Case-Based Design Using Weakly Structured Information

Over 50% of the work done by the designer on a day-to-day basis is routine design that consists of reusing past design solutions (Moore, 1993). Despite of this fact, there are no tools that rationally support reuse of such solutions. Case-based design (CBD) has been pointed out as a promising aid to help this situation. In order to be of practical use, however, a case-based design system has to be able to use the information that the designer creates during the design process. The design information that the designer creates is today mostly in the form of weakly structured information, e.g. text documents, calculation documents, and 2D-drawings. This paper proposes an approach that enables capturing and representation of weakly structured information for the purpose of case-based structural design. The representation proposed allows us to apply most of the objectoriented abstract principles also on weakly structured information. It is also shown how the conceptual framework, the dependency structure, and the design process can be captured, represented, and used in CBD. The approach is successfully implemented into a prototype for reuse of computerized design calculation documents.

Johansson, Peter and Mina Popova. ITcon (2002). Design>User Interface>Information Design

Effective Control of Unanticipated On-Site Events: A Pragmatic, Human-Oriented Problem Solving Approach

Unanticipated events on building sites are inevitable. The frequency of unanticipated events is usually high due to the inherent complexity and dynamics of construction projects.

Magdic, Ales, Danijel Rebolj and Natasa Suman. ITcon (2005). Articles>Knowledge Management>User Centered Design

The Electronic Journal of Information Technology in Construction  

Founded in 1995, the Electronic Journal of Information Technology in construction is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal on the use of IT in construction. Articles are submitted and published electronically. Biannually, limited number of copies is printed as well. The Journal is committed to minimising publication delays, and to promoting maximum flexibility in the ways that readers use the journal for teaching, research, and scholarship. Readers' license is limited only as required to insure fair attribution to authors and the journal, and to prohibit use in a competing commercial publication

ITcon (1996). Journals>Technology>Engineering

An Integrated Approach for a Model Based Document Production and Management

The primary aim of the research presented in this paper is to provide pragmatic solutions to the problems of integrity and consistency of document based information, describing a building throughout its life cycle. The research demonstrates the computer-aided generation of project documents via a construction project data model. The first research activity involved the development of a Construction Project Reference Model (CPRM) and a Document Reference Model, from which various Applied Document Type Models can be derived. The work concentrated on the French Full Specification Document: the CCTP (Cahier des Clauses Techniques Particulières), which is generated during the detail design stage. A generic Association Model was developed and used to index the CPRM’s concepts to the CCTP’s documentary elements supporting their description. Finally, the mechanisms enabling the generation of the project CCTP from the proposed structured reference CCTP are described.

Rezgui, Yacine and Philippe Debras. ITcon (1996). Articles>Document Design>Information Design

Knowledge Portal as a New Paradigm for Scientific Publishing and Collaboration

This paper addresses the newly emerging paradigm of scientific knowledge dissemination and collaboration. The paper is based on the particular area of knowledge collaboration in the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Facilities Management (AEC/FM) industry, including knowledge sharing and technology transfer in the area of environmentally friendly concrete materials. The research and scientific community is moving away from the old “information spread” model for dissemination of scientific information, where knowledge is channelled through paper-based refereed academic journals and conference proceedings. Researchers are becoming involved in publishing their articles in online-refereed journals that provide free or low fee access to scientific information. In this paper the authors propose some general architecture and design guidelines for online, collaborative research environments (Knowledge Portals) in the AEC/FM industry. These virtual, collaborative spaces are becoming an essential part of the modern scientific publishing and knowledge transfer processes within professional communities of practice. The proposed model of the Knowledge Portal for the AEC/FM industry could also serve as a generic model in designing virtual research collaborative environments for other areas of knowledge sharing and collaboration. The paper describes existing technological solutions, adapted by online communities of practice, for maintaining corporate knowledge portals, scientific publishing and knowledge exchange spaces and proposes generic architecture and design principles for a generic Knowledge Portal. As an essential part of the Knowledge Portal, and a sample case study of knowledge dissemination, the paper describes existing stand-alone and Web-based digital collections of research data in the area of environmentally friendly concrete.

Martens, B. and W. Jabi. ITcon (2004). Articles>Writing>Scientific Communication

Misconceptions About Integrated Project Databases

The notion of an integrated project database (IPDB) has existed for decades. Over that time many projects have been undertaken to develop the technologies and frameworks required to implement an IPDB. Also over that time, there has been promotion of the benefits and impacts that IPDB systems will have on the industry. As there are still no industrially stable IPDB systems in existence, the industry's perception of what they are and what they can do has diverged from many of the original presentations. It is also clear that researchers and de-velopers involved in IPDB development have many different ideas about what constitutes an IPDB and what is, or is not, possible to create. This paper aims to describe misconceptions which are growing up around IPDB systems, and presents the authors' view of reality (informed by the opinions of the UK network of experts in ob-jects and integration (URL-1 1999) which was run by the DETR).

Amor, Robert and Ihsan Faraj. ITcon (2001). Articles>Information Design>Databases

Monitoring Communication in Partnering Projects

This report is a summary of a two year research project carried out by the IT byg group at BYG. DTU for the Danish government agencies Erhvervsfremmestyrelsen and By- og Bolig-ministeriet. The objectives were to collect data on the use of IT by the PPB housing consortia, a development project to test out various innovations, to map communications between the partners, and compare IT usage with their original proposals. Data was collected on communications in housing projects in the period June 1999- Aug 2000. The original PPB proposals were made in 1994/5 but there have been breaks in the flow of projects, and information technology has gone through much change since then. Use of Email has taken over from post and fax, and Project Webs have been developed in most consortia. Consortium members' policies have dominated the choice of management and logistics software, restricted compatibility in the consortia, and limited willingness to share data. Greater involvement by the client, and more sharing of equity, would have encouraged adoption of common IT systems and created more trust for data sharing between partners. PPB projects have allowed consortium members to test out new technologies but, in general, the IT systems used have been similar to those which the larger firms use elsewhere. Vertical integration has been limited by lack of experience and technology in smaller firms. In future, access to Project Webs from mobile devices should help use by all partners from any location. In all the projects studied, and in spite of the introduction of Email and Project Webs, the ratio of non-IT communications to IT varied from 0.8 to 4.6. When problems need to be solved rapidly there appears to be a tendency to revert to traditional means of communication - meetings, telephone and fax.

Howard, Rob and Ernst Petersen. ITcon (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Community Building>Government

Semantic Web Based Services for Intelligent Mobile Construction Collaboration

To provide real time, on-demand intelligent mobile collaboration support for their workers, construction enterprises increasingly need to use powerful wireless devices coupled with the availability of improved bandwidth, to tap into different inter and intra-enterprise data resources.

Zeeshan, Aziz, Anumba Chimay, Ruikar Darshan, Carrillo Patricia and Dino Bouchlaghem. ITcon (2004). Articles>Information Design>User Centered Design