Xie, H (2005) User model-driven architecture for information retrieval in construction project management. PhD thesis, University of Florida, USA.
Abstract
Numerous software systems are designed to facilitate information retrieval and communication among people in the construction industry. It is arguable that user experiences and preferences are given enough consideration in a lot of them. To design a system serving the information retrieval needs of the construction industry, designers must determine the information that construction personnel need to retrieve from various sources, and in what kinds of formats it has to be displayed. The next problem is how to formalize the user model for a given class of users (such as vice president, project manager, or estimator) to direct information retrieval. Detailed case studies were used to specify and formalize user model(s) for construction personnel. The goal of this research is to improve the level of satisfactory results obtained from a conventional or advanced information retrieval (IR) system by modeling the user's information retrieval approach and leveraging the user model into structured knowledge. The users' needs will be analyzed and modeled by the use-case modeling method, and then the relationships in the use case will be used to address the IR system with a more relevant request. The user model proposed in this research is based on the implementation of user research in software development. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is implemented to build up a formal user model to generate a fast and smooth transition from the user needs to the software products. Furthermore, the Java object-oriented language is used to build up a configurable navigator pattern to retrieve information. Coding and system programming for information retrieval can be achieved based on these specifications. Five validation cases were designed to test the UMDA system from the aspects of user involvement and satisfaction, usability, sensitivity, search scope, and information retrieval performance. The validation process demonstrated that the UMDA system provides, in all the considered cases, the needed representations that are usable and that it supports effective data access and data collection of project management information. It also demonstrated that the interaction style of the UMDA system allows in many cases for efficient user interaction.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Issa, R R and O'Brien, W |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | personnel; construction project; communication; information retrieval; programming; estimator; project manager; case study; validation; specification; designer |
| Index terms: | satisfaction, case study, project manager, designer, construction project management, project management, information retrieval, implementation, interaction, modelling, construction industry, specification, software development, personnel, construction personnel, usability, estimator, programming, validation, user need, construction project, user experience, preference |
| Subjects: | management, software systems, decision-making and reasoning, contractual condition, production management, project management theory and practice, professional development, data management, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, profession, workforce, data collection methods, user-centered design, programming, contractual arrangements, analytical methods, project delivery |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Contract Administration, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here