Specification Of Information Requirements Research Articles

Assessment of existing BIM implementation processes of a public organization to improve building assets management and maintenance

In the lifecycle of a building, the longest phase is generally that of operation and maintenance (O&M). The data needed to support O&M is mainly generated during the design, construction, and commissioning of the built asset phases. However, the extraction and transfer of relevant O&M data from the project documents remain a major issue in that it is time consuming and error prone. Nowadays, Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows different project team members to collaborate and share building data in real time. However, as-built models handed-over to the asset management team are quite voluminous and usually lack the necessary information for the O&M phase. This is due to an absence of O&M information requirements specification, and the lack of compliance monitoring and control during the project. This paper presents an action research focused on the issues encountered by a public building owner to manage their BIM processes. It demonstrates issues of BIM readiness and capabilities, both at the project and O&M levels, by mapping the gaps in the existing processes. Building owners rely on the design professionals’ expertise to guide them but do not have the adequate resources, knowledge, and tools to ensure the quality of the models delivered regarding O&M requirements. Major issues in the management of information for O&M were identified, and some recommendations are proposed.

BIM framework for the specification of information requirements in energy-related projects

PurposeThis paper aims to further the discussion on Building Information Modelling (BIM) legal requirements, providing a framework with key energy parameters capable of supporting the Appointing Party in the definition of the Exchange Information Requirements (EIR) for a BIM project appointment. The EIR is described in ISO-19650–1:2018 as a fundamental step in the information delivery cycle.Design/methodology/approachA literature review on the topic of BIM energy analysis was completed to identify current knowledge gaps and support the need for the proposed framework. Afterwards, the framework was established based on the review findings and the authors’ domain knowledge. The applicability of the proposed framework was assessed through a case study, where several energy simulations were performed in three different design stages of the same BIM model.FindingsThis study identified a lack of standards and legislation capable of supporting the Appointing Party in the definition of energy-related BIM requirements. To this end, a new framework is proposed to mediate existing practices, linking prior knowledge with BIM’s new reality. The study showcases the applicability of the framework, identifying that the performance of different energy studies involves distinct Level of Development (LOD) requirements, which in turn have an impact on the modelling time and cost.Originality/valueA BIM framework for the specification of information requirements in energy-related projects was developed to support the Appointing Party. The framework presents appropriate parameters for energy analysis in each design stage, as well as the suitable LOD for the BIM model.

Enhancing BPMN 2.0 informational perspective to support interoperability for cross-organizational business processes

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is being adopted as one of the industry standards for modeling cross-organizational business processes (CBPs). BPMN analyzes a business process as a set of interrelated activities, focusing primarily on the functional perspective of the process. However, for successful CBP modeling, an informational perspective is important. Although BPMN 2.0 supports information flow design, existing representations of data/information elements are not sufficient to support CBP modeling requirements. In this light, the paper proposes an approach for formal modeling and specification of information requirements used and generated in the CBPs. A UML View Profile is introduced to specify information requirements as views over the common reference ontology. A BPMN 2.0 extension is introduced to connect the defined views and the corresponding process activities. Ultimately, the proposed information requirements specification enables generation of the message instance and its transformation at the implementation level.

A cognitive engineering framework for the specification of information requirements in medical imaging: application in image-guided neurosurgery

This study proposes a framework coming from cognitive engineering, which makes it possible to define what information content has to be displayed or emphasised from medical imaging, for assisting clinicians according to their level of expertise in the domain. We designed a rating scale to assess visualisation systems in image-guided neurosurgery with respect to the depiction of the neurosurgical work domain. This rating scale was based on a neurosurgical work domain analysis. This scale has been used to evaluate visualisation modes among neurosurgeons, residents and engineers. We asked five neurosurgeons, ten medical residents and ten engineers to rate two visualisation modes from the same data (2D MR image vs. 3D computerised image). With this method, the amount of abstract and concrete work domain information displayed by each visualisation mode can be measured. A global difference in quantities of perceived information between both images was observed. Surgeons and medical residents perceived significantly more information than engineers for both images. Unlike surgeons, however, the amount of information perceived by residents and engineers significantly decreased as information abstraction increased. We demonstrated the possibility of measuring the amount of work domain information displayed by different visualisation modes of medical imaging according to different user profiles. Engineers in charge of the design of medical image-guided surgical systems did not perceive the same set of information as surgeons or even medical residents. This framework can constitute a user-oriented approach to evaluate the amount of perceived information from image-guided surgical systems and support their design from a cognitive engineering point of view.

Creative problem solving in the specification of information requirements

Information analysts today face new challenges from increasingly sophisticated endusers as well as increasingly complex managerial demands. For nonspecifiable problems that require creativity and innovation, the process of information requirements analysis (INRA) seems to require different forms of implementation and control than for the problems that apply to traditional operational and supervisory computer-based applications. This paper examines the processes of INRA and creativity in the context of problem type. It develops a model in which it is argued that user and developer collaboration and project management can be manipulated to provide the conditions for the level of creativity required by a specific problem type.

An approach to information requirements specification for process control tasks

This paper discusses the need for designers of process plant supervisory systems to make greater effort in anticipating the information that operators require to carry out their duties. A method for dealing with this problem of information requirements specification in process plant design is proposed. This method translates a task analysis into a set of standard task elements from which standard sets of information, called ‘sub-goal templates’ can be derived. The resultant information requirements specification sets out the operators' information needs in the context of the operating goals that have to be attained. Early trials with the method indicate its promise, but highlight the need for its implementation in a computer tool to assist the designer. The features of such a tool and the further work necessary to develop and test the method are described.

The Use of Mental Imagery to Facilitate Information Identification in Requirements Analysis

Many alternative approaches have been devised for eliciting information systems requirements. The majority of these approaches, however, assume a familiarity with and understanding of the organizational context by those individuals from whom requirements are to be derived. Such approaches often yield unsatisfactory results when the information system being developed involves ill-structured task contexts. The generation of a robust set of information items can be an important first step in the specification of information requirements. Scenario-based approaches to generate information items for requirements analysis appear intuitively promising as a mechanism for promoting the elicitation of information requirements for ill-structured task contexts. However, little empirical evidence exists regarding their potential effectiveness. This paper proposes the use of mental imagery as a scenario-based technique and reports on the results of an exploratory laboratory experiment that compared a mental imagery approach with goal-oriented and critical success factors approaches in the generation of information items. The results of this experiment provide modest evidence that positive and negative mental imagery protocols may both outperform goal-oriented and critical success factors approaches for ill-structured task contexts. Further, the strongest results were observed to favor the positive imagery protocol. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings and suggestions for future research.

Software tasks: Intellectual or clerical?

There are two conflicting views of the complexity of software development: ‘anyone can do it’, or ‘it is the most complex activity the human mind has ever undertaken’. We address this difference empirically in two exploratory studies that examined the intellectual (non-routine) and clerical (routine) nature of software tasks. The first study sought to determine the proportion of software tasks that can be regarded as intellectual or clerical in nature. Taxonomics of software tasks were classified based on the assessment of highly experienced raters. The second study examined the length of time novice systems analysts spent in carrying out tasks during the information requirements specification phase of the systems development life cycle. The experiment used protocol and videotape analysis. Results show that the numbers of intellectual tasks in software development, and the time spent on those tasks, both predominate over clerical tasks by 4 to 1. These initial results suggest that even simple tasks are more intellectual than the ‘anyone can do it’ or the ‘software development can be automated’ viewpoints frequently expressed in the literature.

Information requirements specification I: Brainstorming collective decision-making approach

Information requirements specification (IRS), although vital for systems design and implementation, constitutes the Achilles heel in the system life cycle (SLC). This article describes a comprehensive, innovative approach integrating brainstorming and Theory Z principles, culminating in a maximal, rapid, and attainable IRS. This is achieved at an early stage of the SLC by consensus among the users themselves with the participation of data processing professionals.

Information requirements specification II: Brainstorming collective decision-making technique

Information requirements specification (1RS) constitutes an Achilles heel in the system life cycle (SLC). This article establishes a systematic overall IRS technique applicable to organizations of all types and sizes. This technique's integration of brainstorming and theory Z principles establishes an effective, stimulating, innovative, rapid and attainable IRS. IRS is defined by the users themselves with cooperation from DP professionals.

Information requirements and alternatives in Information System design

The front end of all modern business Information Systems (IS) development methodologies includes an information requirement analysis step. It is shown that this step should be expanded to explicitly consider organizational components external to the computer as subject to change and hence design. This design problem is related to the alternative ways in which users' tasks may be performed and hence to the alternative coordination schemes and organizational structures a business may have. Furthermore, it is shown that the study of these alternatives and the specification of information requirements for each of them should be jointly made if a cost-effective system is to be assured. The explicit consideration of alternative organizational structures in IS opens the way to the use of organization theories to provide a sound basis for design. In particular, theory-derived criteria for joint organization-information structure generation are presented. Other consequences derived from this approach to IS design are that the focus on evaluation changes from efficiency to effectiveness improvement and that political problems are more likely to be foreseen and action taken to facilitate implementation. A case is used to illustrate the practical use of results presented.

Determining an organization's information requirements

The issue of information requirements of an organization and their specifications span two isolated territories. One territory is that of organization and management and the other belongs to technicians. There is a considerable gap between these two territories. Research in requirements engineering (technician's side) has primarily concentrated on designing and developing formal languages to document and analyze user requirements, once they have been determined. This research has ignored the organizational issues involved in information requirements determination. Research in the field of organization and management has addressed the organizational issues which affect information requirements of an organization. Various frameworks reported in the literature provide insights, but they cannot be considered as methods of determining requirements. Little work has been done on the process of determining requirements. This process must start with the understanding of an organization and end with a formal specification of information requirements. Here, it is worth emphasizing the fact that the process of determining and specifying information requirements of an organization is very different from the process of specifying design requirements of an information system. Therefore, program design methodologies, which are helpful in designing a system are not suitable for the process of determining and specifying information requirements of an organization.This paper discusses the state of the art in information requirements determination methodologies. Excluded are those methodologies which emphasize system design and have little to offer for requirements determination of an organization.

The Delphi Method as a tool for information requirements specification

An application of the Delphi Method to the logical design of an Information System supporting the operation, control, evaluation and planning of student -related academic administration activities is presented. The logical design process was as follows: (1) a traditional top-down approach was used to define the system objectives and the information required to support structured (i.e., operational) activities; (2) the Delphi Method was used for generating a group opinion with respect to the proposed system objectives and the information required by unstructured and/or ill-structured decision making. The paper finally discusses how this search for group opinion significantly enhances the effectiveness of the resulting information system.