University of Development Alternative (UODA)

Assignment on
Information technology in construction: domain definition and research issues
Management Information System (MIS)

Submitted to:
Ashek Al Aziz
Associate Professor
Department of CSE

Submitted by:
Rajibur Rahman Sarker
ID: 513192027
Master in Business Administration (MBA)
51st Batch

September 14, 2019

Information technology in construction: domain definition and research issues
By Bo-Christer Björk

Orginially published in International Journal of Computer Integrated Design And

Construction, SETO, London Volume 1, Issue 1, May 1999 pp. 1-16
The given material represents the possibilities of research on the application of information
technology in construction (ITC).

A prototype of the information and material activities which together comprise of the
construction process is shown, using the IDEF0 activity modelling methodology. Information
technology is defined to include all kinds of technology used for the storage, transfer and
manipulation of information. Therefore, it also takes into consideration devices such as photo
copying machines, faxes and mobile phones. Using this prototype, the field of ITC research is
defined as the use of information technology to facilitate and re-engineer the information
process component of construction. Information technology is being used to enhance and
develop work processes, operations, administration and other divisions in the construction
business. Advancements made in IT in the last few decades, which have been used in the
construction industry, are discussed within a context of a simplified model of generic
information processing tasks.

The scope of ITC is compared with the opportunities of research in related areas such as
design methodology, construction management and facilities management. Health care is
proposed as an interesting alternative (to the often used car manufacturing industry), as an
IT application domain to compare with. Some of the key areas of ITC research in recent years,
expert systems, company IT strategies, and product modelling are briefly touched in the
article.

The write-up concludes by mentioning the challenges of applying standard scientific

methodology in ITC research, in particular in product model research.