agcXML: Organizing the business information of design and

constructionGSA Project Managers, Architects and

Engineers Guild / Community of PracticeTuesday, March 11, 2008

Michael TardifagcXML Project Manager

Goal:• develop XML schemas to support simple information

exchanges during the design and construction process.

• facilitate information exchange, not document exchange.

• use existing transaction media (standard construction documents) as body of knowledge for defining scope of information exchanges ONLY; do not model paper exchange processes.

• focus on data; do not preclude development of new business processes or business practices.

Existing transaction media (base scope):• Owner / Constructor agreements• Schedules of Values• Requests for Information*• Requests for Pricing/Proposals• Supplemental Instructions• Construction Change Directives• Submittals• Change Orders• Applications for Payment• Addendum Notifications

*a transaction formalized by custom; must it be so?

Types of information in existing transaction media:• Standard language (proprietary, unstructured)• Modifications (edits) to standard language• Project-specific “fill-in-the-blank” information (non –

proprietary; partially structured)

• agcXML will structure and capture only third type of information, which has greatest value in information exchange.

• implementation does not require any software developer to reveal or share any proprietary code, or publishers to share any proprietary content.

Why agcXML?• eliminate duplicate re-entry of transaction data.• leverage transaction data for other purposes.• structure transaction data to facilitate alignment with

building information modeling data.• facilitate eCommerce in design and construction.

agcXML Schema Design

Typical elements of information exchange transactions:

• Actors• Roles• Content• Required/Desired Action/Response• Tracking/Logging

agcXML Actors: Examples• Owner• Prime Designer• Design Sub-consultant• General Contractor• Subcontractor• Design Builder• Construction Manager• Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Team Member?• Others that exist or develop over time…

Any actor can be matched with any…

agcXML Roles:• Sender

(initiates a transaction)• Receiver

(expected to take action; carries the ball)• Recipient

(on the “cc:” list; optional; read-only; action generally not expected or required)

• Simplicity of actor/role schema design eliminates need to “hard code” business processes in schema, reduces number of needed schemas.

Typical Transaction Contents:• Actor information• Role information• Transaction information• Action/response information• Message tracking information• Cardinality (required or allowable frequency of

occurrence of any piece of data; further reduces “hard coding” of any data in list form, such as unit prices)

• Insight: nearly every information exchange transaction in design and construction can be characterized as a specialized form of transmittal.

Action/Response:

There are two elements to every action/response:

• transactional response: dispose of or complete transaction

• substantive response: take action related to the project

Most (but not all) transactions require both a transactional and substantive action/response.

Examples of typical transactional action/response:

• Initiate (Sender)• Receive (Receiver)• Acknowledge (Receiver, Recipient) • Review (Receiver Recipient)• Comment (Receiver)• Accept (Reciever)• Reject (Receiver)• File/Log (Sender, Receiver, Recipient)• Forward to others (initiate subsequent transaction)• Respond to sender (initiate subsequent transaction)

Examples of substantive action/response:

• Design/Calculate• Amend contract documents• Research (design/cost/time)• Compile information internally• Compile information from others• Execute work• Direct others to execute work

Cardinality: the number of instances of a data element that can occur or appear in a transaction.

[1] = required element; only one instance allowed(e.g., owner, constructor, contract sum, contract date)

[0..1] = optional element; one instance maximum(e.g., bonus/penalty provision amount)

[1..n] = required element, limited number[0..n] = optional element, limited number

(prescriptive; a form of “hard coding;” rare)

[1..*] = required element, unlimited number[0..*] = optional element, unlimited number

(e.g., schedule of values items; unit prices, any item list)

Schema design summary:

• Flexible software architecture that can adapt to changing business practices over time.

• Any actor can play any role needed to execute a transaction and complete a business process.

• Every transaction is a simple, bilateral transaction between one sender and one receiver. Any required response becomes a subsequent transaction.

• Complex business processes may be modeled as sequential, nested, or compound transactions.

agcXML Content Summary: ExampleOwner/Constructor Agreements (184 data fields in 13 categories):

• Agreement Date• Owner Information• Contractor Information• Project Information• Prime Design Professional Information• Project Milestone Dates• Liquidated Damage or Bonus Provisions• Compensation Provisions• Payment Provisions• Insurance, Bond, & Indemnity Provisions• Other Provisions• Contract Documents• Exhibits

agcXML Content Summary: Example Information CategoryOwner/Constructor Agreements: Owner Information – 22 Data Fields

Owner Representative PhoneOwner Representative FaxOwner Representative e-mail Address

Owner SignatureOwner Signatory Last NameOwner Signatory First NameOwner Signatory TitleOwner Signature Witness SignatureOwner Signature Witness Signatory Last NameOwner Signature Witness Signatory First NameOwner Signature Witness Signatory Title

Owner Company NameOwner Project NumberOwner Address 1Owner Address 2Owner CityOwner StateOwner CountryOwner Company PhoneOwner Company FaxOwner Representative Last

NameOwner Representative First

Name

agcXML Content Summary: Example Information CategoryOwner/Constructor Agreements: Compensation Provisions – 29 Fields

Contract Sum in wordsContract Sum in numeralsContractor's Fee (Cost-Plus-a-Fee

Agreements)Contractor's Fee Adjustment TermsPreconstruction Services CompensationContractor's Office Project Personnel

Functional Title Contractor's Site PersonnelContractor's Site Personnel, StatusContractor's Site Personnel, Rate of

CompensationContractor's Site Personnel, Compensation

PeriodGuaranteed Maximum PriceGuaranteed Maximum Price Savings

ProvisionsGuaranteed Maximum Price Assumptions

Accepted Alternate Title/DescriptionAccepted Alternate Sum

Outstanding Alternate IDOutstanding Alternate

Title/DescriptionOutstanding Alternate SumOutstanding Alternate Expiration

DateUnit Price Item IDUnit Price Item Title/DescriptionUnit Price Number of UnitsUnit Price, Cost per UnitAllowance Item IDAllowance Item Title/DescriptionAllowance Item SumAllowance Item Type

Gap Analysis:Two types of gaps in existing transactional media:

• Insufficiently structured data fields in electronic versions of standard contract documents will require revision of these applications to support agcXML (not an issue for PM, FM($), FM applications).

• Long-standing, customary information exchanges poorly documented:• Schedule of values – initial submission undocumented• RFI – completely undocumented• Change order request – undocumented • Other informal information exchanges that precede formal

exchanges (change directives, supplemental instructions, submittals, etc.) – undocumented

agcXML Scope Summary: Status

• Common Object Schema• Agreements• Bonds• Schedule of Values• Request for Information• Request for Pricing• Change Order• Change Directive• Supplemental Instruction• Submittals• Application for Payment

agcXML Implementation – How?

• Software developers build in support for exchange schemas.

• Data is alphanumeric; easier to exchange than geometric building (BIM) data.

agcXML Implementation – When?

• Surety industry: “Bond Credit Bureau”• Open Geospatial Consortium: B-to-BIM Testbed

Questions?Michael Tardif

mtardif@design-byline.com

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