Construction is typically the last place one would think to apply agile, right?

Agile methodology, born in software development, has become the leading management methodology. It’s streamlined method, preference for focused tasks and constant cycle of review and implementation has made it invaluable.

But how could this apply to something that so clearly has a traditional delivery method like construction? You plan and then you deliver. You can’t respond to change because often they are already getting built into concrete.

But if we think of BIM as digital construction delivery, then the narrative changes. Delivering a BIM model seems very similar to delivering software.

Think about the work being undertaken in design development phases of construction projects. Models are exchanged, often weekly or fortnightly. They are reviewed and further changes and improvements are implemented in the next cycle. Their contents are defined by stakeholder requirements.

Rather than a square-peg-in-round-hole situation, we can see that the architecture and design industry is already doing it. By acknowledging that design is now an iterative, digital process, we can gain the same advantages that agile methodologies have give all sorts of other digital sectors.