CDE Workflow Overview
The CDE Workflow describes the managed process through which information is produced, shared, and exchanged within the CDE solution.
The CDE workflow was first established in the UK’s BS 1192:2007 and later evolved in the PAS 11920-2:2013 standards, and more recently in ISO 19650.
The workflow is a process where information is controlled across four States:
- Work in Progress (WIP) – draft information being developed by a task team
- Shared – information approved for sharing with other appropriate task teams, i.e., for comment or coordination
- Published – contractual information authorised by the appointing party for a specific use, i.e., for construction
- Archived – journal of information providing an audit trail of information container development
ISO 19650 Common Data Environment (CDE) Workflow. Source:UK BIM Framework Information Management According to BS EN ISO 19650 Guidance Part C
Characteristics of the CDE Workflow
The CDE workflow is a gated process where transition from one state to another is subject to approval and authorisation at each information container level.
Access is controlled at each State by the CDE solution, ensuring the right people have the right access to the right information at the right time. This safeguards against the misuse of information, such as draft information being used for coordination or decision making.
Note not all information passes all four states, some information may never reach the published state. For example, an initial survey pick-up for planning purposes.
The workflow is also not a linear one-way process. Instead, Information may pass between WIP and shared states several times before being eventually published. Information container development can involve multiple iterations, multiple reviews, approvals and authorsations, and multiple ‘journal entries’ into the archived state.
A summary of the CDE workflow process, including states, steps and parties as specified in ISO 19650-1 and ISO 19650-2.
Work In Progress (WIP) State
The work in progress (WIP) state is where information is created and amended by the task team responsible for its production. Authors produce information which they control and check, only sourcing approved information (shared or published) through reference, federation, or direct information exchange.
WIP is the only state where information is editable and where information development occurs.
Information in WIP is draft information that is unapproved for sharing outside the task team responsible for its creation. Access is controlled accordingly by the CDE solution to prevent other parties from viewing, working on, referencing, or issuing draft information.
At any time, information can be rejected and returned to a WIP state for amendment or further development, with the exception of information that has been archived.
Even if an information container is shared or federated, responsibility for the information remains with the author(s) that produced it.
Important: although WIP information is not shared or coordinated it should still be created and worked upon within the CDE solution. This is to ensure best practice for data management, including access, versioning, change history, back-ups, etc. The CDE is for all files not just the outputs. This means that the CDE solution must be able to manage the specific packages used for the creation of information, such as 3D models and final drawings.
Before information moves to the shared state, the information container must first pass a QA check and then a technical review by the authoring task team.
The QA check reviews the information container’s metadata (such as file name and attributes), not the contents. While the technical review is concerned with its contents. If passed, the information container transitions to a shared state; if rejected, it remains in WIP to be amended and resubmitted.
Published State
Information in the Published state is contractual information that has been accepted as a deliverable by the appointing party (i.e., the client).
Published information is authorised for a specific use, such as ‘for construction’ of a project or ‘for the operation of an asset’, as defined by the information container’s Status Code.
Published information is read-only and must be the most current authorised revision of the information container. Published information is accessible by authorised persons within the project team, such as with the document controller, appointing party and CDE administrator(s).
Not all information produced will reach the published state. As an example with drawings it is typically only be the outputs that transition, while the working files remain in WIP (such as a PDF produced from a DWG drawing, where the DWG remains in WIP).
Archived State
The Archived state is for information that has been superseded or otherwise archived. The archival process ensures there’s a definitive version of the PIM and AIM available in case it is needed after the project has been completed. For instance to inform a refurbishment of the asset.
Information is archived:
- To provide a record of information development and exchange in case of a legal dispute
- To inform the ongoing operation and maintenance of the asset; and
- To help lessons learnt at the completion of the project.
Archived information is read-only and only accessible to the appointing party and the CDE administrator(s).
The archive should contain a journal of the latest revision of all information containers in the Shared and Published state, all superseded revisions, as well as a complete journal of information developed in the WIP state. The timescale for retaining project information should be defined in the appointing party’s EIR.
This journal of information development, such as the file change history, should include:
- Who checked it and when
- Who approved it and when
- What status was assigned to it before it was shared
- Who authorised it and when
- Who accepted it and when
