Design Review
Rà soát & Duyệt thiết kế
Review and approve models visually with the owner, consultants, regulatory authorities, and stakeholders. Comments tracked and managed via BCF format.
Common tools
Revit, Navisworks, Forma Design
Value delivered
Owners understand design visually without reading 2D drawings — reduces post-approval changes
Adoption in Vietnam
Growing in Vietnam — especially in public investment appraisal and fire safety approval workflows.
Level of Information Need (LOIN)
G = Geometry · A = Alphanumeric · D = Documentation (ISO 7817-1:2024 method). A blank cell means this use sets no specific requirement for that discipline/stage.
| Discipline | Concept | Schematic | Developed | Technical | As-built / Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | — | G2·A1·D0 | G3·A1·D1 | — | — |
| Structure | — | G2·A1·D0 | G3·A1·D1 | — | — |
| Mechanical | — | G2·A1·D0 | G3·A1·D1 | — | — |
| Electrical | — | G2·A1·D0 | G3·A1·D1 | — | — |
| Plumbing | — | G2·A1·D0 | G3·A1·D1 | — | — |
Critical stages: Schematic · Developed
Rationale: Visual / stakeholder review (incl. VR/AR walkthroughs). Geometry-led: G2→G3 for spatial and design-intent verification. A1 sufficient — only type/category labels needed for client presentations. D1 at ST3 links design criteria / project brief for sign-off. No A2 required because review does not itself execute analysis.
What it really is
Design Review is the structured process in which stakeholders — appointing party, end users, consultants, contractors — examine the BIM model to evaluate and approve the design: brief compliance, function, spatial quality, sightlines, lighting, safety, constructability. Unlike merely "viewing a 3D model", it has evaluation criteria, an owner, minutes, and every comment captured as a traceable issue in BCF format. The output is not a "nice or ugly" verdict but recorded design decisions, assigned and tracked to closure. A review may run on screen, in a coordination room, or in virtual reality so non-technical parties can experience the space at full scale before it is built.
When to use
At design approval gates — concept, basic and detailed design — and for works with high functional or aesthetic demands: hospitals, airports, hotels, public spaces. Especially useful when a non-technical appointing party or end user must decide quickly without being able to read technical drawings.
Prerequisites
- •A model at the LOIN appropriate to the review question — depends directly on Design Authoring
- •A defined review criteria checklist and clear session objectives
- •A BCF issue platform and a session facilitator
- •The right participants, including someone with decision authority
Inputs
Task team · IFC / định dạng gốc
Appointing / lead appointed party · .xlsx / .pdf
Appointing party · .pdf
Appointing party · .pdf
Lead appointed party · .bcf
Outputs
Review issue register
.bcf → Discipline task teams
Accepted when: Each issue carries a model location, viewpoint image, assignee and status
Review minutes and design decisions
.pdf → Appointing party
Accepted when: Signed off by the authorised decision-maker
Model updated per the decisions
IFC / định dạng gốc → Forma Data Management
Accepted when: Issues closed and verified against the updated model
General workflow
Define objectives and review criteria
Agree the questions to answer — function, aesthetics, or code compliance — and the LOIN required to answer them credibly.
BIM Manager + appointing party · Review criteria checklist → Review session plan
Prepare the model and viewpoints
Federate the model, pre-build saved viewpoints, sections and a walkthrough script so the session is not spent navigating.
BIM Coordinator · Navisworks · Forma Design Collaboration → Review-ready model
Run rule-based compliance checks
Run functional and code rule sets: clear headroom, escape routes, accessibility. Whatever a machine can check should not consume the session.
BIM Coordinator · Solibri · Navisworks Manage → Compliance report
Run the review session
Present the model to stakeholders; optionally use VR for full-scale spatial experience; capture comments as issues live rather than on paper for later entry.
Facilitator + stakeholders · Forma · Navisworks · VR viewer → Raw comment list
Normalise and assign issues
Normalise each issue: location, viewpoint image, priority, assignee, due date. An issue without an owner is an issue that will never close.
BIM Coordinator · Forma Design Collaboration (BCF) · BIMcollab → Assigned issue register
Resolve and update the model
Task teams revise the design per the agreed decisions and move issues to Resolved with a note on how.
Task team · Revit → Updated model
Verify and close issues
The coordinator verifies against the updated model before moving issues to Closed. Without verification, Resolved is only a promise.
BIM Coordinator + appointing party · Forma Data Management → Design approval record
Diagram
↺ Not met → reopen the issue, back to the task team
Common pitfalls
Verbal comments forgotten; revisions missed
Cause: No structured issues — only email or prose minutes
Fix: Require every comment to become a BCF issue with location and assignee
The review produces wrong decisions that must be redone
Cause: The model does not meet the LOIN the question requires
Fix: Agree the required LOIN before each session; defer questions the data cannot yet answer
Long review meetings that conclude nothing
Cause: No evaluation criteria and nobody with decision authority in the room
Fix: Prepare the criteria checklist; invite the authorised decision-maker
Issues pile up and nobody closes them
Cause: No due dates and no verification step
Fix: Assign due dates; require verification before Closed
Measuring effectiveness
Count BCF issues created in the session
Benchmark: no independent benchmark — set an internal target
Issues closed by their due date divided by total
Benchmark: no independent benchmark — set an internal target
From issue creation to Closed
Benchmark: no independent benchmark — set an internal target
Compare construction-stage error counts with and without model-based review
Benchmark: A Vietnamese study (IOP 2020) found 36 design conflicts in a substation control house originally designed in 2D CAD
Legal basis
Art. 8(5) provides that the competent construction authority uses BIM data for appraisal, including checking compliance with codes and standards — the legal basis for model-based review. Art. 8(4) provides that the model accepted by the appointing party and published on the CDE is the reference of record.
Sources
Only official sources (legislation, standards) and peer-reviewed academic work are cited. No vendor marketing figures or press sources. Reference only — does not replace legal advice.