# Presentation: 588477

## Industrial Data Requirements During Early Project Stages

- Richard Wittenoom, Howard Leslie, John Mitchell

## Purpose of this paper

- Originally it was just to put General Case Parametrics and AEC libraries on the agenda for WG10
- It became a serious look at the whole area of support for the evolving project
- Today we can only just scratch the surface

## Formation of Attitudes (1)	

- The parametrics group was the only place in SC4 that appeared to offer a way round limitations of the initial APs/IRs.
- By 1990 Wittenoom had been using object based systems working in house for 8 years.
- This experience helped form a different Australian perspective

## Formation of Attitudes (2)

- Australian activities 1993 - 95:
- involvement in Parametrics
- involvement in review of P_LIB from perspective of AEC
- STEP Demo Project
- Opportunity to focus on front end of project for several months

## Formation of Attitudes (3)

- Increasingly aware of bounds on scope of initial STEP parts due to architecture
- Our view of parametrics is much broader than normal geometrically founded paradigm
- Seen as providing functionality needed for exchange of early AEC project data
- Project is evolving, model is dynamic.

## Formation of Attitudes (4)

- In the General AEC Reference Model paper Wim Gielingh said 10 years ago most of the things now being considered as GCP.
- He used the term “procedural technical solution definition” because he thought the word “parametrics” was too limiting.

## What is needed for exchange?

- Data
- Definition of Procedures (methods)
- State Information - global and local (message)
- The above is just object technology.

## What is needed for Serious Modelling and Exchange?

- One extra concept:
- An Object View concept
- This allows the exchange of state information about the objects
- This enables working at “Functional Unit” level as described in the GARM.
- This enables model Realization support.

## What does all that really mean?

- (1) ASK DICK!
- AusSTEP@world.net
- (2) Have a look at it in some demos running at the San Diego meeting in June.

## Exchange and Libraries

- If CGP encoding works for exchange, why not for storage (i.e. libraries of solutions).
- This will enable effective storage and re-use of previous project design experience.
- This will be examined further during the ISFAA-97 workshops (Information sources for AEC Applications)

## Industry Issues	

- The potential volume of software objects is very large
- The life cycle of such objects may be less than an SC4 project
- Some other way of formalizing functional units and interfaces will be required
- GCP/AEC libraries work can explore this

## These issues need thought

- We will try and advance this work in the context of the ISFAA-97 Workshop to have a better picture by San Diego.
- Chester is too soon to have much of a handle on things.

## Conclusions (1)

- SC4 General Case Parametrics could:
- Support exchange of a significant part of early project stage information requirements
- Work without major extension to STEP development already in progress (e.g. EXPRESS Edition 2)

## Conclusions (2)		

- Project success will require:
- Visible results in the short term
- At same time as putting in place longer term objectives.
- Therefore:
- Interesting Projects and Implementors will be a high priority.
- (already one associated ESPRIT project).

## Conclusions (3)	

- Technology for exchange of early stage information also suited to:
- industry information (libraries)
- re-use of previous project experience

## Conclusions (4)

- Task of formalizing a huge volume of component software is beyond the capacity of formal standards.
- Some form of operating structure will be required.
- GCP can provide ground rules.
- Industry should take up and trial these.

## Conclusions (4 continued)

- SC4 should take a leading role in developing and maintaining the ongoing operating structure.
- SC4 can provide long term stability and direction

## Thanks, Kent

- Dick, Howard and John

## Kent’s editorializing on Australian requirements

- GARM-like data management (‘state’)
- PISA
- Shipbuilding CCCM model
- B&C Core Model (Part 106)
- Procedures (methods)
- parametrics

## What seems to be missing in the Australian requirements analysis?

- User-defined Constraints
- EXPRESS has all the apparatus, but
- constraints defined in EXPRESS are ‘bound’ at time of AP publication and not at time of data creation
- much of project planning and early design is the identification and capture of constraints
- many (most?) are NOT parametric