Using Digital Twins for Managing Change in Complex Projects

Jennifer Whyte^1,2, Ranjith K. Soman^3,2, Rafael Sacks⁴, Neda Mohammadi^1,5, Nader Naderpajouh¹, Wei-Ting Hong¹, Ghang Lee⁶

1. University of Sydney
2. Imperial College London
3. Delft University of Technology
4. Technion Israel Institute of Technology
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
6. Yonsei University

Published in Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024), edited by Ali GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, Farzad Rahimian and Mahesh Babu Purushothaman. Springer Nature, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, volume 591, 2025, pages 1575 to 1582. DOI 10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_150.

Abstract

Complex systems are not entirely decomposable; hence, interdependencies arise at the interfaces in complex projects. When changes occur, significant risks arise at these interfaces as it is hard to identify, manage and visualise the systemic consequences of changes. Particularly problematic are the interfaces in which there are multiple interdependencies, which occur where the boundaries between design components, contracts and organisation coincide, such as between design disciplines. In this paper, we propose an approach to digital twin-based interface management, through an underpinning state-of-the-art review of the existing technical literature and a research agenda to identify the characteristics of future data-driven solutions. We set out an approach to digital twin-based interface management and an agenda for research on advanced methodologies for managing change in complex projects. This agenda includes the need to integrate work on identifying systems interfaces, change propagation and visualisation, and the potential to significantly extend the limitations of existing solutions by using developments in the digital twin, such as linked data, semantic enrichment, network analyses, natural language processing (NLP)-enhanced ontology and machine learning.

Keywords

Session

Presented in Track E, Friday 8 November 2024, 16:30 to 18:30, room WA 224 A, Auckland University of Technology. Session chair Dr Esther Aigwi.

How to Cite

Whyte, J., Soman, R. K., Sacks, R., Mohammadi, N., Naderpajouh, N., Hong, W.-T., & Lee, G. (2025). Using Digital Twins for Managing Change in Complex Projects. In A. GhaffarianHoseini, A. GhaffarianHoseini, F. Rahimian, & M. B. Purushothaman (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024) (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 591, pp. 1575–1582). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_150

About the Conference

Presented at SASBE 2024, the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, held in Auckland from 7 to 9 November 2024 and chaired by Professors Ali and Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, founders of GDI Academy. The version of record is published by Springer Nature; this page is the conference archive record kept by GDI Academy.