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Reference · Framework

Roles, profiles, items — and the two indices

How the competence model fits together, and what the IRI and ICI actually mean. Drawn from the BIMe/BFB authoritative sources.

The competency hierarchy

The model is a two-level composition. A role (persona) contains profiles; each profile contains measurable items.

Four defined roles, each made of four competency profiles; several profiles are shared across roles.
Roles (personas) are composed of Profiles
A defined role with four competency profiles; each profile is a coloured container of competency items.
Profiles are composed of Competency Items
See the interactive role explorer for a live version wired to the database.

Model at a glance

Three entities, two indices, one classification. That's the whole model.

Role
What a person is expected to do

A role (e.g. BIM Manager, Junior Architect) carries scale, type, rank, discipline and region. It is the outer container that holds the profiles required to perform it.

Profile
A cluster of related competencies

A competency profile groups items that go together — e.g. BIM Fundamentals, Model-based Collaboration. Either core (applies to every role) or specialized.

Item
A measurable action statement

The atomic unit. An item specifies knowledge, skill and outcome in a structured, assessable sentence.

Flows — the navigational layer

Once a persona's role and competency profiles are defined, a flow translates them into a project journey. Each flow is the navigational layer over the BIM ecosystem: a sequence of stages that point the practitioner to the relevant standard, support, or guide at each step.

Stage
One step in the project journey

An ordered card with a title, an information-management responsibility, plain-language guidance, and links to the ecosystem materials that resolve it. Stages compose into the workflow the persona follows.

Ecosystem material
A clause, template, checklist, guide, standard, or explainer

First-class entries from the existing ecosystem (ISO 19650, CWMF, the Irish BIM Mandate, Build Digital, etc.). Each stage links materials by relevance — primary, supporting, or reference.

Gap flag
Where the ecosystem doesn’t yet help

When no existing support resolves a stage, the flow flags it with a priority and workshop evidence. Flags aggregate into the prioritised gap register that drives Phase-3 scope.

Cross-reference register
The master link table

Every stage→material edge is recorded in the cross-reference register so the library stays coherent as standards evolve and new supports are added.

Worked example
A sole-practitioner architect appointed lead designer on a modest CWMF project follows a four-stage flow: project initiation & role clarification → information requirement specification → team information planning → information delivery & handover. At each stage the workflow links to the relevant Build Digital template, the applicable CWMF clause, and a concise plain-language explainer; where no support exists (e.g. a sole-practitioner-scale TIDP guide), the stage flags the gap.
Browse persona workflows

Action statements — the atomic unit

Every item is an Action Statement: a structured sentence that defines an activity, output, or outcome. Each one begins with a verb from a fixed taxonomy and references terms drawn from international standards (ISO 19650, the BIMe Dictionary).

“ statement ”* action *[[ linked term ]]

establish the project’s Information RequirementInformation Requirement — Description unavailable.s

Worked example — verb · object · linked concept
Topic:Tendering & ProcurementLevel:ActivityType:A1 · Do (x)Label:ISO 19650 Part 2Scale:8 (Project)Role:Information Manager
Activity (A)
Define actions or processes to be performed

“Establish the delivery team’s mobilization plan.”

Enquiry (E)
Gather or confirm information

“Identify the assets for which information shall be managed.”

Capability (C)
Evaluate abilities or competencies

“Determine if the project team is capable of managing federated models.”

Why it matters
Action statements give the framework a formal, reusable language for both assessment (does this team meet the criterion?) and improvement (what should we do next?). Each one can be tagged with role, scale, lifecycle phase, and topic — which is what powers the matrix and library views elsewhere in the app.

The two indices

Every role↔profile edge carries both. They answer different questions.

IRI — Individual Responsibility Index

Differentiates competencies by their importance to role performance, from Not Required (0) to Required (4).

  • 0
    Not Required

    Competencies outside the profile scope for this role.

  • 1
    Optional

    Supplementary competencies — nice to have, but not needed to perform the role.

  • 2
    Recommended

    Performance-enhancing competencies that improve outcomes without being standard practice.

  • 3
    Expected

    Standard-practice competencies that a practitioner in this role should hold.

  • 4
    Required

    Critical, non-negotiable competencies without which the role cannot be performed.

ICI — Individual Competency Index

Measures an individual's ability to perform a defined activity or achieve a specified outcome, from No Competence (0) to Expert (4).

  • 0
    No Competence

    No demonstrable ability in the subject area.

  • 1
    Basic

    Understands fundamentals and has some initial practical application.

  • 2
    Intermediate

    Solid conceptual understanding and some practical application.

  • 3
    Advanced

    Significant conceptual knowledge and substantive practical experience.

  • 4
    Expert

    Extensive knowledge, refined skill, and prolonged experience in the activity.

Scoring
The item score is IRI × ICI (0–16). A high score means a critical responsibility held at high proficiency — those are the non-negotiable competencies for the role.

Classification

Each profile is attached to a role with a classification that describes how central it is.

C
R4C3
Core

Universally applicable to every defined role — foundational BIM competencies.

P
R4C3
Primary

Central to the role's scope of work — the competencies that define day-to-day delivery.

S
R4C3
Supporting

Secondary competencies that complement the primary set without defining the role.

Reading a matrix cell

One worked example. The same encoding is used everywhere IRI/ICI appear together.

C
R4C3

Core · Individual Responsibility Index 4 (Required) · Individual Competency Index 3 (Advanced).

The hue marks the classification. The outline thickens with IRI depth — the higher the responsibility, the more prominent the edge. The small filled square saturates with ICI depth. Numbers (R for IRI, C for ICI) are always visible for precision.

An empty cell means no edge is defined between that role and profile at this version of the framework.

Open the full matrix

Sources & references

Project documents that ship with this app, and the foundational publications behind Project C.

Project documents
  • BIM Roles and Competency Profiles for Brazil — v1.4 (BIMei + BFB, Dr. Bilal Succar). §2.4 defines IRI and ICI.
  • BIMei Competence Matrix Brief — conceptual summary of the role↔profile matrix (IRCM).
  • BFB Roles and Competencies Report — Introduction — programme context for the Brazilian competence framework.
Foundational references