A Semiotic Analysis of the Meaning of the Encoding, Decoding, and Interpretation Process during the Development and Use of Building Information Systems

This paper presents a unified semiotic theory of computer based communication for the built environment. The developed theory understands (computer) sign-based communication as a triadic process involving real world objects, the signs computers use to represent them, and interpretants that represent the understanding that users were able to produce about the built environment by interpreting these signs. The triadic character of the semiotic theory allows us to understand the cascading process of developing and using BI systems during which actors create computer-based signs to represent objects in the built environment (semantic representation), how others interpret signs, and how, based on these interpretations, these others can then encode the interpreted meaning using new signs. Next to developing the above outlined semiotic meaning decoding, interpretation, and encoding process framework, the paper also shows by example that this semiotic framework allows understanding the process of how signs allow for the communication of meaning about the built environment during the development and use of BI systems.