AEC workflow

Design & Document

Move from design intent to a coordinated model, repeatable logic, and reviewable project information.

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Follow the process

How to move from a design brief to a checked model handover

Agree what the recipient needs before modelling. Establish a reliable baseline, make controlled changes, then check both the authored information and what survives exchange. The deliverable is a usable model-and-document package, not simply a file that opens.

Your deliverable: A revisioned model and drawing package, an information-check record, exchange exceptions and a recipient acceptance decision.

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Before you start

A design brief, project phase and named recipient for the model or drawing package.
The current source models and an agreed coordinate, unit and naming convention.
Required information, exchange format and a named person who can accept the deliverable.
Permission to edit a working copy, with revision history and a way to reverse changes.

Define the model handover requirements
Inputs
Project brief, design phase, intended model uses and the recipient’s information request.
Action
List the decisions the model must support. Agree which geometry, properties, drawings and file formats are needed, and what will count as acceptance. Assign authorship and review responsibilities before selecting software.
Output
A concise information brief with required outputs, exclusions, recipient and acceptance checks.
Review checkpoint
Can the recipient describe how they will use and check the delivered information?
Common mistake
Modelling everything at high detail without knowing which information the recipient needs.
Resources for this step
- Record the information brief
  Agree required fields and deliverables before making model changes.
Establish a controlled model baseline
Inputs
Current discipline files, revision references, coordinates, units and object identifiers.
Action
Open a working copy, confirm the intended revisions and check alignment against known reference points. Record missing links, duplicate identifiers and unit differences. Keep a recoverable baseline before editing or running a graph.
Output
A baseline register with source revisions, coordinate and unit checks, and assigned discrepancies.
Review checkpoint
Are all authors working from the same agreed references, rather than merely files with similar names?
Common mistake
Combining models from different revisions and mistaking a coordinate offset for a design conflict.
Resources for this step
- Record the baseline and exceptions
  Retain the starting revisions and unresolved model issues with the handover.
Develop the design in reversible changes
Inputs
Information brief, accepted baseline, design constraints and any proposed computational logic.
Action
Author a bounded change and test its effect on a small representative set before repeating it. Keep design intent, input parameters and changed elements visible. A graph finishing without an error is not evidence that the resulting design is correct.
Output
A reviewable change set with input parameters, affected objects and a rollback route.
Review checkpoint
Can the author explain the design decision and reverse unintended changes without losing the baseline?
Common mistake
Running automation across the whole live model before checking a small representative case.
Resources for this step
- Dynamo technology overview
  Review a vendor-documented model-automation option; test graphs against the actual project and version.
- Grasshopper technology overview
  Compare a parametric-design route when explicit geometry rules are useful; inspect the generated design.
Check model information and drawing consistency
Inputs
Changed model, required properties, schedules, drawings and the acceptance checks.
Action
Check required fields, units and identifiers, then compare critical schedules and drawings with the model. Separate missing information from an intentional omission. Record each discrepancy with an owner rather than fixing only the appearance of the sheets.
Output
A checked information package and an issue list linked to model objects or drawing locations.
Review checkpoint
Do the model, schedules and issued views describe the same revision and design intent?
Common mistake
Treating an attractive model or complete-looking schedule as proof that its information is reliable.
Resources for this step
- Record information checks
  Use the checklist to retain omissions, drawing consistency checks and review decisions.
Test the recipient’s exchange
Inputs
Checked authoring package, agreed export settings and the recipient’s target application.
Action
Export the agreed subset and reopen it in the receiving workflow. Compare reference geometry, units, identifiers and required properties. Document missing or transformed information and decide whether it must be corrected before handover.
Output
An exchange-check record with export settings, observed losses and recipient follow-up.
Review checkpoint
Can the receiving team perform the intended task with the delivered file, not just open it?
Common mistake
Assuming a successful export preserved every property or relationship required downstream.
Resources for this step
- Speckle technology overview
  Inspect a documented model-data exchange option and verify the actual receiving output.
Issue the reviewed package and retain change triggers
Inputs
Model, drawings, check results, exchange exceptions and the named recipient.
Action
Issue the agreed revisions together with their review status and unresolved items. Obtain the recipient’s acceptance or correction request. Record which later brief, model or exchange-setting change requires a new package and repeat checks.
Output
A traceable handover containing the accepted revisions, remaining actions and update responsibility.
Review checkpoint
Does the recipient know which information is accepted, which is provisional and who maintains it?
Common mistake
Sending only the model file and losing the checks, exceptions and responsibility for future revisions.
Resources for this step
- Copy the model handover checklist
  Transfer the revision, exchange and acceptance record into the project’s own system.

Worked journey: a revised room schedule

Synthetic training example only: the project, records and outcomes below are invented to explain the process. This is not evidence of a tested implementation, customer result or professional approval.

Information brief: A team needs room identifiers and areas for a design review, not a construction-ready model of every object.
Baseline: The author records the source revision and discovers that one linked file uses a different coordinate reference.
Authoring: After resolving the reference, a small room set is edited first. The author retains the inputs and checks the changed rooms.
Information check: The schedule contains an empty identifier. It becomes an owned issue rather than an invented room number.
Exchange check: The receiving workflow loses one required property. The export and recipient mapping are corrected and checked again.
Handover: The recipient receives matching model and schedule revisions, with the accepted checks and remaining design questions.

Model design and exchange checklist

Select and copy the checklist into your project document. Complete it there; this page does not save project information.

Copyable working checklist

MODEL DESIGN AND EXCHANGE — working handover record
Project / phase / design decision / recipient:
Author / reviewer / acceptance owner:
Required model, drawing and property outputs:
Source revisions / coordinates / units / identifiers:
Baseline location / recoverable copy / edit permissions:
Design inputs / changed elements / rollback route:
Information and drawing checks / unresolved items:
Exchange format / settings / receiving application:
Observed information losses / correction decisions:
Issued revisions / acceptance or rejection evidence:
Change triggers / next action / owner / review date:

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Design & Document

Before you start

1. Define the model handover requirements

Resources for this step

2. Establish a controlled model baseline

Resources for this step

3. Develop the design in reversible changes

Resources for this step

4. Check model information and drawing consistency

Resources for this step

5. Test the recipient’s exchange

Resources for this step

6. Issue the reviewed package and retain change triggers

Resources for this step

Worked journey: a revised room schedule

Model design and exchange checklist

Explore this workflow

Dynamo

Grasshopper

Speckle

3D PDF Exporter for AutoCAD

3DMeasure

3DPDF Exporter for Revit

ABAGY

Acelab

ArchiCAD

Architextures

Arcol

Attentive.ai (Beam AI)

AutoCAD

Autodesk Revit

BEAM

BHoM

BIMIT

Branch Technology

Caddisfly

CalcTree

CATIA

CATIA V5 Exporter for Revit

Cedreo

Chief Architect

cityweft

CommandFinder

Cove.tool

D.TO (Design TOgether)

Digital Node

DiRoots

Disperse

Docuflow

DynaOne

EC3

ElumTools

EnveeTech BIM Solution

Esri

FenestraPro

Finch3D

Fologram

Foyr Neo

Future BIM

GAMMA AR

Geometrid

Geopogo

GliderBIM

Guardian for Revit

HaloCAD

HELIX

Higharc

Ideate BIMLink

Ideate Explorer

Ideate StyleManager

IdeateApps

IGES Exporter for Autodesk Revit

Import 3D

Infinite BIM

infrared.city

Integrated Projects (IPX)

iSync

JT Exporter for Revit

Kangaroo

Karamba3D

Define the model handover requirements

Establish a controlled model baseline

Develop the design in reversible changes

Check model information and drawing consistency

Test the recipient’s exchange

Issue the reviewed package and retain change triggers