How is Building Information Modeling Influenced by Project Complexity?

Abstract

Virtual design and construction of buildings and architectural spaces require extensive collaboration among a diverse set of design professionals. The authors analyze e-collaboration performance in two construction projects of differing complexity, to gain an understanding of how collaborative design based on building information modeling (BIM) is influenced by the complexity of the building project. The findings suggest that the perceived business value of BIM depends on project complexity and that BIM-based collaboration does not yield unconditional positive implications for all types of construction projects. The authors argue that current practice would benefit from a more structured approach to building business cases for e-collaboration, comprising the following aspects: 1) a thorough assessment of BIM's potential benefits based on the complexity of the project; 2) an assessment of all designers' collaborative BIM capabilities and maturity; 3) a reliable cost estimate for full-scale BIM e-collaboration; and 4) a cost benefit analysis to identify the business value of BIM-based e-collaboration. In addition, a systematic approach to collaboration engineering would be required to develop e-collaboration environments customized for the information needs of a specific project.