Information Manager (BIM)
Newly appointed to establish a public organisation's information management approach
The scenario
An () has been newly appointed to establish a public organisation's approach. The organisation delivers a portfolio of public works projects and needs more consistent arrangements for specifying, producing, reviewing and using information.
The Information Manager works with an organisational sponsor, procurement colleagues, asset managers and project teams. Their task is to develop a practical approach, obtain the necessary organisational decisions and support its introduction through a pilot. The evidence-based template can be adapted for professional-body discussion; organisation-specific authority and decisions must be supplied for each use.
You can explain your responsibilities and authority, turn information needs into a practical approach, secure the required decisions and support an agreed pilot. You use its findings to recommend improvements and help colleagues follow the current approach.
Activity flow diagram
Key actions
Agree the organisational outcomes and boundaries of the information management approach with the sponsor.
Review an agreed, proportionate sample of current project information practices and record the main difficulties.
Draft the organisation's information requirements, information standard and arrangements for information exchange.
Walk through the draft approach using a representative project and record feedback at each handover.
Prepare an approval brief explaining the proposed approach, resources, implementation plan and outstanding decisions.
Support the pilot team to use the agreed information requirements, responsibilities and working procedures.
Evaluate the pilot against the agreed organisational outcomes and record improvements.
How the scenario unfolds
7 stagesClarify the organisational outcomes, the scope of the appointment and who can make decisions.
Scope agreed?
Review how information is currently managed and identify the priority changes needed.
Define practical arrangements for responsibilities, requirements, information standards and exchange.
Walk through a representative project and use feedback to improve the proposed approach.
Draft ready?
Explain the proposed approach, resource implications and unresolved decisions to the authorised decision maker.
Pilot authorised?
Support a suitable project team to apply the approved approach and record what needs improving.
Evaluate the pilot and update the approach through the organisation's agreed change process.