在设施的设计、施工、调试和运行维护（O&M）的生命周期中，参与者之间可靠和全面的数据交换一直是建筑行业几十年来的目标。长期以来，这一目标一直被认为在协调和执行建筑设计方案的能源性能分析和建筑规划的冲突检测等任务方面具有重要价值。较少关注从施工到运维的数据交换的好处，例如将竣工HVAC&R设备库存和维护数据移交给设施管理部门。当前数据交换实践的不足主要不是因为缺乏技术建筑信息模型（BIM）标准，该标准旨在为软件开发人员和用户提供丰富的数据模式，以便在设施整个生命周期内使用的软件工具之间共享一致、准确的建筑信息。 相反，目前的不足主要是由于缺乏易于采用的工作流程信息交换标准，这些标准清楚地记录了数据要求、人员职责和信息交换流程，以支持设施生命周期内的特定工作流程。迄今为止，ASHRAE尚未积极参与定义和推广与ASHRAE成员工作流程相关的信息交换标准。如果没有ASHRAE的投入，其他组织将继续推动采用可能无法满足ASHRAE成员需求的新数据交换功能。ASHRAE指南20提供了一种为ASHRAE成员量身定制的信息交换标准（在本文件的其余部分中称为用例）编制文档的方法。 该项目旨在启动支持O&M活动的ASHRAE特定用例的文档编制。引文:ASHRAE研究

Reliable and comprehensive data exchange between participants in a facility's life cycle of design, construction, commissioning, and operation and maintenance (O&M) has been a goal of the buildings industry for decades. This goal has long been recognized as providing significant value in coordinating and performing tasks such as energy performance analysis of architectural design alternatives and clash detection for construction planning. Less attention has been given to the benefits of data exchange from construction to O&M, such as handover to facility management of as-built HVAC&R equipment inventory and maintenance data.The inadequacy of current data exchange practice is not primarily due to a lack of technical Building Information Model (BIM) standards developed to provide software developers and users with rich data schemas for sharing consistent, accurate building information between software tools used throughout a facility's life cycle. Rather, the current inadequacy is primarily due to a lack of easily adopted work flow information exchange standards that clearly document the data requirements, personnel responsibilities, and information exchange flows for supporting a specific work process across a facility life cycle.ASHRAE has not to date been active in the process of defining and promoting information exchange standards that are of relevance to ASHRAE member work processes. Without input from ASHRAE, other organizations will continue to drive the adoption of new data exchange capabilities that may not address ASHRAE members' needs. ASHRAE Guideline 20 provides a method for documenting information exchange standards (referred to within the remainder of this document as use cases) that has been tailored to ASHRAE members. This project is an effort to kick-start the documentation of ASHRAE-specific use cases that support O&M activities.