Lenses and Filters are investigative tools of enquiry and domain analysis allowing the discovery of concepts and relations. The difference between (BIM) Lenses and Filters can be summarised as such: Lenses are additive and are deployed from the ‘investigator’s side’ of BIM Field observation while Filters are subtractive and are deployed from the ‘data side’. Lenses highlight observables that meet research criteria and identify their relations; example, an infrared lens highlights heat sources in a scene. Filters remove observables that do not meet the research criteria; example, data filters hides non-conforming data within a spreadsheet.

Noteworthy BIM publications (NBP)s are publically-available documents developed by various industry and academic entities; aimed at a wide audience; and intended to promote BIM understanding, regulate BIM implementation or mandate BIM requirements. These publications encapsulate extensive BIM-focused knowledge; collate significant domain expertise; and represent a substantial effort within the BIM domain.

NBPs are identified based on explicit ontological structures derived from the interaction of BIM Fields and BIM Lenses:

• NBPs are documents (i.e. not websites, blogs or similar);
• NBPs reflect BIM knowledge (i.e. publications focused on BIM skill are excluded);
• NBPs are the deliverables of BIM players (i.e. publications delivered by players from other industries are excluded);
• NBPs cover relevant BIM topics (i.e. publications covering pre-BIM topics are excluded);
• NBPs are macroscopic (i.e. documents aimed at small groups of practitioners or students are excluded); and
• NBPs are selected and organized by country of origin

Using these framework-based delimitations, NBPs represent numerous types of published documents spanning industry initiatives, peer-reviewed journals, self-published books and other noteworthy publications.

Updated April 14, 2014 (v2.0) and August 20, 2015 (v2.1)...This graphic provides a visual explanation of the BIM Capability Sets as derived from BIM Fields, BIM Stages and BIM Lenses.

Below is a short video explaining the above, as available on the Framework's YouTube channel:

Full-Size Image  (1.6MB)

The Organizational Hierarchy is a conceptual model based on the Organizational Scales' taxonomy which identifies 12 organizational scales ranging from Markets (OrgScale 1, the largest) to Individuals (OrgScale 12, the smallest). The 12 OrgScales belong to three OrgScale Clusters: Macro (1-7), Meso (8) and Micro (9-12).

The 12 OrgScales are:

1. Global Market
2. Defined Market (e.g. European Union or individual countries)
3. SubMarket (e.g. regional, state or local markets)
4. Industry (e.g. Construction Industry)
5. Sector (e.g. Design or Construction Sectors)
6. Discipline (e.g. structural or mechanical disciplines)
7. Specialty (e.g. steel detailing or kitchen design specialties)
8. Organizational Team (e.g. two or more organizations working on the same project)
9. Organization (e.g. an engineering or construction company)
10. Organizational Unit (a department, branch or business stream)
11. Organizational Group (a group of individuals or a 'work team')
12. Organizational Member (an individual)

The hierarchy is used as a Scoping Lens to isolate a specific scale of BIM Players thus enabling a more-targeted approach to BIM implementation and assessment.

BIM Lenses represent the third dimension of the Tri-Axial Model and generate its depth of enquiry. BIM Lenses are distinctive layers of analysis applied to Fields and Stages to generate Knowledge Views. They abstract the BIM domain and control its complexity by removing unnecessary detail. Lenses allow domain researchers to selectively focus on any aspect of the DCO industry and generate knowledge views that either (a) highlight observables which meet the research criteria or (b) filter out those that do not.

Below is a short video briefly explaining the above on the dedicated BIM Framework YouTube channel: