Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Dresden University of Technology A personal planning approach for the integration and coordination of multi-project process information M. Keller R. Scherer K. Menzel

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Summary 1.Introduction 2.Approach 3.Realisation 4.Implementation 5.Conclusion

Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Dresden University of Technology Introduction

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Introduction New project structures in the building industries: u More and more construction projects are hosted on servers accessible through the Internet. u The engineer is often involved in different projects in parallel. u Therefore, the engineer has to organize his tasks and information across the individual projects. u It is difficult for the engineer to monitor and react to hoc changes in the workflows of one or more projects.

Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Dresden University of Technology Approach

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Approach Development of a Human Centered WfMS: u The engineer does not have to deal with the different workflow systems of the individual projects by himself. u The system will collect the required information from the individual workflow systems. u Opportunity for the engineer to rearrange his tasks within the boundary conditions of the projects. u Changes will be send to the remote project management system.

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Approach Design of the Human Centered WfMS: Data Workflow 1 Project 1 Engineer Data Workflow 2 Project 2 Data Workflow 3 Project 3 WF 1 WF 2 WF 3 Personal Planning Service

Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Dresden University of Technology Realisation

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Realisation Requirements: u Using a standardized format for the exchange of process information. u In order to model the project workflow, a description language for business process should be applied. u For merging different project workflows into a personalized workflow, methods have to be developed that support the user organizing his work more efficiently. u Project information should be visible for all partners, while personal data is hidden.

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Realisation Process Model adopted from the IFC 2x Process Model: User ManagementWorkflow Management

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Realisation Business process modelling IDEF-0: NAME ID_1 ID_A1 INPUT OUTPUT MECHANISM CONTROL NAME ID_2 INPUT Parent Diagram NAME ID_11 ID_A12 NAME ID_12 NAME ID_13 Child Diagram Project compilation of workplans Workplan compilation of tasks Task Assignments for one personwith defined start and end Times  consisting of: Early Start/End and Late Start/End Actor  a role is the combination of person, organization and skills (see User Management) Information  data obtained during the project has to be assigned to one task Application  a certain application can be assigned to a task, if appropriated Sequence  specifies the predecessor and the successor of a task composed of comprises composed of

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Realisation Workflow Engine: u Relational Database based on the IFC 2x Process Model. u Database is divided into the Project and Personal Workspaces. u Build in procedures synchronize the project and the personal workflow. Client Applications: u Project Planning Clients - Initializing and managing the Project Workflow. u Personal Workflow Client - Managing the Personal Workflow and documents. Stored procedures Data matching (projects  personal) Project Planning Client (Java Application/Applet) Project Management Personal Workflow Client (Java Application/Applet) Personal WF Management Document Management Project Planning IDEF MS-Project Projects Process & Data workspaces Personal Architecture of the WfMS :

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Realisation Merging of different workflows: P P P Identifying different workflows from various projects where the actor has to perform a task P.1 P.2 P P 2 P 2 P.1 P.2 P.3 Compilation of the tasks from one actor arranged by time By using the buffer time a almost continuous personal workflow can be created 1 2 3

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Realisation Calculation of the minimum dwell time:

Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Dresden University of Technology Implementation

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Implementation Graphical User Interface:

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Implementation Integration into the ISTforCE framework PPS Submit User-ID Service Launcher Start Service-Launcher User-ID, Password, Project, Service Core Services Check Authorization Start Service Login Select Task Start PPS SubmitProjects,Services

Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Dresden University of Technology Conclusion

Dresden University of Technology Institute of Applied Informatics in Civil Engineering Conclusion Design of a WfMS for the construction industry: u The engineer is the binding element between different projects. u Methods have been developed for merging different project workflows into a personalized workflow. u Ad hoc changes of project activities and user activities will be synchronized. u The design of a two layer database enables the user to obtain access to project information while personal data is hidden. u The implementation of a prototype has demonstrated that such a Personal Planning System can be developed and integrated into a concurrent engineering services platform.