The back alley's bill so far: 28 weeks · See the bill
The right way
Sam writes the promise against this client's order: every requirement on the list gets an answer that says how, who and with what.
Sam: 'We will comply' isn't an answer. It's a shrug in a suit.
Things the firm can't do yet, like the client's new system, get a plan. Someone who didn't write it reads it against the order: no sign of the last client.
Ruth, the assessor, picks three promises and asks to see them working. All three are.
Ruth: Oh. Good.
Now there is: The promise (the pre-appointment BEP): a proposal, not yet a contract.
The promise is only worth what it answers. Written against this client's order, line by line, it tells the client exactly what they'll get and tells the team exactly what they've signed up to. Copied from the last job, it promises the wrong things in confident language.
The order travelled from Client Town in the tender pack; now the bid room writes its answer and sends it back. That answer is the promise: how this team will deliver every line of the order, and who'll do it. Written against this order, it fits Client Town; copied from the last job, it promises an airport.
A note for the information manager: A promise is checked by asking to see it working, so every line should be something the team really does.
Find your current job's promise. Pick three requirements from the order and find each answer: how, who, with what?
| ISO 19650 says | Means | In the town |
|---|---|---|
| BIM execution plan, before appointment (BEP) | A bidding team's account of how it will manage and deliver the information the client has asked for | The promise, sent back to Client Town |
| Information delivery strategy | Part of that plan: the team's approach to meeting the information requirements, and how it's organised to do it | Every line of the order given a how, a who and a with-what |
| Proposed federation strategy | How the team plans to split the work into parts that can be put together and checked | Part of the promise: how the pieces of the job will fit |
Based on the ISO 19650 series: the ideas come from the standard; the plain-English wording, examples and advice are InfoTown's. ISO 19650 and its UK National Annex are © ISO and BSI. You'll hear the same language across the industry. Read more for free in the Information Management Initiative (IMI) Framework guidance from BSI and nima. For the full requirements, use the standard itself.