Building Information Modeling Body of Knowledge. II: Consensus Building and Use Cases

Abstract

This paper aims to apply the building information modeling (BIM) body of knowledge (BOK) framework, established during the background, framework, and initial development phase, to determine what common knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) should be represented in the BIM BOK using a Delphi method with inputs from subject matter experts (SMEs). After three rounds of the Delphi study, a dynamic BIM BOK of 67 instances (line items) was developed and consensus was measured for each line item with importance ratings and levels of agreement (LOAs) achieved among the SMEs. The paper then plots heat maps to highlight varieties of perceived importance and consensus (i.e., calculated LOAs) of the BIM BOK line items and their distribution along different dimensions of the BIM BOK framework. The visualization aids supplied by the heat maps revealed significant trends of SMEs’ perceptions toward specific BIM competencies. Noticeably, better consensus and higher importance ratings were observed among BIM BOK line items that were associated with more seasoned professionals. Lower consensus was observed on what BIM competency young professionals were expected to develop. This disparity could be attributed to the lack of lucidity in foundational BIM education and training, and suggested gaps that needed to be filled in order to help young professionals grow into true experts. This phase of the BIM BOK research is expected to make considerable contributions to BIM curriculum and training development and competency cultivation in both academia and industry. It lays a solid foundation for standardizing baseline performance for BIM education accreditation and professional licensing and certification. These contributions are elaborated via the discussion of potential use cases of implementing the BIM BOK. The paper concludes with an outlook for future research to continuously enhance and update the BIM BOK via reinforced industry and academia partnership.