Improving Design Coordination for Building Projects. II: A Collaborative System

The objective of this paper is to utilize recent advances in information technology and computer collaboration tools to improve coordination and increase productivity in the design of building projects. Based on a structured information model, presented in a companion paper, a collaborative design system is developed incorporating (1) a client-server environment for representing building data, recording design rationale, and effectively managing design changes; and (2) Internet-based collaboration tools for sharing documents, reviewing changes, and conferencing among remote design participants. Implementation issues and the perceived changes imposed on the traditional design process are discussed, and an example application is worked to demonstrate the applicability and features of the developed prototype. The developments made in this paper provide guidelines for modeling complex information-dependent processes in the construction domain.