Abstract
The paper presents an overview of the methodology and findings of the ongoing OSMOS project.1 OSMOS aims to highlight and go some way to meeting the needs of the industry by providing a set of tools, models, APIs and techniques to support the construction “Virtual Enterprise” (VE). Key to the OSMOS approach is that the tools will allow companies (especially SMEs) to partake in a projectbased VE quickly and at a low entry-level. Through a combination of IDEF0 and UML modelling, within an iterative and incremental project methodology, the OSMOS consortium has elaborated a generic process model for the set-up and structuring of the construction Virtual Enterprise, which has formed the basis for the technical implementation of the tools and API. The tools, once designed, built, and made available for testing, have been evaluated within construction based case scenarios by endusers, and subsequently refined and re-tested. The resultant solution being offered through the OSMOS approach will involve some potential process changes within the companies wishing to take part in the VE, and the project aims to provide a proposed migration path to this end.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Ian E. and Rezgui, Yacine, "Toward the Digital Construction Virtual Enterprise" (2002). ECIS 2002 Proceedings. 27.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2002/27