Explore the new Information Requirements Tool

The Construction Innovation Hub (the Hub) is launching a new Information Requirements tool to support client information managers in defining organisation, asset and project information requirements.

The tool leverages data in the Open Information Hub, an open source repository for the information management community to share information and learn from each other, so that we stop reinventing the wheel from project to project or organisation to organisation.

The web-based tool has been developed and is powered by Morta, a technology provider that provides built-environment professionals with a web-based platform that has the accessibility and customising features of spreadsheets and documents and the power of a database. Morta has committed to continuing to support the free-to-use tool, which is aligned to and supports the implementation of the UK BIM Framework and is compliant with the ISO 19650 series.

The tool has been developed and tested in collaboration with the Centre for Digital Built Britain’s working groups and is now provided as a beta version to the wider community. The initial target audience is client information managers who work with building clients, local authorities or public sector organisations.

There is an ambition to expand the tool in the future to include design information managers, construction information managers and client information managers from infrastructure groups.

The tool follows four key principles:

1. An open-source, collaborative approach where input is seeded from the community. The first contributing organisation to the database is the Environment Agency.
2. Continuous improvement driven by automated learning from usage and collecting lessons learnt into the master database.
3. The information requirements are practical just as much as they are educational.
4. A standardised and consistent approach to specifying machine readable information requirements that forms the basis for automated assurance.

Henry Fenby-Taylor, Head of Information Management Delivery Lead at the Hub, said:

This tool was born out of an observation that many information managers need support in delivering purpose driven information requirements and that the same efforts are being duplicated from organisation to organisation.

Unlike traditional approaches, this web-based tool follows open-source principles, where the users will be able to use, study and modify their information requirements in a collaborative manner, with all data continuously feeding back to a master database for the community’s benefit. We hope that over time, this will result in higher quality information requirements with less effort from each individual organisation or information manager”

David Philp, Impact Director for the Construction Innovation Hub, said:

Robust information requirements are key to enabling information-driven organisations that deliver and operate assets that drive better social, environmental and economic outcomes. This innovative tool is a key step in our journey to make information management business as usual by enabling every client information manager to produce high quality information requirements.”

Mo Shana’a, CEO & Co-Founder of Morta, said:

We are really excited to be supporting the information management community with this free to use tool that is now being made available for public testing. We look forward to refining it based on community feedback and see this as the first step in helping all clients regardless of their size and budgets deliver simple, robust, and high quality machine readable information requirements.”

Organisations can test the beta version of the tool by visiting Morta.