In recent travels around the BIMosphere, I’ve observed (in spite of the positive momentum and growing number of Building Information Modeling users) many owners, designers, constructors and other members of design-build project teams still wrestling with BIM. Whether it’s inertia, skepticism, opposing forces or some other reason, they face a scary prospect: They run the risk of becoming BIM laggards, late adopters — or worse — BIM losers, if they can’t figure out how to accelerate the rate of BIM adoption and use within their organization. But a few common strategies can get your organization over the BIM wall.
At Holder Construction, we deal conceptually with four different BIM implementation strategies:
- Top Down
- Bottom Up
- Parallel Pilot
- Organic Hybrid
Directly and indirectly, each of these methods dynamically affects the other structural elements of your company. A classic example of this is the McKinsey & Company “7 S” Framework: Strategy, Structure, Staff, Systems, Soft Skills, Style and Shared Values (e.g. Rewards, Culture, Goals, etc):
Strategy: The unique, company-specific approach to BIM change in your context
Structure: The organizational system of your organization, partners and customers
Staff: The people you have in place or will add to brig about BIM
Systems: The support systems you have in place to enable the company
Soft Skills: How do people listen and communicate within your group?
Style: What interpersonal issues affect the interactions surrounding change?
Shared Values: The cultural mores, behaviors and beliefs of your company
For good measure, we will add to additional controls as we analyze these four strategies.
Visibility: How public and obvious is your change approach?
Risk: How risky is the approach to change? Can you stand the loss?
In choosing a BIM approach, be aware of these effects of your chosen method.
Strategy 1: Top Down
A Top Down approach, where BIM change is dictated by company management, is a required process change. To implement such an approach, the company’s senior executives must be universally committed to a companywide BIM transformation. They will fund it via hardware, software and training and will lead the no-turning-back, all-in, mandatory change to BIM as quickly as is possible within their company’s context.
Under this approach, all company associates must change or be gone. This approach can be positive or negative. It can be fear based, and met with negative reinforcement for failure, or be supported by encouragement and rewards.
Strategy: Management dictated
Structure: Formal
Staff: Imported experts and converted staff
Systems: Complete funding and training provided
Soft Skills: Can be soft or hard to match company style
Style: Communication Dictated / One-Way
Shared Values: Your reward for learning the new approach is that you don’t get fired. And you may have transformed your career if you can springboard the company-dictated BIM skill set into a personal strength.
Visibility: High
Risk: High
Strategy 2: Bottom Up
While one of the most prevalent change methods in the BIM revolution, the Bottom Up approach can scarcely be thought of as a method. The reason is that its very nature — the grass-roots, passionate desire for change from hands-on BIM revolutionaries has only small, localized actions as its primary change mode. With little or no management support or awareness, this method can be fraught with frustration and can take longer than the other methods. Unless the BIM fever can spark some flames, start some wildfires and grow to gain some management attention, it runs the risk of being extinguished either by the expiration of the passion and energy of its own advocates (who may too quickly feel unappreciated). Or, it may be consciously dampened by the corporate fire hose of those management-level BIM non-believers who are far too vested in the status quo.
Strategy: Management unaware. Driven from below. Individual grass roots.
Structure: None / Revolution
Staff: Imported Experts / Self Grown Evangelists
Systems: Little / No Funding or Training Provided (Stolen/Borrowed from other sources)
Soft Skills: One-Way Communication and Subterfuge
Style: Individual, Renegade, Secret back room discussions
Shared Values: In championing the new approach you try not to get caught and get fired. If you can develop enough allies you may be able to convince management to listen and fund an incremental change.
Visibility: Low / Concealed / Unseen
Risk: Moderate (to individual)
Strategy 3: Parallel Pilot
A variation of the Top Down approach, with a side serving of Bottom Up, the Parallel Pilot method sets up a company-endorsed pilot project(s) or group to engage in a parallel, test case investigation in BIM implementation to respond to a Bottom Up or Top Down demand. At intervals, this effort is benchmarked against current practices to yield time, schedule or other benefits. This follows the model of Lockheed’s Skunkworks (a stealth group working in a remote location in an integrated way without the constraints of traditional company processes) to test the new approach against the current company practices. Hewlett Packard’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) is another legendary example. In this approach, the company supports and knowingly funds a BIM experiment but stops short of the all-or-none radical mandate of the Top Down option. With Parallel/Pilot, BIM is supported, encouraged and even funded — but too much — and not in a way that places all of the company’s eggs in the new BIM basket at one time. Results are then benchmarked and measured against current practices.
Strategy: Diversity / Adaptation / Options / Internal Competition
Structure: Mainstream Operation Continues with Parallel Concurrent Experiment
Staff: Selected Elite. Internal, plus Imported Experts, Cross-Disciplinary
Systems: New, Invented, corporate backing, endorsement, limited funding, self train
Soft Skills: Parallel Two-way Controlled Communication
Style: Communication: Periodic Reports (Check on the animals see how they’re doing) Integral, Effective, Passionate, Team
Shared Values: Rewards: Passion of The New, Teamwork, Gratification, Change, Results
Visibility: Some, Selected
Risk: Low / Contained
Strategy 4: Organic/Hybrid (An internal, naturally-developing BIM change)
In the Organic/Hybrid approach, parts of all of the first three methods work concurrently. There are still groups of Bottom Up BIMerati — the passionate few BIM innovators who get it. Under this approach — in contrast to the Bottom-Up approach — they are tolerated by their organization and are allowed to practice their new BIM voodoo somewhat openly, provided they don’t get in the way of the established methods and proven procedures. Discrimination exists but is minimal. In fact, due to the company’s support, there can be growing excitement and envy of the emerging ways. The BIMers may be so tolerated that pockets of management support exist at even the highest levels. But not so much that there is yet universal understanding or agreement at all levels that a wholesale BIM re-engineering is required. A pilot project or small, emerging “skunkworks”-style department may be allowed, or even encouraged, and funding is provided.
Strategy: Internal / Responsive / Adaptive / Market and Organization Driven
Structure: Hybrid / Multiple / Organic / Diverse / Evolutionary
Staff: Multiple Sources/Internal Converted & Grown / External Recruits
Systems: Funding: Incremental, Modest, Growing, Training: Evolutionary, As Required,
Soft Skills: Organic One-Way, Two-Way, All-Way Communication
Style: Evolving, Growing Company Acceptance, Celebrate Success
Shared Values: Rewards: Company Success and Growing Acceptance
Visibility: Low/Medium As Required
Risk: Low, Incremental
Over the past four years at Holder, the Organic approach has worked well because we match our corporate structure and culture with our 7S Framework. Most every BIM tool, service or product that we have ever tried is typically “under the radar.” As a result, few know of our failures — highly likely as these are experiments we’ve never tried before. We can sweep the experiment under the corporate carpet and try again. Perhaps we needed more help, more training, more time, more budget or more RAM. But surprisingly, due to our Organic approach we have yet to fail. Perhaps we’ve been lucky. But we’ve had good checks and balances. And the removal of must-do, can’t-fail, high-visibility, public-eye scrutiny is a godsend.
While the Organic approach won’t prompt companywide transformation as quickly as in the Top Down approach, the effect of a highly focused stealth skunkworks group has many rewards. And you won’t lose the valuable corporate memory held by the old guard who are unable to adapt to a top-down, forced BIM march, and who wish to (or are forced to) leave.
Michael LeFevre is Vice President, Planning & Design Support Services at Holder Construction Company.