Before you go
You've seen the town. Here's how to get round it on your own: the maps, the routes and who to follow.
Welcome
Alright. That's the tour done.
You've seen the town. Now you find your own way round. Pick a person and follow them to the end, or grab a map.
Lost? Ask at the desk.
It's all free. Share it, teach with it, pinch bits for your training. Just don't sell it.
Oh, and next time someone says “just email it over”? Send them here.
Skipped the tour? (We noticed.) Take it now, it's short.
In-tray Feedback? Put it in the in-tray. (Unlike the one on site, this one actually gets read.) Opens a one-question form in a new tab. Only what you type is kept: no names, no emails.
There's no perfect map
Only the right map for where you're going. InfoTown has four, and each one answers a different question.
- The World MapEvery organisation on a job is its own town. This shows them all, and the roads between them.Pick up this map →
- Your townOne organisation, close up: its districts (the jobs it does), its buildings (the systems) and the one everyone agrees to keep things in.Pick up this map →
- The project siteWhere towns meet to build something. Everyone brings their own town; the Site Office is the bit they share.Pick up this map →
- The route mapHow to get round InfoTown itself. Every route, how long it is, and where you are on it.Open the route map →
Wrong way, right way, then the name
- The wrong wayA short comic. Someone takes the shortcut. It usually looks fine at the time.
- The right wayThe lesson. The same moment done properly, and what it saves later.
- The revealThe town word gets its real name ("This is Metadata!"). That's the jargon, earned.
Find your way
Every page has a route sign at the top: which route you're on, which stop, and roughly how long it takes. Follow it to the end, or come back here.
Three levels, if you like a finish line: Visitor (the tour), Local (one person's journey) and Town Planner (Sam's route and the whole job). Nothing's tracked. Nobody's checking.
Pick the person most like you
Three people hold the core stories. Each one is a route: start at stop 1, follow it to the end.
Coming soon
- EmiliaThe client's information manager · Client Town
- AlexDesigner, who draws 042 · Designer Town
- NicoleRuns the jobs for a groundworks firm · Supply Chain
Everyone else in town
Contractor Town
The firm leading the job. Most of the stories so far are told from here.
- StevieEngineering surveyor, Rex's mentorFollow Stevie →
- PriyaQuality, safety and environmentFollow Priya →
- KofiCommercial managerFollow Kofi →
- BevBuyerFollow Bev →
- TomBid managerFollow Tom →
- DaveSite managerStories coming soon
- AishaDesign managerStories coming soon
- WesHandover managerStories coming soon
- MeganDocument controllerStories coming soon
- CallumProject managerStories coming soon
- OwenPlannerStories coming soon
- JoshModel coordinatorStories coming soon
- PhilProject directorIn other people's stories
- GordonChief executiveIn other people's stories
Client Town
Where the job starts and where its information ends up: asking for the right things, accepting them, and living with them for years.
- GraceAsset managerStories coming soon
- MarcusProject managerStories coming soon
- VictorProject sponsorIn other people's stories
- DianeDirector, Helen's opposite numberIn other people's stories
- PatThe client's reviewer: accepts the workIn other people's stories
- YvonneContracts managerIn other people's stories
- The Clerk of WorksThe client's eyes on siteIn other people's stories
- StanMaintenance engineerIn other people's stories
- LouNight securityIn other people's stories
Designer Town
Where most drawings and models are made. The same shortcuts look different from the designer's desk.
- FunmiDesign leadStories coming soon
- OllieModel coordinatorStories coming soon
- CarysDocument controller, Goods OutIn other people's stories
- KwameTemporary works designerIn other people's stories
Supply Chain
Where information turns into concrete, steel and escalators, and where the product data the client needs is born.
- LeeElectrical subcontractorIn other people's stories
- MartaPrecast factory managerIn other people's stories
- IanEscalator manufacturerIn other people's stories
- GaryLift supervisor, crane hireIn other people's stories
Consultant Town
They bring information nobody else has: the ground, the newts, the cost, the requirements themselves.
- JulianRequirements consultantIn other people's stories
- NiamhCost consultant (the client's surveyor)In other people's stories
- HughIndependent adviserIn other people's stories
- DevGround investigationIn other people's stories
- HollyEcologistIn other people's stories
The Outskirts
Regulators, the council and the people the job is for. They never see the Site Office, but they rely on what comes out of it.
- RuthAssessor, certification bodyIn other people's stories
- MoEnvironment regulatorIn other people's stories
- SuePlanning officerIn other people's stories
- KevHighways officerIn other people's stories
How all the seats fit together
Each person shows the job from one seat. Nobody on a real job sees all of it, which is half the problem. So we're building the whole thing: one job, from the first worry to five years after handover.
- Follow a projectThe main storyline. One job, start to finish, told by the information itself. Built, and now moving to a new job.Have a look →
- Follow the ProcessThe same job as a process map: who does what at each of eight stages, by role, not by name. Being joined up with the story, so every stop has both.Have a look →