Approach to Reference Models for Building Performance Simulation: Establishing Common Understanding

Abstract

AbstractIn the fields of business process modeling, logistics, and information model development, Reference Models (RMs) have shown to enhance standardization, support the common understanding of terminology and procedures, reduce the modeling efforts and cost through the paradigm “Design by Reuse”, and enable knowledge transfer. Utilizing RMs in Building Performance Simulation (BPS) shows potential to achieve similar benefits. However, there is no universally agreed understanding of RMs. In a previous scientific publication, we provided a comprehensive overview of the diversely interpreted definitions, benefits, and attributes of RMs and related terms. Additionally, to transfer the approach of RMs to BPS, a definition for RMs applicable to BPS has been provided, and the identified RM qualities were matched with BPS’s challenges. However, a sound evaluation of the success of transferring RMs to BPS is lacking. Therefore, this scientific contribution firstly includes the analysis conducted in the previous scientific contribution constituting a common understanding about RMs and their elements for BPS. Secondly, by conducting expert interviews, the applicability and validity of the developed concept of RMs for BPS are surveyed. In total, ten experts (seven BPS experts and three RM experts) evaluated the quality of creating transparency about the understanding of RMs and the level of success of their transfer toward BPS. The experts consistently see a great benefit of RMs in BPS, but for BPS experts the transfer and possible application of RMs in BPS is not sufficiently clear. Accordingly, the key output of the conducted survey is that a clearer and more detailed application example, e.g., describing at a more easy-to-understand level of detail an exemplary class of the provided example of an RM, is required for a more profound transfer of RMs to BPS.