# Interoperability of Digital Tools for the Monitoring and Control of Construction Projects
## 3 Materials and Methods
### Stage 3: Validation of Digital Tools  
Two rating systems were developed for criteria considered critical to enable the automation of a monitoring and control system, according to the previously mentioned subdivision according to their function, i.e., information capture and communication and collaboration. Scores are provided according to the qualification obtained, i.e., satisfactory performance, intermediate performance and poor performance, marked with white, gray and black, respectively. Likewise, a score was assigned with values of 2, 1 and 0. For each of the criteria, a brief explanation is presented, as shown in Tables 4 and 5. In the case of FDCT, six criteria are considered as follows: usability, time efficiency, accuracy, level of automation, training required and equipment [10]. On the other hand, for CTs, six criteria are considered as follows: interoperability, virtualization, decentralization, real-time capability, service orientation and flexibility [8]. The ratings were assigned based on the information obtained in the first and second stages of this research. Although each of the explored technologies has unique advantages \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Criteria** & **Good Performance (2)** & **Intermediate Performance (1)** & **Poor Performance (0)** \\ \hline Utility & General occasion solution & Solution for general occasions with some limitations & Can only be used on limited occasions \\ \hline Time efficiency & Instantaneous recovery of information or takes less time than the traditional method & Recovery of the information takes the same amount of time as the traditional method & Recovery of information takes longer than the traditional method \\ \hline Accuracy & Most or all of the data obtained is accurate & Accuracy of some data & Errors in all data \\ \hline Automation level & Most or all of the steps in the process are automated & Only a few steps of the process are automated & None \\ \hline Training & None & Needs training, learning facility & Needs specialized personnel \\ \hline Equipment & Portable and easy-to-use equipment within easy reach & Medium-sized equipment, difficult to transport & Oversized equipment, not movable \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Criteria scoring system for FDCT. Adapted from [10]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Criteria** & **Good Performance (2)** & **Intermediate Performance (1)** & **Poor Performance (0)** \\ \hline Interoperability & Communicates with different software by standardized interfaces and processes & Communicates with some software by standardized interfaces and processes & Does not communicate with different software \\ \hline Virtualization & Collects and monitors progress via electronic media & Collects and monitors progress by electronic and manual means & Manually collects and monitors progress \\ \hline Decentralization & Allows for the delegation actions across organizations at CSC level and allows relevant stakeholders to independently make decisions. & Partially allows for the delegation of actions and/or decisions at the CSC level. & Does not allow for the delegation of actions to organizations at the CSC level or the decision making of stakeholders. \\ \hline Real-time capacity & Instantaneous recovery of information or takes less time than the traditional method & Recovery of the information takes the same amount of time as the traditional method & Recovery of information takes longer than the traditional method \\ \hline Service oriented & Satisfies customer requirements, internal interests and CSC participants. & Partially satisfies customer requirements, internal interests and CSC participants. & Does not meet the requirements of the customer, internal interests and CSC participants. \\ \hline Flexibility & Adapts to changing stakeholder requirements & Partially adapts to changing stakeholder requirements & Failure to adapt to changing stakeholder requirements \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Criteria scoring system for CT.