Simulating the dynamics of social

agents and information flows in BIM-

based design

Malak Al Hattab, Farook Hamzeh

Journal : Automation in Construction

Purpose
• Examines whether Building Information Modelling (BIM) adoption can improve
design workflow by concurrently considering social interaction mechanisms
and information flow dynamics.

• Research methods : Agent-based modelling & Social Network Analysis.

• Goals : to analyse and measure information flow in BIM-based design.

• A new perspective is presented in this study that considers the complex

interdependencies and integrates the social aspects of people's interactions
with the exchanged information.
Literature Review
I. Previous studies do not study the role of collaboration and social interactions as
important parameters in the success of early sharing and shaping workflow, a matter
which this paper majorly considers when assessing information exchanges under
BIM.
II. Past research and traditional processes do not commonly consider the importance
of information flow and interdependencies between designers which results in poor
workflow practices.
III. However, recent research efforts have examined new ways of managing design
taking into consideration the involved workflow and/or the interactions among
design participants.
IV. They are not very comprehensive nor sufficient, making it hard to measure
performance. In addition, these studies neglect a critical controlling factor in the
process: individual behaviour, and team behaviour, and interactions.
V. Even if they used SNA for their studies, they do not demonstrate the actual flow of
information resulting from dynamic exchanges between individuals and are only
based on static and mathematical relationships.
• [19] M. Al Hattab, F. Hamzeh, Information Flow Comparison Between Traditional and BIM-Based Projects in the Design
Phase, Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, IGLC, Fortaleza, Brazil,
2013, pp. 761–770 Retrieved on May 3, 2017 from https://iglcstorage.blob.core.windows. net/papers/attachment-46735d29-
ae2f-4edd-bb40-bd1a26da309c.pdf.
• [20] A.N. Baldwin, S.A. Austin, T.M. Hassan, A. Thorpe, Modelling information flow during the conceptual and schematic
stages of building design, Constr. Manag. Econ. 17 (1999) 155–167, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/014461999371655.
• [21] D.K.H. Chua, M.A. Hossain, A simulation model to study the impact of early information on design duration and
redesign, Int. J. Proj. Manag. 29 (2011) 246–257, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.02.012.
• [22] E. Tribelsky, R. Sacks, An empirical study of information flows in multidisciplinary civil engineering design teams
using lean measures, Architect. Eng. Des. Manag. 7 (2011) 85–101, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2011.582332.
• [23] E. Tribelsky, R. Sacks, Measuring information flow in the detailed design of construction projects, Research in
Engineering Design, 21(3) Springer, 2010, pp. 189–206, , http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00163-009-0084-3.
• [24] P. Parraguez, A.M. Maier, Unfolding the Design Process Architecture: A Networked Perspective on Activities,
International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED), Milan, Italy, Retrieved June 21, 2016 from, 2015.
http://orbit.dtu.dk/files/ 127255218/2015_Parraguez_Maier_Networked_perspective_on_engineering_design_
activities_ICED_as_accepted.pdf, .
• [25] P. Parraguez, S.D. Eppinger, A.M. Maier, Information flow through stages of complex engineering design: a
dynamic network analysis approach, IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag. 62 (4) (2015) 604–617,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2015.2469680.
• [26] L. Lopez, J.F.F. Mendes, A.F. Sanjuan, Hierarchical social networks and information flow, Physica A 316 (2002) 695–
708, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(02)01333-X
• [27] C. Durugbo, W. Hutabarat, A. Tiwari, J.R. Alcock, Modelling collaboration using complex networks, Inf. Sci. 181 (2011)
3143–3161, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. ins.2011.03.020.
 Research question
• The limitations of the previous research efforts do not address the problem
of un-streamlined design delivery process whereby productivity, quality,
and client satisfaction are jeopardized.
• This study is driven by the urging need to address these problematic areas
and advise on improvements that can be made by exploring the dynamics
of information flow within social networks in BIM-based design. This is the
first study to integrate social dynamics and design information flow
dynamics to have a comprehensive understanding of design workflow.
• The specific goals of this study are: (1) providing a visual and measurable
method to analyze workflow, (2) introducing metrics to measure social
and process dynamics simultaneously, (3) helping understand underlying
problems and causes influencing workflow characteristics that need to be
addressed, and (4) providing new insights on the impacts of BIM use on
design workflow.
Methodology
• This dual method allows to model the exchange of design information
between the members of different teams to capture a holistic view of the
complex interactions and processes involved in the BIM-based design
process.
• SNA : Social network analysis is an approach for focusing on the relational
structures of systems within which entities exist. It is a method for studying
interactions and relationships among agents.
• ABM : The behavior of each agent, the dynamic interactions between
agents, and their resulting emergent behavior are modelled through ABM.
• The joint use of social network analysis and agent-based modelling allows
to capture, simulate, and measure detailed interactions and information
flows under multiple scenarios that otherwise are hard to assess and
experiment with in real situations due to the complexity of human
interactions.
Methodology
• Tool for SNA : Gephi
• Conducting surveys with team
members
• The survey asks participants to
list people with whom they
communicate for design
purposes, how frequently they
do so, why they communicate,
what they use the exchanged
information for, the type and
number of deliverables they
exchange, and the modes of
communication.
• Metrics : density, degree
centrality, and average path
length, among others.
Methodology
• Measuring workflow metrics : to capture the way and amount of design
deliverables exchanged between individuals and teams, how individuals
undergo the design process, how much rework is performed on the design,
how many times deliverables are reviewed, and how many deliverables are idle
in the process and pending action.

• Developing an ABMS : to simulate the dynamics of information exchange

between the mapped agents and teams. Data inputs : observations of
members and teams, data logs of the project, social network and collaboration
metrics collected, as well as data collected from the survey.

• Simulations with ABM : to experiment with a multitude of scenarios, variations,

and make use of stochastic input to test out different behavioral setups.
Experimental setup – network attributes
• Degree centrality: measures the number of links an individual has with others
• Betweenness centrality measures the number of node pairs that an individual connects
or bridges (serving as a broker or intermediary)
• Closeness centrality: measures the number of links from an individual to others; how
reachable a person is by others
• Density: measures how many actual links exist between nodes divided by the number
of total possible links to reflect cohesiveness of the network
• Clustering coefficient: measures how clustered groups of people are compared to the
rest of the network indicating existence of closed triads and small communities
• Average path length: how many steps, on average, nodes require to reach each other
• Modularity: how dense connections between nodes within groups as compared to
another group
Collaborations metrics by Durugbo et al.
• CC = clustering coefficient, C = closeness, DC = degree
centrality
To setup the agent-based model environments (p7-8)
P.11
Results
• The approach used integrates the social and process aspects of design
by incorporating social network analysis for analyzing the design
communication topology of its members as well as agent-based
modelling for simulating interaction dynamics occurring between these
members. Metrics are then developed to analyze the trends of design
workflow characteristics such as rework, revision, designing,
collaborating, and sharing.