6.3 Suspended Ceiling Design Process - Bilkent University

8.2 Conclusions
The AEC industry, like many others, is increasingly aware of the need to
improve efficiency of processes in a competitive marketplace. However,
the industry has experienced difficulties in identifying ways of capturing,
understanding, and replicating design processes. Having guided by the
observations above, this dissertation proposed parameter-based design
structure matrix as a system analysis and process modeling tool for
building design. The remaining sections conclude the findings of the
study and makes suggestions for further research.
8.2.1 Contributions of the Study to the Subject Field
In this dissertation, several proposals were made for the use of
parameter-based DSM in building design. The expected benefits of the
method were envisaged to be in three groups: process improvement,
process integration, and the use of the method in combination with the
other information processing applications. A knowledge management
framework was also proposed for parameter-based DSM applications in
building design. The framework addressed the following issues:
1. The need for explicit definitions of parameters was identified and
integrating DSMs with the IFC definitions was proposed as a
solution.
2. The four views that characterize parameter-based design were
defined and classification schemes for parameters were devised
according to these views.
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