The back alley's bill so far: 7 weeks · See the bill
The right way
Emilia starts from what the maintenance team and Grace need, asking of every line: who uses this, and what for? Marcus, the client's project manager, reads all forty pages. That's a first.
Marcus: It's short. Is that allowed?
Page twelve sets out the asset data: the client's asset numbers, and the eleven things Grace needs about each escalator, lift and fire door. A spreadsheet template comes with it, laid out to load straight into her asset system. The Precinct's 1986 drawings go in too, as read-only reference (library copies).
Grace: Eleven columns. That's what my system takes.
The eleven things, for every asset, in the client's numbers. The import takes four minutes. Lou can find escalator two from the night desk.
Now there is: The order, written with the people who'll run the centre (the information requirements). The old Precinct's records as library copies (reference information). The data the owner runs on (the asset information requirements).
The order is what every bidder will price and every firm will deliver against, so every line in it costs money. An order copied from somebody else asks for the wrong things and misses the right ones. A short order where every line has a reason, written with the people who'll use the information, gets the client what it needs and nothing it'll throw away.
The need from the plant room now becomes the order: the thing Client Town will send out to whoever builds the centre. Alongside it go the Precinct's 1986 drawings as library copies, there to read but never to edit. Page twelve sets out the data the owner runs on, the eleven things Grace's team needs about every escalator, lift and fire door, which is the reason the whole order exists.
A note for the information manager: Every line in an order costs money to deliver, so a short list of what's really used is worth more than the full 1,400.
Pick one requirement in an order you're working to. Can anyone say who uses it, and what for?
| ISO 19650 says | Means | In the town |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange information requirements (EIR) | What the client asks each firm to deliver: what information, in what form, to what detail, and when | The order |
| Asset information requirements (AIR) | What the client needs about each asset to operate and maintain it | The data the owner runs on: Grace's eleven things, in the client's numbers |
| Reference information and shared resources | Existing information and common resources the client provides for everyone to use, not change | Library copies, like the Precinct's 1986 drawings |
| Asset information model (AIM) | The organised body of information the owner uses to run its assets once they're built | Where Grace's eleven things end up, imported in four minutes |
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.