Translating Agile Principles into BIM – Agile BIM Part 9/10

Early delivery of valuable software

BIM, particularly the 3D model, allows for visualizing ideas and their various options to the client, making it easier to understand the investor’s expectations and agree on project goals and success criteria. Monitoring project development using the model can begin at a very early stage, allowing active investor participation and early-stage response. The BIM model and CDE platform provide access to up-to-date information, efficient communication, and solutions tailored to the real expectations of the client.

Readiness for changes in late stages

• Changes are inevitable and part of the specifics of construction investments. They can result from changes in investor requirements, design errors, construction site situations, business conditions, etc. Changes at later stages are considered a risk for increased costs and project delays.
• BIM allows for precise assessment of change consequences, especially during construction. The client/investor remains aware of the situation and can make decisions on further actions.
• A well-developed BIM model visualizes the chain of changes resulting from actions taken and automatically updates all related documents (schedules, drawings, etc.).
• BIM facilitates the analysis of possible changes during construction if the elements in the BIM model consistently have assigned construction phase parameters.

Frequent delivery of functioning software – similarity of Agile in BIM

• Using BIM, i.e., 3D models and the common data environment (CDE), facilitates systematic and productive interactions with the client and other stakeholders. The goal is primarily to obtain quick feedback and make necessary changes at the earliest project stages.
• The client/investor sees the project continuously and can provide comments directly related to the available 3D model. Virtual presentations, 3D walks, virtual reality, and augmented reality help the investor better understand the designers’ intentions. The process requires some preparation from the client/investor but ensures solid information and better mutual understanding.
• This principle indirectly helps reduce the number of tasks being performed simultaneously and the amount of “almost finished” work. According to Agile principles, “almost finished” means “not done.”

Close collaboration of business and development teams

• Agile methods work through short feedback loops, efficient communication, and understanding the needs of all project stakeholders. In traditional management approaches, not all necessary information is passed to the project teams, causing them not to fully understand the business or client’s intentions and not realize the impact of individual project decisions on the whole.
• The best solution to break information barriers and improve understanding and open communication is to create a space for multi-disciplinary teams to work together (including cost estimators, planners, procurement, logistics, etc.). The transparency provided by BIM and the opportunities opened by the common data environment (CDE) create a friendly environment for this.

• Assign projects to motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done.
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly

Assigning projects to motivated individuals

• The main factors blocking project agility and team creativity are control and lack of trust from management. According to Agile principles, management’s role should be limited to supporting the team, ensuring all elements necessary for work, and removing obstacles.
• The transparency of the BIM model builds trust among team members. Mistakes are unavoidable, but the fear of seeking culprits should not paralyze the team or cause them to hide or delay errors. Instead, the focus should be on striving for self-reliance, self-organization, and learning from mistakes.

Effective communication in teams using Agile in BIM

• The nature of construction investments requires the collaboration of specialists from various fields. In such a complex environment, it is crucial to ensure quick feedback and proper understanding of intentions. Where possible, direct conversations or videoconferences should be used, ensuring they do not turn into long and tedious meetings.
• Open communication significantly raises participants’ awareness of the conditions and reasons for adopting specific solutions by different disciplines. For example, if during coordination, a constructor receives feedback on allowable proportions of ventilation duct sections or installation restrictions, they can better select necessary solutions in the structural layout.

BIM model as a measure of progress

• The BIM model is developed from the concept phase to the use phase. It is essential to consider and define what should be in the model to obtain valuable feedback. It is crucial to emphasize that it is about valuable, not any feedback. This can be achieved by delivering a finished, not almost finished BIM model at a defined level of detail for geometric and non-geometric information.
• The transparency of the BIM process allows access to current and accurate data on project progress, completeness, and compliance with adopted standards. This enables quick verification of how suitable the presented BIM model is for further work stages (e.g., completeness of information needed for inter-disciplinary coordination).
• There are many metrics to monitor project progress, and it is worth using them, but they should not be the ultimate goal. Working in line with Agile, the effect of the team’s work is more important than the number of indicators achieved.

• Agile processes promote sustainable development. All participants should be able to maintain a constant work pace.
• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams

Sustainable development and self-organizing teams

• Construction projects involve highly qualified, knowledgeable, and experienced people who know their work well. Their creativity should be unleashed by creating an appropriate work environment. Avoid restricting them by imposing specific solutions, lengthy approval paths for changes, excessive control, or constant fault-finding.
• Sustainable, self-organizing teams with clearly defined roles and responsibilities can regulate the scope and pace of work. They can distribute tasks among themselves within available time and resources and find creative solutions to problems.
• The role of the leader/coordinator is to create a proper work environment and support the team in ensuring the model’s completeness and compliance with adopted standards. However, such a leader should be a motivator and refrain from imposing their solutions or excessive control.
• A significant issue in traditionally managed construction projects is the practice of shifting responsibility and fault-finding. This causes fear of admitting mistakes or delays, followed by attempts to independently handle the problem. However, despite management’s extensive control, the consequences appear at rather late stages of work advancement. In agile projects, teams are collectively responsible for the entirety of the work performed. They strive to identify potential problems as early as possible and jointly find solutions.

• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
• Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done – is essential

Focus on technical excellence in Agile BIM

• A 3D model created in haste and without careful thought will generate many problems at later stages. Often at the project’s beginning, there is a temptation to quickly demonstrate progress. We hope to fill in the gaps and shortcomings at later stages. However, as the model’s complexity and size increase, hastily patched gaps lead to accumulating and compounding problems. From missing parameters, elements, and documentation to repetitive solutions and completely unnecessary elements. Sometimes it is more cost-effective to create a new model than to correct accumulated errors.
• Focusing on technical excellence does not mean striving for perfection. It means preparing the 3D model, or more broadly, the product in a way that allows for easy and quick future changes.
• Avoid the temptation to expand the project (e.g., 3D model) with elements and solutions that do not bring additional benefits but add more work (additional report, table, chart, view, drawing, etc.).