AU2016200498A1 - Building development system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract BUILDING DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD A building development system for enabling building products to be selected for a property, the system comprising a server 1300 in communication with a product database 103 and a builder's database 111, wherein the product database 103 contains a full selection of building products, and the builder's database 111 contains a sub-set of building products for a plurality of new properties, wherein the sub-set of building products is selected from the full selection of building products, wherein the server 1300 is arranged to communicate the full selection and sub-set of building products to a computing device (109, 113) to enable the modification of the sub-set of building products by one or both of i) enabling one or more building products of the full selection to be selected for addition to the sub-set and ii) enabling one or more building products of the sub-set to be selected for removal from the sub-set.

Description

BUILDING DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates generally to a building development system and method, and in particular to a building development system and method for enabling building products to be selected for a property.

Background [0002] A number of entities are involved in the sale, development and building of a new property including the property developer and builders, showroom or selection consultants, the supplier(s) of products being fitted into the property, merchants, retailers and the new property owners.

[0003] Typically, the process by which the new property owners select the products that are to be installed into the new property is lengthy and ad-hoc. This can lead to confusion and frustration for the builders and the new property owners. For example, a considerable amount of time may be required for the builders and owners to discuss together which products, of a vast number of products available, are to be selected. This problem is further exacerbated when certain products or product lines are no longer available, the prices of the products change, or the building design changes during the selection and build process.

[0004] Further, the mechanism by which builders may claim rebates from product suppliers is currently a manual, difficult and lengthy process for both parties.

[0005] Also, the availability of data associated with products and associated warranties and after sales & service teams is limited, and so it becomes difficult to identify what product is in the built property when the property owner calls for service or assistance with a product.

[0006] Current systems do not provide an adequate system or mechanism for recording of information for annual service and maintenance work associated with products in the property.

[0007] Also, current systems have forecasting problems associated with the delivery of products to builders at the time that they are required during the build.

[0008] The vast number of products that are available to the property owner can be overwhelming and result in delay and confusion when being asked to identify which products are required throughout the new property. Further, in current systems, there is an increased chance of last minute changes being made by the property owner due to the vast number of available products.

[0009] In current systems, there is limited if any scheduling of tasks to the property owner and builder in order to complete the necessary tasks before the day products are to be selected.

[0010] Also, there are limited means to enable a property owner to easily and efficiently upgrade products throughout the process.

[0011] In addition, current systems generally only indicate a recommended retail price to the property owner throughout the selection process.

Summary [0012] It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more disadvantages of existing arrangements.

[0013] Disclosed are arrangements which seek to address the above problems by providing a server based system or method that enables building entities to identify a sub-set of building products from a full set of building products and subsequently offer that sub-set to of building products to new property owners in a user friendly and optimal manner.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a building development system for enabling building products to be selected for a property, the system comprising a server in communication with a product database and a builder’s database, wherein the product database contains a full selection of building products, and the builder’s database contains a sub-set of building products for a plurality of new properties, wherein the sub-set of building products is selected from the full selection of building products, wherein the server is arranged to communicate the full selection and sub-set of building products to a computing device to enable the modification of the sub-set of building products by one or both of i) enabling one or more building products of the full selection to be selected for addition to the sub-set and ii) enabling one or more building products of the sub-set to be selected for removal from the sub-set.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a building development method for enabling building products to be selected for a property comprising the steps of: providing a product database containing a full selection of building products, providing a building database containing a sub-set of building products for a plurality of new properties selected from the full selection of building products, communicating the full selection and subset of building products to a computing device to enable the modification of the sub-set of building products by one or both of i) enabling one or more building products of the full selection to be selected for addition to the sub-set and ii) enabling one or more building products of the sub-set to be selected for removal from the sub-set.

[0016] Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed.

Brief Description of the Drawings [0017] At least one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings and appendices, in which: [0018] Figs. 1A and 1B form a schematic block diagram of a general purpose computer system, such as a server, upon which arrangements described herein can be practiced; [0019] Figs. 1C and 1D show a schematic block diagram of a network and a server upon which arrangements described herein can be practiced; [0020] Figs. 2A - 2D show a data structure flow diagram building packages and products according to the herein disclosure; [0021] Figs. 3A - 3K show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating a builder’s database according to the herein disclosure; [0022] Figs. 4A - 4K show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating building product packages according to the herein disclosure; [0023] Figs. 5A to 5F show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating building product groups according to the herein disclosure; [0024] Figs. 6A to 6K show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating house packages according to the herein disclosure; [0025] Figs. 7 A to 7D show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating a customer project according to the herein disclosure; [0026] Figs. 8A to 8H show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for customer product selections according to the herein disclosure;

Detailed Description including Best Mode [0027] Where reference is made in any one or more of the accompanying drawings to steps and/or features, which have the same reference numerals, those steps and/or features have for the purposes of this description the same function(s) or operation(s), unless the contrary intention appears.

[0028] Figs. 1A and 1B depict a general-purpose computer system 1300 in the form of a server, upon which the various arrangements described can be practiced.

[0029] As seen in Fig. 1A, the computer system 1300 includes: a computer module 1301; input devices such as a keyboard 1302, a mouse pointer device 1303, a scanner 1326 and a microphone 1380; and output devices, which may optionally include a printer 1315, a display device 1314 and loudspeakers 1317. An external Modulator-Demodulator (Modem) transceiver device 1316 may be used by the computer module 1301 for communicating to and from a communications network 1320 via a connection 1321. The computer system 1300 is arranged to communicate with other computer systems in order to generate and display a user interface on those other computer systems. These other computer systems may be similar types of computer systems, PCs, laptops, handheld computing devices, smart phones etc.

[0030] The communications network 1320 may be a wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet, a cellular telecommunications network, or a private WAN. Where the connection 1321 is a telephone line, the modem 1316 may be a traditional “dial-up” modem. Alternatively, where the connection 1321 is a high capacity (e.g., cable) connection, the modem 1316 may be a broadband modem. A wireless modem may also be used for wireless connection to the communications network 1320.

[0031] The computer module 1301 typically includes at least one processor unit 1305, and a memory unit 1306. For example, the memory unit 1306 may have semiconductor random access memory (RAM) and semiconductor read only memory (ROM). The computer module 1301 also includes an number of input/output (I/O) interfaces including: an audio-video interface 1307 that couples to the video display 1314, loudspeakers 1317 and microphone 1380; an I/O interface 1313 that couples to the keyboard 1302, mouse 1303, scanner 1326, camera 1327 and optionally a joystick or other human interface device (not illustrated); and an interface 1308 for the external modem 1316 and printer 1315. In some implementations, the modem 1316 may be incorporated within the computer module 1301, for example within the interface 1308. The computer module 1301 also has a local network interface 1311, which permits coupling of the computer system 1300 via a connection 1323 to a local-area communications network 1322, known as a Local Area Network (LAN). As illustrated in Fig. 1A, the local communications network 1322 may also couple to the wide network 1320 via a connection 1324, which would typically include a so-called “firewall” device or device of similar functionality. The local network interface 1311 may comprise an Ethernet circuit card, a Bluetooth wireless arrangement or an IEEE 802.11 wireless arrangement; however, numerous other types of interfaces may be practiced for the interface 1311.

[0032] The I/O interfaces 1308 and 1313 may afford either or both of serial and parallel connectivity, the former typically being implemented according to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards and having corresponding USB connectors (not illustrated). Storage devices 1309 are provided and typically include a hard disk drive (HDD) 1310. Other storage devices such as a floppy disk drive and a magnetic tape drive (not illustrated) may also be used. An optical disk drive 1312 is typically provided to act as a non-volatile source of data. Portable memory devices, such optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray Disc™), USB-RAM, portable, external hard drives, and floppy disks, for example, may be used as appropriate sources of data to the system 1300.

[0033] The components 1305 to 1313 of the computer module 1301 typically communicate via an interconnected bus 1304 and in a manner that results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer system 1300 known to those in the relevant art. For example, the processor 1305 is coupled to the system bus 1304 using a connection 1318. Likewise, the memory 1306 and optical disk drive 1312 are coupled to the system bus 1304 by connections 1319. Examples of computers on which the described arrangements can be practised include IBM-PC’s and compatibles, Sun Sparcstations, Apple Mac™ or a like computer systems.

[0034] The building development method described herein may be implemented using the computer system 1300 wherein the processes of Figs. 2A to 2D, to be described, may be implemented and the user interfaces and associated processes of Figs. 3A to 8H to be described may be generated and/or implemented, using one or more software application programs 1333 executable within the computer system 1300. In particular, the steps of the building development method are effected by instructions 1331 (see Fig. 1B) in the software 1333 that are carried out within the computer system 1300. The software instructions 1331 may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the corresponding code modules performs the processing methods performed at the computer system 1300 and a second part and the corresponding code modules manages the generation of a user interface that is provided to other computer systems via the network.

[0035] The software may be stored in a computer readable medium, including the storage devices described below, for example. The software is loaded into the computer system 1300 from the computer readable medium, and then executed by the computer system 1300. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on the computer readable medium is a computer program product. The use of the computer program product in the computer system 1300 preferably effects an advantageous apparatus for enabling building products to be selected for a property.

[0036] The software 1333 is typically stored in the HDD 1310 or the memory 1306. The software is loaded into the computer system 1300 from a computer readable medium, and executed by the computer system 1300. Thus, for example, the software 1333 may be stored on an optically readable disk storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM) 1325 that is read by the optical disk drive 1312. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product. The use of the computer program product in the computer system 1300 preferably effects an apparatus for enabling building products to be selected for a property.

[0037] In some instances, the application programs 1333 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROMs 1325 and read via the corresponding drive 1312, or alternatively may be read by the user from the networks 1320 or 1322. Still further, the software can also be loaded into the computer system 1300 from other computer readable media. Computer readable storage media refers to any non-transitory tangible storage medium that provides recorded instructions and/or data to the computer system 1300 for execution and/or processing. Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray™ Disc, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated circuit, USB memory, a magnetooptical disk, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the computer module 1301. Examples of transitory or non-tangible computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, instructions and/or data to the computer module 1301 include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including e-mail transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like.

[0038] The second part of the application programs 1333 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 1314. Through manipulation of typically the keyboard 1302 and the mouse 1303, a user of the computer system 1300 and the application may manipulate the interface in a functionally adaptable manner to provide controlling commands and/or input to the applications associated with the GUI(s). Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also be implemented, such as an audio interface utilizing speech prompts output via the loudspeakers 1317 and user voice commands input via the microphone 1380.

[0039] Fig. 1B is a detailed schematic block diagram of the processor 1305 and a “memory” 1334. The memory 1334 represents a logical aggregation of all the memory modules (including the HDD 1309 and semiconductor memory 1306) that can be accessed by the computer module 1301 in Fig. 1A.

[0040] When the computer module 1301 is initially powered up, a power-on self-test (POST) program 1350 executes. The POST program 1350 is typically stored in a ROM 1349 of the semiconductor memory 1306 of Fig. 1A. A hardware device such as the ROM 1349 storing software is sometimes referred to as firmware. The POST program 1350 examines hardware within the computer module 1301 to ensure proper functioning and typically checks the processor 1305, the memory 1334 (1309, 1306), and a basic input-output systems software (BIOS) module 1351, also typically stored in the ROM 1349, for correct operation. Once the POST program 1350 has run successfully, the BIOS 1351 activates the hard disk drive 1310 of Fig. 1A. Activation of the hard disk drive 1310 causes a bootstrap loader program 1352 that is resident on the hard disk drive 1310 to execute via the processor 1305. This loads an operating system 1353 into the RAM memory 1306, upon which the operating system 1353 commences operation. The operating system 1353 is a system level application, executable by the processor 1305, to fulfil various high level functions, including processor management, memory management, device management, storage management, software application interface, and generic user interface.

[0041] The operating system 1353 manages the memory 1334 (1309, 1306) to ensure that each process or application running on the computer module 1301 has sufficient memory in which to execute without colliding with memory allocated to another process. Furthermore, the different types of memory available in the system 1300 of Fig. 1A must be used properly so that each process can run effectively. Accordingly, the aggregated memory 1334 is not intended to illustrate how particular segments of memory are allocated (unless otherwise stated), but rather to provide a general view of the memory accessible by the computer system 1300 and how such is used.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 1B, the processor 1305 includes a number of functional modules including a control unit 1339, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 1340, and a local or internal memory 1348, sometimes called a cache memory. The cache memory 1348 typically includes a number of storage registers 1344 - 1346 in a register section. One or more internal busses 1341 functionally interconnect these functional modules. The processor 1305 typically also has one or more interfaces 1342 for communicating with external devices via the system bus 1304, using a connection 1318. The memory 1334 is coupled to the bus 1304 using a connection 1319.

[0043] The application program 1333 includes a sequence of instructions 1331 that may include conditional branch and loop instructions. The program 1333 may also include data 1332 which is used in execution of the program 1333. The instructions 1331 and the data 1332 are stored in memory locations 1328, 1329, 1330 and 1335, 1336, 1337, respectively. Depending upon the relative size of the instructions 1331 and the memory locations 1328-1330, a particular instruction may be stored in a single memory location as depicted by the instruction shown in the memory location 1330. Alternately, an instruction may be segmented into a number of parts each of which is stored in a separate memory location, as depicted by the instruction segments shown in the memory locations 1328 and 1329.

[0044] In general, the processor 1305 is given a set of instructions which are executed therein. The processor 1305 waits for a subsequent input, to which the processor 1305 reacts to by executing another set of instructions. Each input may be provided from one or more of a number of sources, including data generated by one or more of the input devices 1302, 1303, data received from an external source across one of the networks 1320, 1302, data retrieved from one of the storage devices 1306, 1309 or data retrieved from a storage medium 1325 inserted into the corresponding reader 1312, all depicted in Fig. 1A. The execution of a set of the instructions may in some cases result in output of data. Execution may also involve storing data or variables to the memory 1334.

[0045] The disclosed building development system and method arrangements use input variables 1354, which are stored in the memory 1334 in corresponding memory locations 1355, 1356, 1357. The building development system and method arrangements produce output variables 1361, which are stored in the memory 1334 in corresponding memory locations 1362, 1363, 1364. Intermediate variables 1358 may be stored in memory locations 1359, 1360, 1366 and 1367.

[0046] Referring to the processor 1305 of Fig. 1B, the registers 1344, 1345, 1346, the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 1340, and the control unit 1339 work together to perform sequences of micro-operations needed to perform “fetch, decode, and execute” cycles for every instruction in the instruction set making up the program 1333. Each fetch, decode, and execute cycle comprises: [0047] a fetch operation, which fetches or reads an instruction 1331 from a memory location 1328, 1329, 1330; [0048] a decode operation in which the control unit 1339 determines which instruction has been fetched; and [0049] an execute operation in which the control unit 1339 and/or the ALU 1340 execute the instruction.

[0050] Thereafter, a further fetch, decode, and execute cycle for the next instruction may be executed. Similarly, a store cycle may be performed by which the control unit 1339 stores or writes a value to a memory location 1332.

[0051] Each step or sub-process in the processes herein described is associated with one or more segments of the program 1333 and is performed by the register section 1344, 1345, 1347 the ALU 1340, and the control unit 1339 in the processor 1305 working together to perform the fetch, decode, and execute cycles for every instruction in the instruction set for the noted segments of the program 1333.

[0052] A building development system and method for enabling building products to be selected for a property is described herein. Figure 1C shows a building development system according to the herein disclosure. A server 1300, as described above with reference to Figs. 1A and 1B, is in communication with a building product database 103. An administration user interface 105 is connected to the server 1300 via a network 107. The network may be, for example, the internet, a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) as described with reference to Fig. 1A. A builder user interface 109 is also connected to the server 1300 via the network 107. The builder interface 109 enables building entities to access the server 1300 to create a builder database 111. That is, the builder database 111 is in communication with the server 1300. Also accessible via the builder user interface 109 is a builder local database 112. This builder local database may contain sales data associated with sales of products made the builder, cost data associated with the cost of products sold by the builder as well as various other data associated with the builder’s business. The builder user interface 109 may communicate any information stored within the builder local database 112 to the server 1300 via the network 107.

[0053] A client user interface 113 is also in communication with the server 1300 via the network 107.

[0054] It will be understood that the administration user interface 105, the builder user interface 109 and the client user interface 113 may be implemented using any suitable form of computing device that enables information to be output to a user and interactions with the user and the output information to be recorded and transmitted back to the server 1300. The information and images sent to each user interface is generated by the server 1300 and transmitted to the computing devices displaying the user interfaces via the network 107.

[0055] Figure 1D shows a schematic representation of the server 1300 in more detail. The server 1300 includes I/O ports 1308 that enables the server 1300 to communicate with each of the elements described in Figure 1C. A processor 1305 is in communication with the I/O ports to receive the incoming data and to send outgoing data. In communication with the processor 1305 is a local memory module 1306. Also in communication with the processor 1305, and described in more detail below, are a subset modification module 121, a product package module 123, a product grouping module 125, a cost module 127 and a product sales data module 129.

[0056] As mentioned above, the builder local database may contain sales data associated with sales of products associated with the builder, as well as cost data associated with the cost of products sold by the builder as well as various other data associated with the builder’s business. This data may be used by the product sales data module 129 in order to automatically create a sub-set of building products for storage in the builder database 111. For example, the product sales data module 129 may match one or more products from the building product database 103 with the cost and/or sales data associate with products that the builder has previously used. For example, the products may be matched by product type (exact or similar), product categories (exact or similar), product tags etc.

[0057] The building product database 103 will now be described in more detail. The building product database has a hierarchy of data structures including, at a top level, a number of brands associated with building products. Beneath the brand level, a category level associated with building products is included within the database. For example, the categories may include baths, basins, toilets suites, mixer taps, taps, showers or accessories. In the hierarchy, beneath the category level are listed subtypes of the categories. For example, the subtypes may relate to a particular type of shower such as a fixed wall shower, a hand-held shower, rain shower, showers on rails, wall fixed showerheads. It will be understood that any other type of subtype category may be applied depending on the product category. Beneath the subtype hierarchy level, a product level is provided within the building product database. For example, the products that are listed may be specific products that are recognisable by their product ID or reference number. That is, each product is uniquely identifiable.

[0058] The building product database 103 is fully searchable via brand, category, subtype or product listing as well as by room, such as bathroom, kitchen, laundry, alfresco etc.. The product database lists all the products that are available from one particular building product manufacturer and/or supplier. That is, the building product database contains a full selection of building products.

[0059] The building development system described herein enables building firms to offer their customers a simpler way of selecting (and upgrading) their bathroom, kitchen, laundry and other building product fittings for the customer’s property project. The building product database includes all building products that building firms might potentially offer to their clients. The building products database is maintained and kept up to date by the building product manufacturer or supplier (i.e. the administrator). Each of the products within the database is tagged by the administrator according to its unique ID, subtype, category, brand and room. Further, additional tags may be applied to each of the products as described herein. Therefore, each product sits within the brand, category, subtype, room database structure and carries with it a variety of information including, but not limited to imagery and description, product specifications, technical documents, codes, recommended retail prices, and tags. The tags help determine similar products and enable users of the herein described building development system to filter the database.

Via the administration user interface 105, a number of different accounts may be set up. For example, a builder account may be set up via the administration user interface 105 for access by a building firm via a builder user interface 109. Alternatively, a client account may be set up via the administration user interface 105 or via the builder user interface 109. An administration account accessible via the administration user interface 105 provides the ability to change prices associated with the different building products and to archive and un-archive various building projects as described herein. Builder accounts have limited permissions where the builder account is accessible via the builder user interface 109. The information provided to customers via the client account is limited again based on limitations set using the builder accounts or administration accounts via the builder user interface. Pricing of one or more products may be unique to each builder. Further, pricing of one or more products may also be unique to each customer (i.e. property owner).

[0060] The administration account keeps track of all the users by name and a unique ID. All users associated with a builder account accessible via a builder user interface 109 share the same assets such as the offered products database, house and room packages and product groups as described in more detail below. The term “house” is understood to mean any suitable property and may include an apartment, commercial building, townhouse, villa, single room or pre-built pod, for example.

[0061] Each of the user interfaces (105, 109, 103) display information via a dashboard. The server 1300 is arranged to communicate the full selection of building products within the building product database 103 to the builder user interface 109 via the network 107 for display on the dashboard at the builder user interface 109. As described in more detail below, the user of the builder user interface 109 may select various products from the building product database 103 as a subset of the building products for provision to the builder database 111. Further, the server also enables the builder user interface to modify the subset of building products by enabling one or more building products of the full selection of building products to be selected for addition to the subset, enabling one or more building products of the subset to be selected for removal from the subset, or a combination of both. That is, the server 1300 may communicate both the full selection of the building products listed in the building product database 103 as well as the subset of building products listed in the builder database 111 to the builder user interface 109 via the network 107. It will also be understood that the administrator may initially preload existing products into the builder database as a starting point for the builder.

[0062] The server 1300 modifies and/or creates the subset of building products within the builder database via the subset modification module 121. That is, the subset modification module 121 receives via the processor 1305 of the server 1300 instructions from the builder user interface 109 data entered by a user via the dashboard. Subsequently, the subset modification module 121 passes instructions to the processor 1305 which then modifies the builder database 111 via the I/O ports 1308 by accessing data from the building product database 103, modifying data on the builder database 111, or deleting data on the builder database 111.

[0063] Figures 2A through to 2D show a sequence of steps and actions that a user may take via the builder user interface 109. The builder user interface images and information are generated by the server 1300. As shown on Figure 2A, a selection of packages and products offered by the system may be accessed via the builder user interface 109. Within the selection of packages are house packages and room packages. It will be understood that the house packages may include any type of property package including houses, apartments, commercial buildings, townhouses, villas, single rooms or pre-built pods, for example. When selecting the room package option, the user may create a new room package or view existing room packages. When selecting or creating a new room package, the user may then manage that room package via the builder user interface 109.

[0064] The user may also access product groups via the builder user interface 109. The user may view an existing product group or create a new product group. The product group may then be managed via the builder user interface 109.

[0065] The user may also access products via the builder user interface 109 as shown in Fig. 2B. The user may search for a specific product using the brand, category or subtype of the product, for example. Alternatively, the user may view or filter the products using the brand, category or subtype, for example. Further, the user may manage the database of the products via the user interface 109. A selection of the products or results that have been searched or viewed and/or filtered may then be displayed on the user interface 109 in order to provide a listing of the products.

[0066] As shown in Figure 2C, the user via the builder user interface 109 may define or modify a customer price, or extra fees associated with a particular product. In addition, the user may attach notes to a particular product. That is, the cost module 127 at the server is arranged to enable the costs associated with a sub-set of building products to be modified at the builder user interface 109, and subsequently store the modified costs in the builder’s database 111.

For example, the user at the builder user interface 109 may modify the costs in order to factor in additional labour costs and fees, delivery costs and fees, and/or installation costs and fees associated with a particular product, the cost module 127 retrieves these cost values from the builder user interface and stores them against the relevant product within the builder’s database 111. Also, the additional installation, delivery and/or labour costs may be automatically retrieved from the builder’s database. Further, the system may calculate different costs for upgrading between packages or adding and/or removing products from packages.

[0067] As shown in Figure 2D, description and imagery, codes and recommended retail prices (or custom pricing), product specifications, technical documents, similar products, and associated tags may be identified and defined by the building product supplier.

[0068] Figures 3A through to 3K show example builder user interface displays as generated by the server 1300 and displayed on the builder user interface 109. Figure 3A shows a number of options available for selection to a user of the builder user interface. The options include accessing a login screen for entering the user name and password of the user in order to access the dashboard associated with the builder user interface. This user interface enables the user to access, modify and create a product database (builder database 111), enables the user to create and access packages and product groups, enables the user to create and access a houses section and enables the user to create and access a new customer and product section.

[0069] Figure 3B shows a user interface display after the user has selected an option for accessing and setting up a builder database 111 from the full range of available products in the building product database 103. A listing of the products and offerings available to the user is displayed. The user may change the displayed or listed products by selecting the brand, range, product type or room associated with the products. Further, the user may select specific items within specific rooms. For example, the user may select the room category “bathroom” and then select the option to display all bathroom products. Alternatively, the user may choose to select a specific type of bathroom product such as basins, basin taps, toilet suites, showers, shower taps, baths, bath taps, bidets, bidet taps, toilet roll holders, towel rails, towel rings, robe hooks, soap dishes, tooth brush holders, toilet brush holders and glass shelves, for example. As shown in Figure 3C, the user may select or filter the products based on particular categories, tags or descriptions. For example, the product type “basins” may be filtered according to the basin shape and number of tap holes.

[0070] As shown in Figure 3D, the user has selected to filter the basins by a “square” shape and has selected three of the square basins for inclusion in the builder database 111. Further, as shown in Figure 3E, the user has selected particular varieties of certain products where there is more than one variety available. In situations where only one variety of the product is available, the screenshot shown in Figure 3E is not made available. As a further example, in Figure 3F the user has selected a product type “shower” and in particular the sub product type “shower systems”, “showers on rails” and “handheld showers”. This causes the server to retrieve these items from the building product database 103 for selection and inclusion into the builder database 111. As shown in Figure 3G the user has selected the product type baths and selects a particular range from the range of different baths available from the building product database 103 for inclusion into the builder database 111. The individual items selected are chosen from the building product database 103 and are created as a subset of the building products in the building product database to form a subset of building products stored within the builder database 111.

[0071] The system also allows a builder as a user to create rooms and add the number and/or type of fittings in each room. Subsequently, the user may assign products to each of the fitting types.

[0072] After the user has made various selections of building products, if the builder database 111 does not include one or more products within a particular product category for a defined room or a defined property, the server automatically detects that a product is not listed and displays a warning message requesting the user to add additional products to that product category. That is, the server runs a process to determine whether one or more products or product categories associated with a defined room or a defined property are empty, and upon a positive determination, generates a warning message for display on the builder user interface.

[0073] After receiving a warning message, as shown in Figure 3H, the user may select the manage icon and then select a number of products for that category as shown in Figure 3I and 3J. The selected products from the building product database 103 are then shown in the user interface as a subset of the building products within the building product database 103. The selected items are stored within a separate database, i.e. within the builder database 111.

[0074] Figs. 4A - 4K show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating building product packages. The user interface is generated by the server 1300 and displayed on the builder user interface 109. Figure 4A shows the user interface 109 wherein the user has selected the packages and product group’s option. As discussed earlier, according to this example, two package types are available in the form of a house (i.e. property) type package and a room type package. These two types of packages are called product packages. Within these product packages, the user interface enables a user to access the server in order to create the packages from the subset of building products made available from the created builder database 111.

[0075] According to this example, a pre-set number of house packages are made available based on different price ranges. That is, a bronze package, a silver package and a gold package are made available. Each of these packages includes a group of building products associated with a property according to a predefined value for the property package. Further, each package may have a product option for each product type assigned to a particular room.

[0076] It will be understood that there may be more than three different packages made available and that these packages may be defined using any suitable nomenclature.

[0077] Further, a number of room packages are also made available for selection and alteration by the user via the builder user interface 109. According to this example, four predetermined packages are available for each individual room listed in the system. For example, the rooms may be a master en-suite, main bathroom, guest bathroom, kitchen, alfresco area, butler’s pantry and laundry. It will be understood that any other number of rooms may also be added as part of the room packages. According to this example, four predetermined room packages are available for each room including a bronze package, a silver package, a gold package and a platinum package. Each of these room packages includes a group of building products associated with a room type according to a predefined value for the room package.

[0078] Also available via the selection on the user interface are a number of product groups as and when they are created by the user, as discussed herein in more detail.

[0079] After selecting the option to add a house package as shown in Figure 4B, the user is shown a list of the rooms that have been set up within the system for that particular type of house (or property). That is, the property design is retrieved and loaded into the system and the selected packages are linked to the rooms associated with that property design. In this example, the defined rooms are the master en-suite, main bathroom and guest bathroom. In order to associate one or more products with each defined room, the user may select the option to load from a predefined room package, where the room package name is entered into the system. In this example, the room package entered is the platinum room package. Upon selecting the room package, the user interface 109 connects to the server 1300 and obtains the applicable products associated with the predefined room package from the builder database 111. As shown in Figure 4D, the products associated with the platinum house package for the master en-suite, main bathroom and guest bathroom are listed.

[0080] The user via the builder user interface 109 may then manage the list of products associated with each of the rooms by selecting the manage icon shown in Figure 4D. Referring to Figure 4E, the user has the option to remove one or more products listed in each of the rooms. Upon making the relevant selections and choices, the user may select the icon “done”. Further, the user is also able to add further products into each room for a particular package. It will be noted that for each house package, a predetermined price is allocated to that package. For example, as shown in Figure 4D and in Figure 4E the predetermined price is listed as $5,990.00. This predetermined price is selling independent of the products listed in the package and is the actual price that a client would pay upon selecting that particular package regardless of the actual selection of products for each room in the property.

[0081] Referring to Figure 4F, the user at the user interface 109 may choose an option to add an additional room package. As shown in Figure 4G, the user may select one or more products for inclusion in the selected room, in this case the guest bathroom, for addition to the room package. That is, the user may select a particular product type and then, as shown in Figure 4H, select a particular product within that product type for inclusion in the room package.

Further, after selecting a particular product, the user may, via the user interface 109, also select a particular variety of that product where there are one more varieties for the product selected. After applying the selected variety option as show in Figure 4I, the user then enters details of the room package as shown in Figure 4J for example. In this example, a gold room package with a package price of $990.00 is recorded and stored via the network in the builder database 111 by the server 1300. As can be seen in Figure 4K, the updated room package for the guest bathroom is indicated as a gold package on the user interface 109.

[0082] The building product package module 123 in the server 1300 operates to enable the user to select, choose and modify products for inclusion within, removal from and deletion from a product package as described herein, where the one or more product packages are created from the sub-set of building products based on the selections that are made via the builder user interface. It will also be understood that the selections may also be made via the administrator’s user interface 105. Further, the server is arranged to enable the one or more product packages to be either i) preselected from the sub-set of building products by the server or ii) selected via the computing device, or a combination thereof. The product packages may include one or more property packages and one or more room packages. The one or more property packages may group the building products associated with a property according to a predefined value for the property package and the one or more room packages may group the building products associated with a room according to a predefined value for the room package. The one or more property packages may be based on building products required for a set of defined rooms in a defined property. The one or more room packages may be based on building products required for a defined room in a property.

[0083] As shown in Figure 4K, the user via the user interface 109 may choose an option to add a product group by selecting the add product group plus icon.

[0084] Referring to Figures 5A through 5F, an explanation of how a product group may be created is provided with reference to various user interface screenshots. The user interface is generated by the server 1300 and displayed on the builder user interface 109. The user may select an option to add a product to a group as shown in Figure 5A. In order to create a product group, the user first chooses a room that is applicable to the product group and then may browse the products within the builder database 111 to find relevant products for the product group. For example, the user may search via a text search or browse using various filters. For example, as shown in Figure 5C the user may select all bathroom products and then identify one or more bathroom products from those listed to be included within the product group. In this example, the user has selected to identify a number of products by a product range name “LIANO”. Then within the retrieved selection of products from the builder database, the user may select one or more products to be added to the product group.

[0085] Further products may be added to the product group, as shown in Figure 5D. For example, the user may select a number of toilet suites from the full range of toilet suites from the builder database by filtering out products that the user does not want to be included within the product group. For example, the user may select a particular type of toilet suite that has a concealed cistern as shown in Figure 5D. Upon selecting the add icon the products selected are added to the product group. As shown in Figure 5E, all the selected products are listed and the user is able to enter a product group name, e.g. “concealed toilets”. Upon selecting the save icon, the product group is saved and is then subsequently displayed on the user interface 109 as shown in Figure 5F under the heading “product groups”.

[0086] Therefore, the product grouping module 125 of the server 1300 is arranged to create one or more product groups from the sub-set of building products based on selections made at the computing device upon which the builder user interface 109 is accessed. The product groups are selected based on a common feature associated with the building products, such as a product type, product category, associated product tag, product feature etc.

[0087] Figs. 6A to 6K show screenshots of a user interface generated by a server for creating house (or property) packages. The user interface is generated by the server 1300 and displayed on the builder user interface 109.

[0088] After selecting the option to create a house package as shown in Figure 6A, the user is presented with the screen shown in Figure 6B via the user interface 109. This screen lists all the houses that have been created using the building development system. The user is able to select the “add house” icon in order to create a new house.

[0089] As shown in Figure 6C, a new house may be created by adding in the house name. Further, a description may be provided to give a brief preview of the properties of the house or property. Further, the house size may be entered. Also, the number of storeys associated with the house may be provided. The number of bedrooms may also be added as part of the house details. Finally, a list of all the rooms within the house may be identified using a check box system for the common types of rooms. Further, additional rooms may be added by typing in ad-hoc names for the rooms. Optionally, each of the rooms may be renamed by the user of the system. A cover photo and/or a floor plan may be uploaded to the system for inclusion in the home design.

[0090] In this example, a new house “Madison” is created and is shown in Figure 6D with a list of the selected rooms provided including a number of product types. The user is able to delete or add additional product types for each room via the user interface 109. For example, as shown in Fig. 6E, the user may select the icon “add another” under the “powder room” tab to add an additional product such as a toilet brush holder. This enables the user to identify all of the set fittings for each of the rooms within the particular defined house.

[0091] As shown in Figure 6F, the user may identify the set offerings for the entire house package as well as for individual room packages for each room, and also for product groups that have been set up using the system.

[0092] According to one example, the user may make available a preselected number of house packages, a preselected number of room packages and a preselected number of product groups for the defined house that has been created. These preselected packages then become available for browsing by a customer for them to choose their desired products for their house. That is, the server is arranged to limit visibility of building products in a sub-set of building products in one or more property packages for a selected property owner as described in more detail herein.

[0093] Figure 6G shows the subsequent display of the icon for the newly created house “Madison”. Upon selection of the icon, all the details for that house are display as shown in Figure 6H.

[0094] As shown in Figure 61, the user may adjust the content visibility for the content associated with products for that particular product property. For example, the user may select what particular product types and brands, or ranges are visible for clients who are going to view the products for that home. The user first selects a number of categories in order to provide a list of particular products associated with those categories and then select or deselect particular products that are to be made available for viewing by the customer viewing the products for the house.

[0095] As shown in Figure 6J, the product visibility section enables the user to determine what additional products the customer may have access to outside of the offered packages. That is, additional products that are not part of the defined packages may be added to the listing for a particular home design. This additional product selection may be carried out by either searching for a particular product name or any other applicable search term. Alternatively, the user may filter a list of products to add them to the additional offerings.

[0096] As shown in Figure 6K, the products listed for a particular home design are identified with an “eye” icon to indicate whether they will be visible or not visible to the customer when viewing the products for the home design. It will be understood that any other suitable icons may be used.

[0097] Figures 7 A through to 70 provide a number of user interface displays available on the builder user interface 109 for setting up a new customer and home project. The user interface is generated by the server 1300 and displayed on the builder user interface 109. Upon entering this option, a full list of already defined customer names and their associated ID’s, address, phone number and emails is provided. In order to add a new customer, the user of the builder user interface 109 selects the “new customer” icon, as shown in Figure 7B.

[0098] As shown in Figure 7C, the customer details may be entered and stored in the builder database 111 via the server 1300 and the network 107. The customer details may include the customer name, the account ID, the address of the customer, relevant phone numbers and email addresses. Further, login details may be created including a user name and a temporary password. The information is then saved and stored securely in the builder database 111. As shown in Figure 7D, a project property is then added and associated with that new user. As shown in Figure 7E, the identification of the project is provided along with the project property address and the date that the products for the property are to be selected. In addition, a consultant and plumber name may be added. It will be understood that any other suitable details may also be added at this stage to outline all the details of the associated project.

[0099] The home design is then identified in a display as shown in Figure 7F. Where the end design is the indicated house selected in the display shown in Figure 7D. In this example, the house chosen is the Madison house. Upon saving these options, a list of the products and packages associated with each room are displayed as shown in Figure 7G. The user may amend via the user interface 109 the type of house package that is to be associated with each room. Further, they may also identify an overall house package. This information is then saved and stored in the builder database 111 via the server 1300 and network 107. Therefore, for each room within the house, the builder user interface 109 may be used to identify a predefined package of products for that particular room. The predefined package of products is selected as a portion of the subset of builder products stored in the builder’s database, which itself is a subset of the building product database 103. Each of the rooms may have a different monetary valued package associated with it. Further, once the selected package is chosen for a particular room, the relevant products are retrieved from the builder database 111 via the server 1300 and network 107 and populated into the display for display via the user interface 109, as shown in Figure 7H with reference to the powder room.

[00100] Upon saving the room package associated with the Madison home project for the customer, a notification is displayed as shown in Figure 7I identifying the relevant fittings that are missing from particular rooms for that particular property. That is, the sever 1300 monitors the number of products and types of products associated with each individual room and compares this to a preselected minimum type and number of products associated with those rooms. If the selected products do not match the predefined minimum required products that a warning or notification is displayed identifying what products are missing. For example, as shown in Figure 7I two fittings are missing from the master on-suite, one fitting is missing from the powder room and two fittings are missing from the butler’s pantry. The system does not allow the user to continue until all the rooms have been completed with all of the minimum required products. For example, as shown in Figure 7H, under the powder room section, a displayed area for a toilet brush holder does not identify a defined toilet brush holder for the powder room. Therefore, the warning message as shown in Figure 7I is displayed. Upon selecting a product for the toilet brush holder via the screen shown in Figure 7J and saving this information, the user is able to continue to the screen shown in Figure 7K. Here the user of the builder user interface 109 is able to select the package options for each individual room and also for the house and product groups. Figure 7L shows a screenshot of a user interface available to a user when an upgrade option is available for a package.

[00101] Figures 7M and 7N show a screenshot of a user interface available to a user for setting the visibility of various products that are available from the builder’s database. Figure 7M shows all the available products associated with towel rails, for example. Figure 7N shows two of the products being hidden (i.e. being made non-visible) from the end-user, i.e. the property owner as indicated by the “eye” icon.

[00102] Figure 70 shows a screenshot of a user interface enabling a user to manage specific accounts, such as a particular property or a particular property owner.

[00103] Once all of the selections have been made for a particular home project, the builder database has been setup to identify a subset of a subset of products associated with the full list of products in the building product database 103. That is, a portion of the subset of builder database products is selected for provision to a customer associated with a property project.

[00104] Figures 8A through to 8H show a number of screenshots associated with a client’s user interface 113 whereby a customer is able to select from the portion of the subset of products via the server 1300 and the network 107. The user interface is generated by the server 1300 and displayed on the client user interface 113.

[00105] A number of options are displayed on the screen as shown in Figure 8A for the customer to select. Option number 1 enables the customer to provide information and for the system to provide inspiration to the customers. Option number 2 enables the customer to view the current selections. Option number 3 enables the customer to look through their package options. Option number 4 enables the customer to view a list of short listed products.

[00106] As shown in Figure 8B, certain information is provided on the screen via the client’s user interface 113 to enable the customer to make informed decisions about which products they may want to include within their home project. For example, the information may include various articles about certain rooms and current trends in how to design and fit out a particular room. The system detects which information is accessed and the time spent being viewed in order to link the products that are associated with the accessed information with a desired (or desirable) group of products for the customer. The products in the desirable group may then be highlighted to the customer when they proceed to the product selection stage. That is, only specific relevant content identified by the system may be made available to the customer (property owner) based on their detected preferences.

[00107] A survey is also provided to enable the system to create a profile for the user and to identify the types of products that the user may like. The survey may include a number of different questions to identify the types of products that are suitable, or may be used to enable the customer to select one or more images from a selection of images. Any products that form part of the package provided to the client are highlighted when the client reviews their product selection. Again, the system detects which products may be desirable based on the survey answers. The products in the desirable group may then be highlighted to the customer when they proceed to the product selection stage. That is, one or more desirable products, product categories, product types, product groups may be linked to the customer’s account. Therefore, the system can limit visibility of building products in a sub-set of building products based on a profile associated with the selected property owner, where the profile is generated by the building development system.

[00108] For example, as shown in Figure 8B, a match for pull down laundry mixers has been determined based on the answers provided by the client when being surveyed and looking for inspiration. Therefore, an icon indicating that pull down laundry mixes has been recommended for that client is displayed.

[00109] Figure 8C shows a screenshot of the various packages available for individual rooms for the entire house. The user is able to select and compare various products within the packages or to alter the different packages available for a particular room. At each stage, the total package cost for the room and total cost for the house project is calculated and displayed. As shown in Figure 8D, the user may view individual rooms and products within those rooms. Again, the user may compare various products listed for those rooms.

[00110] Figure 8F shows a screenshot of a user interface displaying the created house package options. In this example, a silver room package, gold room package and platinum room package are available for a particular house package. Figure 8G shows a product shortlist that has been created by either the builder or the property owner. This provides the ability to compare products easily between packages and switch products between packages.

[00111] In Figure 8H, a screenshot is provided indicating the changes that have been made to the property settings and indicate what products have been removed and which products have replaced the removed products.

[00112] The system may automatically detect and record the amount of time that the customer spends looking at one or more of the room or home packages. This timing information may be used to finalise the full listing of the products for a particular home project.

[00113] Therefore, the client (or customer) via the client’s user interface 113 may go through various packages that were preselected via the builder user interface 109 for that particular property and for that particular client. The user may modify individual packages as well as comparing certain products with other products to make a detailed selection in a swift manner. Products are linked to packages and those packages are linked to property designs. A property design may also have multiple packages attached to it.

[00114] Further, if any issues occur after installation of a product for a particular home project, the details of the faulty product may be easily supplied to the entity responsible for rectifying the problem.

[00115] In addition, a plumber (or other skilled work person) may use the database created through these processes and create a new database if customers (property owners) decide to renovate the property in the future. This provides a simple mechanism by which building products may be replaced or upgraded.

[00116] As explained above, the sub-set of building products may be selected by the server from the full selection of building products automatically based on previous building product sales data. Further, the building products may be selected by the server from the full selection of building products automatically based on existing or new sales contracts or the type of builder. For example, the type of builder may be defined according to value of their business with the building product supplier, a perceived quality level such as “high-end”, or the general size of their business such as small, medium or large.

[00117] The herein described system provides various advantages such as calculating and identifying a price for the property owner that is the actual price (i.e. an accurate price) including any builder’s margin and installation costs.

[00118] The herein described system enables user to clearly identify and see which products are available across various packages and rooms in a property.

[00119] The herein described system provides a mechanism to enable builders to easily and efficiently claim rebates from the supplier of the building products via an automatic calculation based on the products selected by the property owner. For example, a rebate amount associated with each or a number of products is calculated from the list of products selected by the property owner.

[00120] The herein described system records products against their associated warranties and after sales & service teams, thus enabling the identification of the relevant information for the products in the property when the property owner calls for service of a product.

[00121] The herein described system provides a system incorporating records to enable annual service and maintenance work to be easily carried out by the product suppliers.

[00122] The herein described system solves forecasting problems for product providers by making delivery times more accurate for builders.

[00123] The herein described system also provides product suggestions based on a property owner’s lifestyle and so solves the problem of the property owner having too much choice of products during the selection stage.

[00124] The herein described system provides reminders to the property owner and builder to enable them to complete the required tasks before the day the products are selected.

[00125] The herein described system also reduces the number of last minute changes being made by the property owner as the product selection process is made very clear to the property owner.

[00126] The herein described system provides an easy way for property owners to upgrade products.

[00127] The herein described system ensures that the price seen by the consumer is the actual price including the builder’s margin and installation costs.

[00128] The herein described system reduces the number and size of quotes a building product merchant may need to provide to the builders, as the building product merchant may provide a quote based on the data obtained directly from the builders database. This can therefore clean up the system for all parties involved.

[00129] The herein described system also reduces the complexity and improves communication between all parties involved with regard to changing prices, and the deletion or addition of products.

Industrial Applicability [00130] The arrangements described are applicable to the computer and data processing industries and particularly for the building development industry.

[00131] The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.

[00132] In the context of this specification, the word “comprising” means “including principally but not necessarily solely” or “having” or “including”, and not “consisting only of”. Variations of the word "comprising", such as “comprise” and “comprises” have correspondingly varied meanings.

Claims (26)

1. CLAIMS:

   1. A building development system for enabling building products to be selected for a property, the system comprising a server in communication with a product database and a builder’s database, wherein the product database contains a full selection of building products, and the builder’s database contains a sub-set of building products for a plurality of new properties, wherein the sub-set of building products is selected from the full selection of building products, wherein the server is arranged to communicate the full selection and sub-set of building products to a computing device to enable the modification of the sub-set of building products by one or both of i) enabling one or more building products of the full selection to be selected for addition to the sub-set and ii) enabling one or more building products of the sub-set to be selected for removal from the sub-set.
2. 2. The building development system of claim 1, wherein the sub-set of building products is selected by the server from the full selection of building products automatically based on one or more of i) previous building product sales data, ii) existing or new sales contracts and iii) type of builder.
3. 3. The building development system of claim 1, wherein the server is further arranged to enable the sub-set of building products to be modified by enabling the modification of the costs associated with one or more of the building products within the sub-set and storing the modified costs in the builder’s database.
4. 4. The building development system of claim 3, wherein the modification of costs is enabled for the purposes of incorporating labour, delivery and/or installation fees.
5. 5. The building development system of claim 1, wherein the server is further arranged to create one or more product packages from the sub-set of building products based on selections made at the computing device.
6. 6. The building development system of claim 5, wherein the server is arranged to enable the one or more product packages to be either i) preselected from the sub-set of building products by the server or ii) selected via the computing device, or a combination thereof.
7. 7. The building development system of claim 6, wherein the product packages include one or more property packages and one or more room packages, wherein the one or more property packages group the building products associated with a property according to a predefined value for the property package and the one or more room packages group the building products associated with a room according to a predefined value for the room package.
8. 8. The building development system of claim 7, wherein the one or more property packages are based on building products required for a set of defined rooms in a defined property.
9. 9. The building development system of claim 7, wherein the one or more room packages are based on building products required for a defined room in a property.
10. 10. The building development system of claim 1, wherein the server is further arranged to create one or more product groups from the sub-set of building products based on selections made at the computing device, wherein the product groups are selected based on a common feature associated with the building products.
11. 11. The building development system of claim 1, wherein the server is further arranged to automatically detect products that are missing from a room package based on a defined property package.
12. 12. The building development system of claim 1, wherein the server is further arranged to limit visibility of building products in the sub-set of building products in one or more property packages for a selected property owner.
13. 13. The building development system of claim 12, wherein the server is arranged to limit visibility of building products in the sub-set of building products based on a profile associated with the selected property owner, where the profile is generated by the building development system.
14. 14. A building development method for enabling building products to be selected for a property comprising the steps of: providing a product database containing a full selection of building products, providing a building database containing a sub-set of building products for a plurality of new properties selected from the full selection of building products, communicating the full selection and sub-set of building products to a computing device to enable the modification of the sub-set of building products by one or both of i) enabling one or more building products of the full selection to be selected for addition to the sub-set and ii) enabling one or more building products of the sub-set to be selected for removal from the sub-set.
15. 15. The building development method of claim 14, wherein the sub-set of building products is selected by the server from the full selection of building products automatically based on one or more of i) previous building product sales data, ii) existing or new sales contracts and iii) type of builder.
16. 16. The building development method of claim 14 further comprising the step of modifying the sub-set of building products by enabling the modification of the costs associated with one or more of the building products within the sub-set and storing the modified costs in the builder’s database.
17. 17. The building development method of claim 16, wherein the modification of costs is enabled for the purposes of incorporating labour, delivery and/or installation fees.
18. 18. The building development method of claim 14 further comprising the step of creating one or more product packages from the sub-set of building products based on selections made at the computing device.
19. 19. The building development method of claim 18 further comprising the step of enabling the one or more product packages to be either i) preselected from the sub-set of building products by the server or ii) selected via the computing device, or a combination thereof.
20. 20. The building development method of claim 18, wherein the product packages include one or more property packages and one or more room packages, wherein the one or more property packages group the building products associated with a property according to a predefined value for the property package and the one or more room packages group the building products associated with a room according to a predefined value for the room package.
21. 21. The building development method of claim 20, wherein the one or more property packages are based on building products required for a set of defined rooms in a defined property.
22. 22. The building development method of claim 20, wherein the one or more room packages are based on building products required for a defined room in a property.
23. 23. The building development method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of creating one or more product groups from the sub-set of building products based on selections made at the computing device, wherein the product groups are selected based on a common feature associated with the building products.
24. 24. The building development method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of automatically detecting products that are missing from a room package based on a defined property package.
25. 25. The building development method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of limiting visibility of building products in the sub-set of building products in one or more property packages for a selected property owner.
26. 26. The building development method of claim 25, further comprising the step of limiting visibility of building products in the sub-set of building products based on a profile associated with the selected property owner, where the profile is generated by the building development system.