Challenges, approaches and architecture for distributed process integration in heterogeneous environments

Abstract

Integration and coordination of distributed processes remains a central challenge of construction information technology research. Extant technologies, while capable, are not yet scalable enough to enable rapid customization and instantiation for specific projects. Specifically, the heterogeneity of existing legacy sources together with firms’ range of approaches to process management makes deployment of integrated information technologies impractical. This paper reports on an architecture for distributed process integration named process connectors that addresses heterogeneity in a scalable manner. The process connectors architecture incorporates two key approaches that address heterogeneity over varying time scales. The SEEK: Scalable Extraction of Enterprise Knowledge toolkit is reviewed as a mechanism to discover semantically heterogeneous source data. The SEEK approach complements existing data integration methods for persistent sharing of information. To make use of shared data on a per project basis, a schedule mapping approach is presented that integrates firms’ diverse individual schedules in a unified representation. The schedule mapping approach allows integration of process views that have different levels of detail, while allowing participants to maintain their own view of the process. Collectively, SEEK and the schedule mapping approach facilitate a broad range of analyses to support coordination of distributed schedules. While this paper focuses primarily on schedule process integration, the process connectors architecture is viewed as providing a broad solution to discovery and integration of firms’ process data.