Create Smart Issues by reporting conflict results

Create Smart Issues by reporting conflict results

Smart Issues in BIMcollab are issues that contain and track reported Conflicts from BIMcollab Zoom.

In a traditional model checking workflow, conflicts are detected in a model validation tool and reported as issues. When new models are created, the checking has to be repeated to verify if conflicts are resolved. In some cases it is possible to update issues based on updated conflict results.
This workflow has some limitations:
  1. A full check has to be performed again to update conflict results with new models
  2. If the new check results in less results than the previous version, it might not be clear what happened to the resolved conflicts
  3. Any status change of a conflict has to be either updated manually in the issues, or an additional action is required to update the status of the issue based on the status of the conflict
  4. Conflicts can be found in multiple conflict rules and property validations (IDS checks), which can result in duplicate issues
To address these limitations, the Smart Issues in the BIMcollab ecosystem improve the traceability of conflicts:
  1. Smart Issues know the conflicts they represent, to which elements they belong, and what is their status in BIMcollab Zoom. Because of this, it is redundant to re-run a conflict test or property validation (IDS check) to update conflicts. A new model check only needs to be performed to find new and unreported conflicst
  2. The 3D view in BIMcollab Zoom gives feedback on whether the conflict is still active or resolved when zooming to the issue, when you are using an active Zoom license
  3. The issues can automatically be updated according to the latest status of the conflicts
  4. Because the Smart Issues are shared in BIMcollab Nexus, it is impossible to accidentally report any already reported conflicts, even if the same conflict is detected across multiple conflict rules or specification. The results section and the 3D window give feedback on whether a conflict has been reported, ignored or new
In this article, we will explain how to report Smart Issues and how to follow up on them.
To create Smart Issues from BIMcollab Zoom, make sure you meet these requirements:
  1. You are using an active Zoom license
  2. You are connected to a project in BIMcollab Nexus (Issues created in offline mode in BIMcollab Zoom do not track the status of conflicts)
  3. Zoom edit rights are enabled for you in the BIMcollab Nexus project settings
  4. You are a project leader or editor in the BIMcollab Nexus project

Perform a model check

To start reporting conflicts, the first step is to perform a clash detection, distance check or property validation (IDS check) in BIMcollab Zoom.
The conflicts that have been detected based on the parameters of the conflict rule or the specification, will be displayed in the checking results window, as well as in the 3D window.



Reporting conflicts

Conflicts can be reported in one of two ways: either from the conflicts results panel or directly from the conflicts in the 3D window.

From the Conflicts Results
Go through the conflicts in the Results window and determine whether you want to report or ignore them. You can do this by right clicking on the conflict or conflict group, or using the buttons at the top of the results window.

  1. Report: An issue is generated for selected conflicts, or unhandled conflicts in a conflict group. The conflict will be greyed out in the list of conflicts
  2. Ignore: No issue will be created, and the selected conflicts or unhandled conflicts in a group will be greyed out in the list
  3. Mark as new: Mark reported or ignored conflicts as unhandled again.
    Note: When marking already reported conflicts as new, the link to the issue will be lost. The issues needs to be closed manually
You can either report a whole conflict group as a single issue, or individually report each result under a group. You can also select multiple conflicts or conflict groups at once by holding down "CTRL" or "COMMAND" and selecting the ones you are interested in, and then right clicking to select report which will allow you to batch generate all the issues at once.
Alternatively, you can also report them as a custom grouped issue by selecting "Report as one issue".



When reporting or ignoring conflict groups to issues, the action will only apply to unhandled conflicts in the group.

From the 3D Window
Once a conflict analysis has been run, you can also visually inspect this from the 3D window and report or ignore the conflicts you are interested in. You can do this by right clicking directly on a selected conflict.
Like from the conflicts results panel, it is also possible to multi-select more than one conflicts (or dimensions) in 3D by holding down "CTRL" or "COMMAND", and then either batch report these to multiple individual issues or report them all as one single issue.

 

Issue titles

Once you have selected conflicts you would like to report, there are a number of options you can use to determine the issue titles which clearly describe the nature of the conflict depending on your team's preferences.
In the batch generate window, the following options are available:
  1. Title prefix: Add a custom prefix to the selected issues which will appear with a "-" followed by the remainder of the title. If none of the other options are selected, you can use this field to create an entirely custom issue title.
  2. Conflict rule name: This will include the associated conflict rule in the issue title. 
  3. Conflict result name: This will include the individual result name in the issue title. If conflicts are reported in a custom group using "Report as one issue", this option will add "Manually grouped conflicts" to the title.
      

You will get feedback on the report status of conflicts in the Results tree by means of the symbols in front of them, and in the 3D window by means of the displayed colors.
For more information about the statuses of the conflicts, consult the article The status of a conflict.



The status of a conflict is the same, regardless of the conflict rule or specification used to detect it, or which team member performed the test. 
For example:
Team member 1 runs a conflict rule which checks the ventilation system against the structural model.
They report the conflicts detected with the conflict rule.
Some time later, Team member 2 runs a conflict rule checking the MEP systems against the structural walls. Some of the conflicts which are found with this conflict rule, were also present in the results of their colleague's conflict rule.
Because these conflicts were already reported, and conflicts are unique, they are marked as Reported in Team member 2's conflict results as well.
This helps a team to avoid duplicate issues in a more straightforward workflow. The same goes for reporting smart issues from specifications in a property validation (IDS check). 
If a conflict has already been reported, it is still possible to add an additional issue for the same conflict, if extra communication is necessary.
In the results tree, both issue numbers will be linked to the conflict.

Share issues with your team

In the issues panel, issues are created for all reported conflicts and conflict groups.
Synchronize your project to share the issues with the rest of your team. The number of the newly created issues to which the conflicts are linked, is shown in the results section.



The issues are now available for all team members and can be looked up in their own BIM software to solve.

Update Smart Issues in BIMcollab Zoom

When new models are available, it is possible to update existing Smart Issues containing conflicts. The update checks if the conflicts are still present in the new models.
  1. Update the models in BIMcollab Zoom to the new version 
  2. Go to the Issues panel 
    (When you 'zoom to' (opening an issue) you already observe the current status of the conflicts represented by certain colors.)
  3. Set the issue filter to show all Smart Issues you want to update
    Only issues which are visible in the issue panel will be updated
  4. Update the issues by clicking the button  or use click right menu to update selected issues. 
    The issues themselves will determine whether the conflicts are still present in the current models or not. It is not necessary to re-run the clash detection, distance check or property validation (IDS check) before updating the issues



  5. The viewpoints of the issues will be updated according to the latest status of the conflict. 
    You will get feedback on the status of conflicts by means of the color of the conflicts in the viewpoint and in the 3D window when zooming to the issue. For more information about the statuses, consult the article The status of a conflict.
  6. Go through the updated issues to determine if any of them can be closed based on the new status. It is also possible to automatically close issues during the update if all conflicts that are reported to the issue have been solved
  7. Synchronize the project so the latest status of the issues is available for all team members
Additional options when updating the issues:
  1. Only update selected issues : If this option is disabled, all issues which are visible in the issue panel will be updated
  2. Close issues where all conflicts are solved : if all conflicts which are reported to an issue are found to be resolved, the Smart Issue is automatically closed.
  3. Reopen previously closed issues : if conflicts are still (or again) active in issues that have been closed, the Smart Issue will be reopened
  4. Add a comment : the comment will be added to all updated issues, along with the new snapshot



Track project progress in BIMcollab Nexus

You can follow the progress of Smart Issues in BIMcollab Nexus as well. Smart Issues contain an overview of all connected conflicts and specifications as well as their status that would also be visible as a list on BIMcollab Nexus.
This list, as well as the issue's snapshot will reflect the status of the Smart Issue, so you also can review issues directly from the project in your space.



It is possible that the latest snapshot in the Issues overview is not immediately refreshed. To make sure that the most recent snapshots are shown in BIMcollab Nexus, clear the cache of your browser when refreshing the Issues page.
Use these shortcuts to force your browser to refresh your page with new data and ignore the saved, cached data:
  1. Windows: Ctrl + F5
  2. Mac Chrome/Firefox : Cmd + Shift + R
  3. Mac Safari: Shift + Reload

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