Specifying abstract requirements of buildings using Knowledge-Based Systems, towards automated requirement verification using Open BIM

Enhanced by the development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and related to
more data that is captured, an international shift from the traditional building process to a more
integrated way of working takes place. The traditional construction process resulted in many
ambiguities and inconsistent information transfers. Problems in buildings can often be traced back to
the requirements processing in the design phases. In here the requirement specification must be
validated with the client in order to make sure the contractor and the client are on the same level to
reduce any discussion about it in a later stage (Hoeber, 2012). These requirements are often just a
list in a word processor program and are not explicit formulated, but having a lack of consistency and
unambiguity and no standard procedure of dealing is formulated. The interpretation and
implementation of these abstract requirements is based on the combination of the available
information and reasoning of experts. This results in a continue iterative process of defining,
validating and verifying requirements. This process with human experts has several difficulties in
which knowledge-Based Systems (KBS) could possibly play an important role. It is worth investigating
if these systems indeed can improve the specification process of abstract requirements, by
developing an Expert System (ES) as Proof of Concept (PoC). A model will be developed to show a
new procedure and implementation via a pilot case. The development is based on the objective in
this research to investigate if it is possible and if this way can improve the requirement specification
in the design process. Implementation extends the research into automated verification to further
improve the quality of building designs and innovation without sacrificing these qualities (Solihin &
Eastman, 2015).