When someone talks about an Information System for construction. You many times hear BIM, BIM, BIM, BIM, BIMMITY, BIM as the answers. Reminds me of the Monty Python skit where everything has SPAM.
Thinking BIM will solve your information problems in a construction project is short sighted. Why? If you don’t consider the quality of the data and how you reconcile perception issues of the data, then you can end up with an Information system that is not as trustworthy as you expect.
Rejected information is the result of a conscious determination that the information is not valid based on differences of opinion of perceived untruth.
If this topic has your interest, then you may enjoy reading “The Collective Potential” by Andreas Phelps. I’ve traded some e-mail with Andreas and have read book quickly, and reading it again. The fun I am having is testing answers on how to address the issues that Andreas brings up. So far, I haven’t been stumped yet. The nice thing of spending 26 years at HP, Apple, and Microsoft, and now 8 years on my own, there are lots of people I know to chat about information systems. I haven’t had the urge to write a book, but this may be a subject that may get me to write a longer paper.
The Collective Potential: A Holistic Approach to Managing Information Flow in Collaborative Design and Construction Environments Paperback
Information flow is the foundation of any project. However, the major limiting factor is not the lack of information, but the inability to effectively integrate useful information into a project. By bringing together the fields of organizational science, organizational behavior, and information science, this book explores the interplay of social, technical, and technological factors influencing information flow. By understanding these concepts, managers can strategically leverage the social and technical characteristics of their project team, processes, and tools to enable positive iterations of trust and learning. These serve as the basis for effective information flow and result in significant improvements in information sharing, decision-making, and project outcomes. This unique perspective provides holistic insights regarding the management of team interactions, project planning, and the overarching structure and strategies used within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. These findings have significant implications for the: 1) The types of competencies and tools needed in the AEC industry; 2) How the industry approaches management and integration; and 3) The types of organizational structures and innovative strategies that will allow teams to make the best use of their valuable knowledge and realize their greatest collective potential.