Collaborative case-based estimating and design

Information Technology (IT) solutions to problems in construction design need to consider the perspectives of all the participants in the process; only then can IT provide a platform for integration. The research described examines issues involved in the integration of construction disciplines by using Case-Based Reasoning (CBR). It describes a hierarchical case memory structure and a context-based indexing method for retrieval and reuse of previous designs and their costs. Estimating and design cases selected for reuse are adapted with the use of sub-cases and domain specific adaptation rules. A prototype system, NIRMANI, was successfully implemented to support collaborative design.