Interface Object Model Framework for Systematic Model-Based Interface Management

Speaker:
Qian (Victoria) Chen,
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Building Construction, Virginia Tech,Abstract: Various interface issues significantly lower overall project performance and implicitly hinder industrialization of construction. Ignored by traditional project management, interface management (IM) is now regarded by researchers and practitioners as critical to the success of multidisciplinary construction projects. Several challenging problems associated with IM include: 1) how to build a holistic understanding of interface issues in the current built environment for developing all-around IM solutions; 2) how to define and present interface information in a unified, accurate, and efficient way to improve information sharing and implementation among IT applications; and 3) how to resolve interrelated interface issues as a whole to optimize the performance of IM in a project. These problems have neither been well studied nor resolved in the construction management literature. This research is aimed at enhancing overall performance of a project delivery process by improving interface information modeling through systematic model-based interface management. Specifically, this research conducts multi-perspective interface-related analysis to identify comprehensive cause factors for interface issues, and creates an Interface Object Model (IOM) framework that presents the basic data structure and contextual relationships of interface information. This conceptual research also develops a systematic model-based strategy incorporating IOM, project processes, and other IT tools to perform more effective and efficient IM in an integrated project delivery environment.

Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - rielian Hall 203

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Evangeline Reyes