This video covers how to set clear BIM information requirements using structured, visual, and machine-readable workflows. The written guide below explains why spreadsheet-based information management creates risk, how a visual scope grid improves shared understanding, and how the buildingSMART Information Delivery Specification (IDS) prepares your requirements for automated verification downstream.
Why clear information requirements are the foundation of successful delivery
Most delivery failures are not caused by teams that lack skill or effort. They are caused by requirements that are unclear, buried in spreadsheets, or interpreted differently by everyone involved. When TIDPs, MIDPs, Level of Information Need matrices, and Asset Information Requirements are scattered across disconnected spreadsheets, the risk of miscommunication compounds at every stage. Different teams end up with different interpretations of what is needed, when it is due, and how much detail is expected. The result is overlap, gaps, rework, and missed milestones that could have been avoided with a clearer starting point.
Spreadsheets might seem like a fast way to capture requirements, but they introduce significant problems at scale. Inconsistent formatting across tabs and files makes it difficult to compare deliverables. Tracking responsibilities and progress becomes manual and error-prone. There is no clear distinction between what is contractual and what is internal. And critically, there is no way to use that data for automated checking later. Research suggests that 83% of spreadsheets contain at least one error, and when those spreadsheets form the basis of contractual agreements, the consequences are serious.
A structured approach replaces that fragmented process with a dedicated database designed for construction information requirements. Instead of rows and columns that only the person who built them truly understands, a structured database captures task information delivery plans, master information delivery plans, Asset Information Requirements, responsibility matrices, and Level of Information Need expectations in a way that is both human-readable and machine-readable. Teams can collaborate on requirements visually using a visual scope grid that shows what is needed, by when, from whom, and at what level of detail. And because the data is structured, it can be exported as a buildingSMART IDS file for automated verification against model deliverables.
The visual grid is where many teams see the biggest shift. Instead of dense spreadsheet columns that only specialists can parse, a visual layout lets everyone on the project, from delivery teams to executives, instantly understand the requirements. Teams that have adopted this approach report that stakeholders who previously shied away from BIM conversations suddenly engage because they can see the project laid out clearly. That shared understanding is not just useful at the start. It becomes the foundation for accountability and tracking across the entire delivery lifecycle.
How to build structured information requirements
- Replace spreadsheets with a structured database – Move your TIDPs, MIDPs, and requirement matrices into a dedicated scope module where data is stored consistently and accessible to all project stakeholders.
- Define your work breakdown structure – Organise requirements using work breakdown structures and classification systems so that every element, deliverable, and milestone has a clear place in the project hierarchy.
- Set Level of Information Need expectations – Define the geometrical detail and information properties required at each project stage using LOD, LOIN, and LOA frameworks so that teams know exactly what level of development is expected and when.
- Assign responsibilities clearly – Use the responsibility matrix to make it explicit who is delivering each requirement, removing ambiguity about ownership across multi-team delivery.
- Visualise requirements in a grid – Present the scope in a visual format that shows requirements across milestones so that all stakeholders, including non-technical team members, can understand and agree to what has been defined.
- Create a master information delivery plan – Bring everything together in a MIDP that connects task-level requirements to project milestones, providing a single view of what is being delivered across the project.
- Export as IDS for automated verification – Generate a buildingSMART IDS file from your requirements so that downstream model checking tools can automatically validate deliverables against the agreed scope.
What you’ll learn
- Why spreadsheets fail – How disconnected, manually managed requirement spreadsheets introduce inconsistency, errors, and risk that compounds across project milestones.
- Visual scope definition – How a visual grid transforms dense requirement data into something every stakeholder can understand, agree to, and track.
- Machine-readable requirements – How structuring requirements in a database enables export as IDS XML files for automated compliance checking in authoring and verification tools.
- Proactive verification – How defining requirements clearly upfront turns model checking from a reactive, manual process into an automated, proactive workflow.
- Executive engagement – How visual, structured requirements improve buy-in from executives and non-technical stakeholders who may not engage with spreadsheet-based processes.
Common questions
What is the buildingSMART Information Delivery Specification (IDS)?
IDS is an open standard developed by buildingSMART that allows you to define information requirements in a machine-readable XML format. You can specify exactly what properties, values, and classifications must be present in a model deliverable. Because it is an open standard, IDS files can be used across multiple authoring tools and checking platforms, including direct integration with Revit to inject requirements into models during authoring.
Can I still export requirements to Excel or PDF for stakeholders who prefer those formats?
Yes. The structured database approach does not eliminate familiar formats. Requirements can be exported to Excel, PDF, or printed documents for review and contract purposes. The difference is that the source data lives in a structured, version-controlled database rather than in a standalone spreadsheet, so every export reflects the current agreed state of the requirements.
How does this approach reduce the time spent on manual model checking?
When requirements are defined in a structured, machine-readable format from the start, automated checking tools can validate model deliverables against those requirements without manual comparison. Teams have reported eliminating the need for dedicated quality assurance personnel who were previously spending their time manually cross-referencing spreadsheets against model content, freeing those people to focus on more productive tasks.
Do I need to understand XML to use IDS?
No. The IDS creation workflow lets you define requirements visually using the same grid interface that is human-readable and collaborative. The machine-readable XML file is generated automatically from those visual requirements, so you get the benefits of automation without needing to write or edit XML directly.
Explore further
- Defining your information requirements database – Introductory lesson on setting up structured requirements in the Scope module.
- Connecting to bSDD from buildingSMART – How to link your scope to the buildingSMART Data Dictionary for standardised classifications and properties.
- The root of BIM problems: poor information requirements – Why unclear requirements are the most common cause of project delivery failures.
- Part 3: Creating structured contracts – Continue to the next lesson on connecting requirements, documents, and agreements into enforceable contracts.