An intelligent front-end for computer-aided building design

Abstract In the field of building design, a new generation of design tool is emerging which has the potential to simulate building performance in a rigorous and integrated manner. While powerful at their core, these computer systems suffer from several user interface limitations. This paper describes an attempt to solve these problems by developing an Intelligent Front End (IFE) for computer aided design software in general. The system, known as IFe, comprises a number of cooperating software modules which perform the functions of user dialogue handling, user entry validation, inferencing, data model manipulation and application handling against a range of alternative user types termed conceptualizations.