AGILE

BIM for the subsurface

Carl Grice

AXELOS.com

Case Study
June 2017
Contents
Introduction 3
The project 4
Conclusion 8
About the author 11
About AXELOS 11
Trade marks and statements 11
 BIM and the subsurface 3

1 Introduction
1.1 WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?
Unforeseen ground conditions are one of the major causes of project delay in the construction
industry, contributing to approximately a third of all construction programme overruns. This can be
attributed to constrained approaches to ground investigation, and limited availability of high quality
geotechnical data and subsequent interpretation.
The branch of civil engineering concerned with the behaviour of earth materials is called
geotechnical engineering. Geoenvironmental engineering is concerned with solving problems
involving engineering projects that may adversely affect the environment.

1.2 THE ORGANIZATION

Keynetix Ltd is a market leading software development company specializing in geotechnical and
geoenvironmental data management solutions. Established for more than 20 years their software is
used by global engineering consultants and contractors in over 25 countries.
Keynetix Ltd solutions cover every stage of the geotechnical data journey from planning and desk
study, through site work and reporting to 3D modelling and provision of access to national archives.

1.3 SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT AND ITS OUTCOMES

The project is to develop a cloud and desktop-based building information modelling (BIM) solution
for subsurface investigation. This will help to reduce construction project overruns by limiting the
impact of unforeseen ground conditions. Figure 1.1 shows an example of the output from a BIM
design package.
The solution will be primarily aimed at engineering consultants, site investigation contractors and
the wider site investigation and construction industry both in the UK and internationally.
This two-year project, which started in April 2015, is funded by Innovate UK under its Digitizing
the Construction Sector initiative. Innovate UK is a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy1.

Figure 1.1 example output from a BIM model which includes subsurface data (British Geological Survey
geological model)
4 BIM and the subsurface

2 The project
2.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW
The project aims to address these issues by applying the BIM process and principles directly
to ground investigation and subsurface infrastructure design. The following are the partner
organizations in the project:
Keynetix: Global leader in geotechnical data management and geotechnical BIM software.
Keynetix are Autodesk’s geotechnical industry partner, providing geotechnical data integration
with the AutoCAD Civil 3D software package2.
B
 ritish Geological Survey (BGS): National custodian of geoscientific data with extensive
experience and knowledge of 3D geological modelling methods. Over the past 15 years they
have developed significant coverage of geological models.
Atkins: World leading engineering, design and project management consultancy, proactive
in leading the exploitation of BIM and they have experience in implementing BIM on client
projects. They provide advice to the UK Government on its BIM strategy.
Autodesk: Global leader in developing BIM solutions for the built environment sector.
They pioneer BIM solutions in the civil infrastructure sector with an extensive portfolio of
desktop and cloud solutions.

The partners seek to significantly advance Keynetix’s established geotechnical data management
and geological modelling software and deliver the first geotechnical BIM solution. This will
develop a cloud-based repository to allow the storing, sharing and re-use of subsurface data, and
its interpretations throughout the supply chain.
Through integration with BGS’ national databases, the solution will allow digital accessibility to
BGS maps and geotechnical data. This will lead to the implementation of well-established BGS
methodologies and standards for 3D geological modelling. The approach is highly innovative and
will significantly reduce future ground investigation risks and costs.

2.2 WHY USE PRINCE2 AGILE®?

The PRINCE2 Agile approach was chosen for the project because it combined the advantages
of PRINCE2® principles with agile behaviours. One example is continued business justification
and a staged approach to delivery with a collaborative approach to developing requirements, and
engaging the end-users in a frequent delivery approach.

2.3 PROJECT TEAM

The project team is located in three key offices in the UK at Birmingham, Nottingham and
Epsom, and Autodesk contacts distributed in offices across the USA.
The wider project team comprises more than 50 people and is supplemented by at least 10
external beta tester organizations that include Mouchel, Coffey, Costain, CH2M and the Colorado
School of Mines.

2.4 PROJECT OUTPUTS

The extension of BIM to subsurface investigation represents a great advancement in geotechnical
data management and modelling and, as a result, will create a significant business opportunity
(in a market expected to reach $6bn by 2020). BIM is driven by the UK Government
Construction Strategy 2011, which states that all public sector projects will require full
collaborative 3D BIM by 20163.
Keynetix in partnership with BGS, Autodesk and Atkins seek to significantly advance BIM
capabilities through the development of the “Geotechnical BIM Suite”. This is a cloud and
desktop-based repository for subsurface investigation. Figure 2.1 shows the maturity evolution of
the system architecture towards integrated BIM (iBIM).
 BIM and the subsurface 5

Figure 2.1 The UK BIM Maturity Model (GCCG, 2011)4

The advantages of this repository are that it:

allows multiple users to collaborate by storing, sharing and reusing subsurface data, both factual
and interpreted throughout the supply chain
provides access to historical data via integration with BGS’ national databases (borehole,
geotechnical, mapping and interpreted data)
can be digitally accessed and updated in near real time; provides improved accessibility to BGS
maps, geotechnical data and methodologies
enables modelling and version control of 3D geological data.

2.5 THE APPROACH: PRINCE2 AGILE

By following the specific guidance that PRINCE2 Agile provides various elements of PRINCE2
were tailored and configured to incorporate agile behaviours, methods and techniques. Each of the
PRINCE2 themes and processes were configured to ensure an appropriate level of agile. Most notable
was the integration of the Scrum methodology at the product delivery level, which enabled
empowerment of the delivery teams as well as the added benefit of greater flexibility via iterative and
incremental product development.
PRINCE2 served as the overarching project governance framework supported by the core PRINCE2
management products, including the project initiation documentation (PID) and associated business
case which gives direction and continued justification for the project. Other core baseline products
have been utilized to define the communication, configuration, quality and risk management
strategies, along with the corresponding registers, which enabled appropriate levels of day-to-day
control as the project progresses. The PRINCE2 work packages present a crucial interface between the
project management team and the multiple product delivery teams. Figure 2.2 shows the integrated
PRINCE2 and agile process model.
6 BIM and the subsurface

Figure 2.2 The PRINCE2 and agile process model

Adopting an agile culture throughout all levels of the project, not just within the delivery teams,
has proven a significant factor to the successful implementation of PRINCE2 Agile. The manual
provides guidance and focus to help assess and embed five key agile behaviours (behaviours
dashboard) across the project team:
T
 ransparency: helping to create an environment for ‘high flow’ knowledge transfer at all levels,
that encourages raising concerns and discussing them in a constructive manner to promote a
culture of continual learning.
Collaboration: emphasizing the importance to operate as one ‘team’ exhibiting openness and
a willingness to share ideas and best practice.
Rich communication: tailoring project communication to support agile behaviours.
Face-to-face discussion is preferred, then remote meeting and video conferencing, then
telephone and finally email, selecting high bandwidth communication wherever possible.
There needs to be rapid feedback loops, enabling short communication chains and direct
communication channels.
Self-organization: ensuring the delivery teams are empowered to an appropriate level,
enabling them to evolve, refine and converge on the most appropriate solutions. This provides
the flexibility for detail level change (via MoSCoW prioritization) to occur quickly within the
team. It gives the team freedom to resolve issues and explore options within the project
constraints as defined by the project baseline objectives, plans, scope, tolerances, etc.
Exploration: integrating techniques such as prototyping and modelling allows the team to
quickly explore various solutions to the requirements and obtain early feedback. Diagrams and
mock-ups are used extensively (lean documentation) as opposed to extensive upfront
documentation, supporting iterative development and incremental delivery. This behaviour has
helped to ensure demonstrable progress, incremental releases and working software.

A number of the core PRINCE2 roles were adopted and tailored to support agile ways of working,
whilst still maintaining the required level of governance and control. In order to maximize the
benefits of self-managing teams at the delivery level there was no formal team manager role.
Instead, individuals were nominated (on a work package basis) to provide progress updates and
communication directly to the project manager. The specific PRINCE2 Agile roles of customer
subject matter expert (CSME) and supplier subject matter expert (SSME) were introduced at the
delivery level to provide day-to-day, end-user domain input and technical guidance. The three
Scrum roles were integrated into the team structure without any changes. Figure 2.3 shows the
project organization model combining PRINCE2 and agile roles.
 BIM and the subsurface 7

Figure 2.3 Project organization

PRINCE2 Agile also provided detailed guidance in the following areas:

P
 roject aspects (time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefit): helping to ensure that the project
variables were understood by all and agreement could be made quickly regarding the aspects of
the project which could be ‘flexed’ and which would need to be ‘fixed’.
Agile techniques: provided guidance on the most appropriate agile techniques and how they
could be integrated into the PRINCE2 methodology including timeboxing, MoSCoW prioritization,
workshops and iterative development.
‘Agilometer’ helped the project team to assess the potential areas of risk in relation to the project
environment (i.e. how suitable it is for agile and also the team’s agile experience) and provided an
indication of how agile we could be. Key observations included:

The team had a good acceptance of agile at all levels

The project scored well for flexing scope at a detail level in order to protect the high-level
project objectives, meet key milestones and stay within budget / time constraints, which is a
critical factor for agile.

The following sections elaborate on how PRINCE2 products and processes were tailored.

2.6 SPECIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS

The project requirements were developed following agile behaviours and using agile techniques.
All levels of the team including management, delivery and end-user representatives were
collaboratively engaged in a top down/bottom up process to develop the work packages, work
package requirements and product breakdowns.
The process included workshops to capture requirements. As a result, a list of requirements was
created for each work package using the MoSCoW prioritization technique. The priorities were
regularly reviewed. At the delivery level, reviews occurred at the end of the timeboxes and sprints.
At the project level, reviews were done at each stage boundary. Requirements (product features) are
reviewed and categorized as done, re-plan or de-scoped to provide simple and effective scope control:
scope is one of the key project aspects that can be flexed in a PRINCE2 Agile environment.
8 BIM and the subsurface

2.7 PLANNING PROCESS

The project adopted a collaborative and iterative approach to requirements definition and project
planning from the outset. This approach engaged people from across the project and enabled
transparency about what was being delivered and when. Additionally there was transparency around
the decisions about requirement reviews and delivery.
The project was broken down into management stages at the project level, with timeboxes and sprints
used at the delivery team level.
Agile estimation techniques, such as relative sizing, were used to help plan the delivery sprints.
The detail of the initial requirements definition was consciously kept at a high level to allow flexibility
and innovation during exploration and delivery, and to avoid focusing in on one particular solution
too early.
Using this approach to inform the planning process, the two-year project time scale was broken
down into:
8 (quarterly) management stages
6 work streams
19 sub work packages.

3 Conclusion
3.1 CHALLENGES
Cross-organization collaboration in a project context can be challenging as there are commercial
considerations, cultural differences, concerns over control and legal constraints (for example,
limitations on data-sharing and intellectual property rights). As with any project over this timeframe,
differing and sometimes shifting corporate priorities can impact the project environment.
To address this, we ensure that all participants and stakeholders understand the ‘bigger picture’.
We created and continually communicated a consistent shared vision. It is important to understand
the perspectives of different project partners and identify the mutually beneficial options for the way
forward. It is also important to raise and maintain awareness and support from senior management of
what the project is trying to achieve and how the project aligns to corporate strategy (e.g. the whole is
greater than the sum of the parts).
We need to get feedback from a wide group of stakeholders throughout the supply chain. But this
opens the team/project up to many different perspectives and often leads to conflicting priorities and
even different visions of the solution.
It was therefore not practical to use an approach where the big design was done upfront.
The requirements and products (the envisaged tools, workflows and interfaces) needed to be evolved
and refined, and the team needed to converge on the solution as the project progresses, to meet the
project objectives, end user needs and market demands.
PRINCE2 Agile has provided a framework (and extensive guidance) to integrate agile in a controlled,
predictable and scalable way. The project environment and team culture fosters the core agile
behaviours. By appropriately configuring PRINCE2 Agile the team have been able to balance project
governance with innovation at the product delivery level.

3.2 WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SUCCESS FACTOR?

The adoption of agile working and agile behaviour was a significant factor in reducing project risk and
increased confidence in the project outputs. The behaviours that have underpinned the success were:
collaboration, extensive knowledge transfer, team work, proactive end-user engagement, early solution
and product validation, iterative development and production of incremental deliverables.
 BIM and the subsurface 9

3.3 BENEFITS ALREADY REALIZED

The benefits that the project has realized so far are:
Extensive knowledge transfer: the culture of openness, feedback and continual learning helped to
ensure higher quality products which incorporate best practice and years of industry knowledge
Increased control and greater flexibility: the project was able to get the best from combining the
governance of PRINCE2 with the flexibility of agile working. This came from using the MoSCoW
technique and the ability to flex the scope within the structure of management stages
Controlled risks: these were achieved through active end-user involvement from the outset and
staged, incremental delivery with demonstrable progress and interim releases (early feedback
and validation)
C
 ontinued business/market (end user) justification: the approach taken helped ensure that the
project remains aligned to the primary objectives and high level scope. Given the technical nature
of the project it would be easy to get side tracked and deep dive into just one aspect and take the
project in the wrong direction (or deliver a solution that is not fit-for-purpose) but the agile approach
helped keep the project focused on delivery
P
 redictable costs: the agile approach fixed the time and cost of delivery and allowed the scope to flex
within given quality criteria. This was supported by the way were able to monitor risk and benefits.

3.4 LESSONS LEARNED

Technical complexity: the project was technically challenging with a number of application
interfaces between sub systems, developed by independent delivery teams. There were numerous
implementation considerations that needed to be explored to better understand how the final solution
will look, feel and function. Prototyping and incremental releases have helped to significantly reduce
technical integration risks.
Cross-organizational working: the project involved a large group of people from different organizations
and the team needed to incorporate feedback from a global partner and end-user community.
The team needed to identify the most efficient workflows and ultimately understand how to create a
joined-up user experience in line with BIM best practices. In addition, it is critical that the evolving
solution continues to meet the needs of engineers and the site investigation industry going forward.
By incorporating agile behaviours and creating a culture of rapid communication and active business
involvement, feedback has been continually incorporated at both the project steering and delivery
level to ensure a fit-for-purpose solution has evolved.
T
 he benefits of agile working: we have learned from this project that by adopting agile behaviours
and techniques the team have been able to cultivate a project environment that supports proactive
knowledge transfer, cross organization team work and provides the flexibility to explore options and
adapt to change in a controlled manner.

3.5 AXELOS’ VIEW

This Case Study is a very good example of how using agile techniques for development under the
governance arrangements of PRINCE2 can deliver an optimum project delivery environment. It is a
good example of the rationale for developing the PRINCE2 Agile guide: bringing together the governance
strengths of PRINCE2 and the flexibility of agile development.
The study demonstrates that the framework can be made to work effectively and that properly
embracing agile behaviours within this framework can reduce project risk and deliver products that are
end-user focused.
The agile behavioural model has proved to be effective in a technically challenging project involving
collaboration across several organizations.
10 BIM and the subsurface

End Notes
1
For more information on the Innovate UK initiative see: https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/digitising-
the-construction-sector (accessed 04/05/17)
2
For more information see http://www.autodesk.co.uk/products/autocad-civil-3d/overview
(accessed 04/05/17)
3
For more information on BIM, see - http://www.bimtaskgroup.org/ (accessed 04/05/17)
4
www.bimtaskgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/BIS-BIM-strategy-Report.pdf
(accessed 04/05/17)
 BIM and the subsurface 11

About the author

Carl Grice is the Software Development Director at Kynetix Ltd. He is
an Advanced Agile Practitioner (DSDM), a PRINCE2 Practitioner and a
PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner. He has over twelve years’ experience in the
management, design, implementation and production support of enterprise
scale web/cloud, desktop and mobile applications within the geotechnical
industry. Carl has specialized in geographical information systems for
data and asset management, monitoring, data capture, visualization
and reporting. He is currently leading the development of HoleBASE SI,
a powerful geotechnical knowledge management system which enables
integration of geotechnical data within the BIM process.

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Trade marks and statements

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