<s>
agcXML	B-Language
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
extensible	B-Protocol
markup	I-Protocol
language	I-Protocol
(	O
XML	B-Protocol
)	O
schemas	B-Language
designed	O
to	O
automate	O
and	O
streamline	O
the	O
exchange	O
of	O
information	O
during	O
the	O
building	O
design	O
and	O
construction	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
agcXML	B-Language
facilitates	O
the	O
electronic	O
exchange	O
of	O
typical	O
business	O
information	O
between	O
different	O
programs	B-Application
that	O
would	O
otherwise	O
be	O
exchanged	O
in	O
unstructured	O
construction	O
documents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
encourage	O
collaboration	O
with	O
AGC	O
and	O
BCG	O
,	O
an	O
Advisory	O
Board	O
composed	O
of	O
software	O
vendors	O
,	O
contractors	O
and	O
AGC	O
's	O
IT	O
Forum	O
Steering	O
committee	O
members	O
that	O
work	O
to	O
determine	O
and	O
verify	O
the	O
direction	O
of	O
the	O
agcXML	B-Language
PMO	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2013	O
,	O
AGC	O
engaged	O
(	O
BCG	O
)	O
as	O
the	O
agcXML	B-Language
Industry	O
Steward	O
for	O
the	O
agcXML	B-Language
initiative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
capacity	O
,	O
BCG	O
will	O
,	O
in	O
coordination	O
with	O
AGC	O
,	O
act	O
as	O
the	O
Project	O
Management	O
Office	O
(	O
PMO	O
)	O
working	O
with	O
contractors	O
and	O
construction	O
software	O
developers	O
to	O
accomplish	O
easy	O
data	O
exchange	O
and	O
integrated	O
systems	O
using	O
agcXML	B-Language
schema	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
will	O
be	O
involved	O
in	O
all	O
aspects	O
of	O
this	O
project	O
and	O
will	O
specifically	O
provide	O
guidance	O
to	O
both	O
the	O
agcXML	B-Language
Advisory	O
Board	O
and	O
Application	O
Workgroups	O
,	O
establish	O
and	O
clarify	O
responsibilities	O
for	O
each	O
group	O
,	O
track	O
the	O
project	O
's	O
progress	O
to	O
ensure	O
its	O
success	O
,	O
facilitate	O
open	O
and	O
clear	O
communications	O
between	O
all	O
parties	O
both	O
internally	O
and	O
externally	O
and	O
ensure	O
the	O
project	O
stays	O
within	O
budget	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Deeply	O
experienced	O
in	O
the	O
construction	O
industry	O
and	O
familiar	O
with	O
the	O
range	O
of	O
software	O
applications	O
in	O
this	O
sector	O
,	O
BCG	O
remains	O
completely	O
vendor-independent	O
making	O
them	O
an	O
excellent	O
choice	O
as	O
agcXML	B-Language
Industry	O
Steward	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
agcXML	B-Language
Project	O
was	O
an	O
industry-wide	O
initiative	O
funded	O
and	O
led	O
by	O
the	O
Associated	O
General	O
Contractors	O
of	O
America	O
(	O
AGC	O
)	O
and	O
managed	O
,	O
under	O
a	O
contract	O
with	O
AGC	O
,	O
by	O
the	O
National	O
Institute	O
of	O
Building	O
Sciences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
building	O
information	O
modeling	O
(	O
BIM	O
)	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
facilitate	O
the	O
electronic	O
exchange	O
and	O
the	O
effective	O
use	O
of	O
information	O
about	O
a	O
building	O
facility	O
throughout	O
the	O
life	O
cycle	O
of	O
a	O
building	O
facility	O
,	O
the	O
agcXML	B-Language
Project	O
focuses	O
on	O
transactional	O
data	O
—	O
which	O
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
"	O
building	O
information	O
"	O
—	O
that	O
architects	O
,	O
engineers	O
,	O
contractors	O
,	O
subcontractors	O
,	O
material	O
suppliers	O
,	O
and	O
building	O
owners	O
typically	O
exchange	O
during	O
the	O
building	O
design	O
and	O
construction	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
resulted	O
in	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
extensible	B-Protocol
markup	I-Protocol
language	I-Protocol
(	O
XML	B-Protocol
)	O
schemas	B-Language
that	O
will	O
enable	O
design	O
and	O
construction	O
professionals	O
to	O
reliably	O
exchange	O
project	O
information	O
among	O
dissimilar	O
and	O
proprietary	O
software	O
applications	O
,	O
without	O
requiring	O
the	O
reengineering	O
or	O
redesign	O
of	O
those	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
agcXML	B-Language
schemas	B-Language
established	O
a	O
common	O
,	O
non-proprietary	O
data	O
format	O
and	O
classification	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
developers	O
will	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
modify	O
their	O
applications	O
with	O
minimal	O
effort	O
to	O
import	O
and	O
export	O
data	O
in	O
agcXML	B-Language
format	O
,	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
change	O
or	O
even	O
share	O
their	O
proprietary	O
software	B-Application
code	I-Application
and	O
data	O
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
schemas	B-Language
will	O
remain	O
the	O
property	O
of	O
AGC	O
,	O
will	O
be	O
made	O
publicly	O
available	O
and	O
will	O
be	O
licensed	O
at	O
no	O
cost	O
and	O
in	O
perpetuity	O
to	O
any	O
party	O
for	O
any	O
legitimate	O
purpose	O
in	O
support	O
of	O
the	O
exchange	O
of	O
agcXML	B-Language
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
is	O
coordinated	O
with	O
other	O
data	O
format	O
standards	O
development	O
efforts	O
worldwide	O
to	O
ensure	O
the	O
compatibility	O
of	O
agcXML	B-Language
data	O
with	O
those	O
efforts	O
.	O
</s>
