats. Quantitative analysis of the generated traces shows that spatial copresence and visual gaze overlap correlate strongly with successful conflict resolution and reduced post-review design modifications. These findings provide a data-driven foundation for airport operators, architects, and project managers to optimize collaborative decision-making in large-scale infrastructure projects.

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