Good issue management
Using an issue management platform like BIMcollab Cloud can save time, avoid mistakes and create transparency within a team. As powerful as BIMcollab’s issue management may be, if it is not used in a structured way, the full potential may not be reached.
By applying the points described below, issue management can maximize its potential and bring you all the benefits it promises.
To achieve good issue management you will need to:
- Clearly define issues
- Share your issues live in the cloud
- Document all the changes of a status
- Avoid separation in communication
- Avoid delays in synchronization
- Avoid copies
Do you want to advance your knowledge about
BIMcollab Cloud? Go to our BIMcollab Academy and enroll in the BIMcollab Cloud
course.Clearly define issues
When you want to report a new problem in your project take these points into account:
- Always create a clear viewpoint which captures what the problem is about. To know how to create the best viewpoints, consult the article Create the best viewpoints.
- Create an issue via the BCF manager plugin from your BIM software or directly from BIMcollab ZOOM.
This allows you to create a direct link between the issue to be solved and the model components that concern the problem. This way, the location of the problem can be easily retrieved, even if your team members do not use the same BIM software as you. - Formulate the title of the issue concisely and explicitly, and give detailed explanations in the comments, so that the problem can be easily found using the search function.
- Assign the issue to the person who needs to deal with it. Notifications will be automatically sent to them as soon as the issue is created. They will also receive notifications when changes are made to the issue.
- Fill in all the available fields as well as possible, like type, zone, phase, priority, and others.
You will need them if you want to sort, categorize or filter problems more easily later. It is also possible to define custom fields to facilitate problem management according to your specific needs.
The custom fields are a feature of the Connected and Enterprise plans.
Share your issues in real-time in the cloud
The easiest way to share your issues is to connect your application to BIMcollab Cloud using a BCF manager and sync changes to the team. By connecting to the cloud, communication is handled automatically and issues are never lost.
Learn how to connect your software to BIMcollab Cloud in the articles Connect to BIMcollab Cloud from BCF managers or BIMcollab ZOOM and Connect from Solibri.
Document all the changes of a status
When an issue is created or changes are made to it, actions are taken. This can result in a change of status of the issue.
It is important to always log the actions that take place by creating a clear comment in the issue. This way it is possible to retrace the reasons for a change.
An issue status can be the following:
- Active: The issue still needs to be solved. A new issue is always active
- Resolved: A solution for the issue has been implemented in the model
- Closed: The resolution has been verified. If the issue reoccurs, it can be reopened again
By default, issues can be closed by anyone, but the project manager can limit this to certain roles or team members. For more information, click here for the article Limit team members from closing issues.
For a more formal workflow it is possible to have a resolved issue’s resolution approved or rejected by one or more team members before being closed.
The approval workflow is a feature of the connected plan and the enterprise plan.
Avoid separation in communication
Use the platform to communicate as often as possible about a project. This way all actions are transparent and team members can contribute and respond if needed. Use the 'type' of an issue to define the form of communication so it is possible to filter while handling the issues.
BIMcollab will automatically inform you about the changes made by other team members that concern you. This is immediately visible in the project dashboard when you login to your BIMcollab Cloud and select the project. You can activate e-mail notifications to receive a notification immediately, daily or weekly about the changes that concern you. As a project leader, you can receive a scheduled activity overview about the whole project.
Avoid delays in synchronization
Remember to click on the Synchronize the project button when you have finished your work. This way, you avoid synchronization delays, and minimize communication conflicts between team members working on the same issues.
Avoid copies
Avoid using file based or offline communication. This leads to manual tasks to incorporate issues in BIMcollab Cloud. Which again could lead to delay and possibly mistakes as issues become out of sync.
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