SIST EN ISO 29481-1:2026

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-februar-2026
Informacijski modeli stavb - Priročnik z informacijami - 1. del: Metodologija in
oblika (ISO 29481-1:2025)
Building information models - Information delivery manual - Part 1: Methodology and
format (ISO 29481-1:2025)
Bauwerksinformationsmodelle - Handbuch der Informationslieferungen - Teil 1: Methodik
und Format (ISO 29481-1:2025)
Modèles des informations de la construction - Protocole d’échange d’informations -
Partie 1: Méthodologie et format (ISO 29481-1:2025)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 29481-1:2025
ICS:
35.240.67 Uporabniške rešitve IT v IT applications in building
gradbeništvu and construction industry
91.010.01 Gradbeništvo na splošno Construction industry in
general
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN ISO 29481-1
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
December 2025
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 35.240.67 Supersedes EN ISO 29481-1:2017
English Version
Building information models - Information delivery
manual - Part 1: Methodology and format (ISO 29481-
1:2025)
Modèles des informations de la construction - Bauwerksinformationsmodelle - Handbuch der
Protocole d'échange d'informations - Partie 1: Informationslieferungen - Teil 1: Methodik und Format
Méthodologie et format (ISO 29481-1:2025) (ISO 29481-1:2025)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 23 November 2025.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 29481-1:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 29481-1:2025) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 59
"Buildings and civil engineering works" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 442
“Building Information Modelling (BIM)” the secretariat of which is held by SN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2026, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by June 2026.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN ISO 29481-1:2017.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 29481-1:2025 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 29481-1:2025 without any
modification.
International
Standard
ISO 29481-1
Third edition
Building information models —
2025-11
Information delivery manual —
Part 1:
Methodology and format
Modèles des informations de la construction — Protocole
d’échange d’informations —
Partie 1: Méthodologie et format
Reference number
ISO 29481-1:2025(en) © ISO 2025

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
© ISO 2025
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 General .1
3.2 Information organization and management .2
3.3 Information delivery .3
3.4 Interaction within organizations .4
4 Information delivery manual . 4
4.1 General .4
4.2 General requirements of an IDM .4
4.3 Users of this document .5
4.4 Use case .5
4.5 Business context .6
4.5.1 General .6
4.5.2 Process maps .7
4.5.3 Interaction maps .7
4.6 Exchange requirements .8
4.7 Information delivery .8
5 IDM framework. 8
5.1 General .8
5.2 Common metadata for all IDM components .9
5.3 Use case specification.10
5.3.1 General .10
5.3.2 Standard project phases .10
5.3.3 Local project phases .11
5.4 Business context .11
5.5 Exchange requirement . 12
5.5.1 General . 12
5.5.2 Information units . 12
5.5.3 Information constraints . 12
6 Aspects of technical implementation .13
6.1 General . 13
6.2 Interaction framework . 13
6.3 Exchange view definition . 13
Annex A (informative) IDM development guidelines .15
Annex B (informative) A simplified example of an IDM document .20
Annex C (informative) IDM use of BPMN methods .21
Annex D (informative) IDM use of interaction map symbols .25
Bibliography .31

iii
ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely
with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 59, Buildings and civil engineering works,
Subcommittee SC 13, Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering
works, including building information modelling (BIM), in collaboration with the European Committee
for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/TC 442, Building Information Modelling (BIM), in
accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 29481-1:2016), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— updated the text to cover infrastructure assets as well as buildings;
— aligned terminology with other related standards;
— significantly revised the text and annexes to improve readability and clarity.
A list of all parts in the ISO 29481 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
Introduction
This document specifies the format used to present the exchange requirements for a use case and its
associated business processes. This is referred to as an information delivery manual (IDM) since it precisely
defines the “information delivery” requirements of the use case, recording those using natural language in
a “manual” that can be understood by all stakeholders. An IDM consists of three components: the use case
description, the business context and specified exchange requirements.
IDMs can be used to solve commonplace problems associated with communication between different parties
in project teams or asset management teams by ensuring the clarity of and responsibility for information.
An IDM helps all parties get the full benefits from any information model by understanding how the
information will be used. If the required information is delivered in a reliable format to support different
purposes across the life of an asset and the quality of the information is satisfactory, then the use cases and
associated business processes will be greatly improved.
This document provides a methodology that begins by identifying a use case, then defines the business
context and its associated business processes using recommended mapping techniques to finally arrive at a
detailed specification of the required exchange requirements between parties at specific times during those
business processes.
This IDM methodology has been developed specifically for the built environment sector concerned with all
aspects of the delivery and management of assets. These activities can be both contractual (associated with
any aspect of asset delivery) and non-contractual (such as regulatory compliance) between all stakeholders
within the built environment sector and across the whole asset life cycle.
IDM development can be streamlined in various ways as described in Annex A.
This document also includes a brief overview of technical implementations of IDMs to support solutions
provided by software developers, and how an IDM can be configured to meet national, local and project needs.
It is often assumed that information delivery would be achieved using an information model – represented
using industry foundation classes (IFC) – and conforming to an information delivery specification to
satisfy the exchange requirements. This document significantly broadens that assumption to include any
information formats that can satisfy (in whole or in part) the exchange requirements for a given business
process.
Additional standards have been published in support of information management and building information
modelling. Figure 1 shows the position of this document within the context of those other standards.
The ISO 19650 series set out general concepts and principles for information management throughout
the whole asset life cycle, as well as specific requirements to manage information during project delivery
or asset management. It also specifies an approach for achieving information security in a collaborative
working environment and sets out criteria to be used to assess the quality of information deliverables.
The ISO 19650 series and the ISO 29481 series use the same terminology wherever possible. The IDM
specification in this document is the appropriate way to record the relationships between types of actors
that fulfil the party roles named in the ISO 19650 series and sets out the detailed information that one type
of organization requires from another.
The exchange requirements defined in an IDM specify in detail the information that is required but does this
in terms of generic actor types (e.g. what a client requires from a designer for a given business process). This
is different to the exchange information requirement described in the ISO 19650 series: it is specific to a
given appointment (e.g. what the client for project XYZ requires from their designer on that project) and the
information may be defined in whatever level of detail is deemed appropriate. This means it is possible for
one exchange information requirement to correlate to multiple exchange requirements.
The business context established as part of an IDM can also help define the information management
resources used in the ISO 19650 series, such as the information standard and the information production
methods and procedures. An IDM can be considered as a toolkit for information managers to identify what

v
ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
information should be received or sent, the actors involved, how that information flows, for what purpose
and the milestones for pre-defined use cases.
Figure 1 — Relationships between ISO 29481-1 and other relevant standards
Working anticlockwise from the top-left in Figure 1, ISO 12911 defines a systematic approach for developing
information management documents as structured specifications to support the automated checking of
expected outcomes. The IDM specification in this document can be used to provide content for ISO 12911.
The ISO 21597 series specify the use of linked data techniques to create a collection of structured
information models and associated datasets with explicit relationship links between elements in the
separate documents, all contained in a single archive format. It provides a way of packaging information
deliverables in a consolidated container to support information exchange.
ISO 7817-1 provides an overview of the level of information need. This concept is introduced in the ISO 19650
series as the way for a project client or asset owner to indicate the quantity and nature of information
expected in response to any given information requirement. Level of information need provides a more
comprehensive way of defining information units that form part of an exchange requirement that is specified
in an IDM.
ISO 16739-1 provides a way to create a semantically precise representation of real-world assets, resulting in
a very effective way of delivering information that satisfies the exchange requirements as specified in this
document.
ISO 12006-3 provides a specification for a taxonomy in any domain of interest, allowing terms used to
denote information units in an IDM to be structured and mapped to other terms.
ISO 29481-3 defines a specification to store, exchange and read IDM specifications that conform to this
document in a standardized machine-readable way. ISO 29481-2 and ISO 19510, shown in the top-right
corner of Figure 1, specify the two alternative modelling techniques used to represent a business context
map that conforms to this document.
In summary, this document provides a basis for reliable information exchange and sharing so that users
can be confident that the information they are receiving is accurate and sufficient for the tasks they must
perform. The development of this document has been driven by the need for reliability in information
exchange between parties in any business context.

vi
International Standard ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
Building information models — Information delivery
manual —
Part 1:
Methodology and format
1 Scope
This document prescribes:
— how to document a use case with an associated business context and exchange requirements;
— a methodology to identify and specify the information exchanges required at identified times during the
life cycle of assets.
This document presents the information delivery manual (IDM) in natural language terms to facilitate
interoperability between software applications used during all phases of the life cycle of assets (both
buildings and infrastructure). It promotes digital collaboration between actors within the identified business
context and provides a basis for accurate, reliable, repeatable and high-quality information exchange.
The information delivery manual (IDM) methodology specified in this document can be applied to any
information management trigger event to identify the details of the information required to be exchanged.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 6707-1, Buildings and civil engineering works — Vocabulary — Part 1: General terms
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 6707-1 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp.
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/ .
3.1 General
3.1.1
actor
person, organization or organizational unit involved in a business process (3.3.4)
Note 1 to entry: Organizational units include, but are not limited to, departments, teams.

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
3.1.2
role
functions being performed by an actor (3.1.1) at a point in time
Note 1 to entry: The role of an actor is determined by action and outcome and not necessarily by the profession or
trade followed by the actor.
3.1.3
asset
item, thing or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization
[SOURCE: ISO 55000:2024, 3.1.1, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]
3.1.4
metadata
data about data or data elements
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 2382:2015, 2121505, modified — "possibly including their data descriptions, and data
about data ownership, access paths, access rights and data volatility" has been removed; notes to entry have
been removed.]
3.1.5
schema
formal description of a data model (3.1.6)
Note 1 to entry: A schema is specified with properties, structure and interrelationships.
[SOURCE: ISO 19101-1:2014, 4.1.34, modified — The word "data" has been added; note 1 to entry has been added.]
3.1.6
data model
graphical, lexical or combined representation of data
Note 1 to entry: Data model is described with schema (3.1.5).
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-1:2023, 3.2.24, modified — The words "specifying their properties, structure, and
interrelationships" have been removed; note 1 to entry has been added.]
3.2 Information organization and management
3.2.1
information model
set of structured and unstructured information containers (3.2.2)
[SOURCE: ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.8]
3.2.2
information container
named persistent set of information retrievable from within a file, system or application storage hierarchy
[SOURCE: ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.12, modified — EXAMPLE and notes to entry have been removed.]
3.2.3
exchange view definition
EVD
computer-interpretable representation of one or more data models (3.1.6) or their parts, required to fulfil
the exchange requirement (3.3.10)
Note 1 to entry: This term is adopted in this document to avoid confusion. For example, with the concept of a model
view definition (MVD) that is currently used specifically in the construction industry to define a view of all or part of
a building information model (3.2.1) held in IFC as specified in ISO 16739-1.

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
3.3 Information delivery
3.3.1
information delivery manual
IDM
specification of a use case (3.3.2) using business context (3.3.3) maps and exchange requirements (3.3.10)
Note 1 to entry: Use case, context maps, and exchange requirements can be collectively referred to as IDM components.
3.3.2
use case
UC
description of a business context (3.3.3) by defining a sequence of actions performed by one or more roles
(3.1.2) to realize a purpose.
Note 1 to entry: A use case specifies the scope of the context.
[SOURCE: ISO 24014-1:2021, 3.36, modified - the word "process" has been changed to "business context",
because a use case can encompass several business processes; the word "actor" has been replaced with
"role"; the phrase "and by the system itself" has been replaced with "to realize a purpose"; note 1 to entry
has been added.]
3.3.3
business context
environment in which actors (3.1.1) undertake business processes (3.3.4)
Note 1 to entry: Such an environment includes all the roles (3.1.2), activities, and interactions (3.4.2), products and
services under the actor's control.
3.3.4
business process
set of interrelated or interacting activities that use inputs to deliver an intended result
EXAMPLE Agreements, systems, services, or products.
Note 1 to entry: A business process always contains one or more transactions (3.4.3).
[SOURCE: ISO 9000:2015, 3.4.1, modified — EXAMPLE has been added; notes to entry have been replaced
with a new note to entry.]
3.3.5
business context map
graphical representation of the information flows related to a context
EXAMPLE Interaction maps (3.3.7) and process maps (3.3.6).
3.3.6
process map
PM
context map of the activities related to a use case (3.3.2)
3.3.7
interaction map
context map of the interactions (3.4.2) related to a use case (3.3.2)
3.3.8
information exchange
act of satisfying an information requirement (3.3.9) or part thereof
[SOURCE: ISO 7817-1:2024, 3.3, modified — The part of speech "verb" has been removed.]

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
3.3.9
information requirement
specification for what, when and for whom information is to be produced
Note 1 to entry: The specification of "how information is to be produced" is part of level of information need.
[SOURCE: ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.2, modified — The word "how" has been removed; note 1 to entry has
been added.]
3.3.10
exchange requirement
ER
defined collection of information units (3.3.11) required to fulfil a use case (3.3.2)
3.3.11
information unit
description of a piece of information
EXAMPLE Inspection report, window identifier, room depth.
Note 1 to entry: Information units can refer to anything used as part fulfilment of an exchange requirement (3.3.10),
ranging from entire information containers (3.2.2) such as an "invitation to bid" or an asset (3.1.3) model, to specific
information items such as the properties of objects or the components that make up an object.
3.4 Interaction within organizations
3.4.1
interaction framework
XML file for the elements of an interaction (3.4.2)
Note 1 to entry: Elements of an interaction include roles (3.1.2), transactions (3.4.3), messages, and information units
(3.3.11).
3.4.2
interaction
communicative action between two roles (3.1.2)
3.4.3
transaction
sequence of interactions (3.4.2) involving the exchange of information using messages
EXAMPLE Processing of a request by one role (3.1.2) on behalf of another.
Note 1 to entry: A transaction is a message between the initiator and the executor.
4 Information delivery manual
4.1 General
This clause specifies the general requirements of an IDM as well as the concepts and principles that inform
the development of its three main components: a defined use case, a description of the business context
and the specification of the exchange requirements. The IDM methodology presented in this document may
be followed to develop an IDM from first principles, but that work may also be streamlined as described in
the Annex A if the prescribed components of the IDM are provided as described in this document and the
information specifications are able to be made relevant to local working practices.
4.2 General requirements of an IDM
An IDM shall deliver the following as a minimum:
— a description of the use case addressed by the IDM;

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
— a description of the need for information exchange within the business context;
— the identity of the actors involved in any information exchange;
— a definition and description of the activities or interactions where information is created, used or
exchanged between actors to deliver a service or produce an end product;
— definitions, specifications and descriptions that can be understood;
— detailed specifications of exchange requirements including the identification of relevant objects within
structured information containers.
Further details for specifying an IDM are given in Clause 5. Guidance for development of content and the
approach to follow is given in Annex A.
4.3 Users of this document
The main users are expected to be IDM developers who consider a specific use case, employ a discovery
process or other means to define the corresponding business context, and specify exchange requirements
using knowledge elicited from end users.
More broadly, users of this document may include the following:
— software solution providers wishing to specify the requirements for information and communication
support in software applications;
— information users, i.e. executive users and end users, concerned with producing information in accordance
with the IDM to support their business processes.
It follows that a wider group of users are those who take note of the detailed specifications of the information
that an actor fulfilling a particular role are required to provide at a particular point within a business
process. Such users include the following:
— project manager, responsible for organizing the business process and ensuring that the information
exchange is appropriately managed;
— information model manager, making the necessary arrangements to support an exchange requirement;
— client, who initiates the development of an IDM and includes it as a whole or in part in a contract;
— contractor or consultant, using the IDM to make the necessary arrangements to comply with the
expectations of the business process and associated information delivery;
— business manager, using an IDM as a template or standard to be applied in many projects within its
organization;
— construction organization, using an IDM for a specific project type as a template or standard to be applied
in the sector;
— asset manager, using an IDM to define exchange requirements associated with routine or reactive
maintenance of assets;
— asset operator, using an IDM to define exchange requirements associated with operational activities.
4.4 Use case
An IDM addresses a use case that shall be specified in accordance with Clause 5.

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
4.5 Business context
4.5.1 General
Figure 2 shows an example of a business context (represented here as an interaction map) that requires
an IDM: a client (role R1) engages (in a contractual transaction T1) a consultant (role R2) to deliver some
service. In such a use case, the following shall be documented:
— the collaborative and contractual aspects of their relationship;
— how information will be delivered within that business context.
The IDM describes that context as well as the required information associated with any transactions (both
ways) in that relationship. That information is held within an information model made up of information
containers.
If the service required of the consultant in that example is a complex one, then it may be necessary to initiate
further business processes to fulfil the requirement, leading to a more complex business context involving
several business processes, each having specific information delivery requirements.
Figure 2 — Example of a simple business context requiring an IDM
When developing an IDM from first principles for a given use case, the nature and context of the information
exchange shall be considered through a discovery process. There are two recommended ways of looking at
that, each with an associated business context mapping methodology.
— Process maps should be used where the focus is on the business processes (defined by activities executed
by actors with roles) that must be followed to deliver a service or produce an end product (such as a
design). In this case, the information that is the focus of the IDM is associated with a specific activity
within that business process.
— Interaction maps should be used where the focus is on the interactions (made up of a series of transactions)
between actors (with roles) who are to deliver a service or product, and the concern is to ensure that
agreed communication protocols are in place to ensure that the business goals are achieved. In this case,
the information that is the focus of the IDM is associated with a transaction.
These are complementary approaches, so within any given business context, it may be appropriate to
use both methodologies: a process map can be used to clarify the details of a transaction identified in an
interaction mapping exercise, while an interaction map can be used to rigorously understand an information
exchange defined in a process map.
4.5.2 and 4.5.3 describe these types of business context maps in greater detail.

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
4.5.2 Process maps
The process map considers the actor roles involved in the business processes associated with the business
context with a focus on the sequence of activities to be undertaken by those actors to support the use
case. Information exchanges are identified (giving rise to exchange requirements) where an activity to be
performed by one actor requires input from another actor.
A simple example of a process map is provided in the sample IDM referenced in Annex B.
The purpose of a process map is to describe the flow of activities within the boundary of a particular
business process, the roles played by the actors involved, together with the information required, consumed
and produced.
The approach recommended for representing process maps is the business process modelling notation
(BPMN, see the ISO 19510 series). Further guidance on using BPMN is given in Annex C.
Within an IDM, a process map:
— sets the boundary for the extent of the information contained within the business process;
— identifies all the actors involved, assigning each to a swim lane in the diagrammatic representation;
— establishes the activities within the business process;
— shows the logical sequence of the activities;
— supports the expansion of activities with more detailed process maps where appropriate.
The required information associated with a business context is determined by the contents of the exchange
requirements specified in the IDM.
4.5.3 Interaction maps
An interaction map is a visual representation of the scope, key roles (actors) and the essential moments of
interaction between roles in a business context. Instead of detailing the activities necessary for production
or service provision, the interaction map highlights the fundamental transactions – structured interactions
– in which actors exchange commitments and coordinate their work.
Each interaction involves a structured conversation between two roles, where a request or delivery of
a product or service is agreed. This structured interaction is referred to as a transaction. Each business
process is a chain of transactions, each with a defined initiator (the actor responsible for starting the
interaction) and an executor (the actor tasked with completing it).
In each transaction, any information exchanges for a specific purpose (e.g. a request for a change or
information delivery and the subsequent approval) are identified, governed by specific rules that dictate the
sequence of actions. For digital purposes these communicative information exchanges are translated into
messages with data forms and attachments that provide the required information to coordinate production
or service delivery.
Interaction maps, associated transactions and their message sequence are typically represented as unified
modelling language (UML) sequence diagrams. A simple example of an interaction map is provided in the
sample IDM referenced in Annex B.
The interaction map and associated transactions form the key components of an interaction framework.
ISO 29481-2 specifies a schema for a computer-interpretable interaction framework enabling digital IDM
communication for any defined business context. This facilitates (through available software) effective
management of the business context to ensure the integrity of any information exchanges and improve the
coordination of production and services.
Further guidance on using interaction maps is given in Annex D.

ISO 29481-1:2025(en)
Within an IDM, an interaction map:
— sets the boundary for the extent of the information contained within the business context;
— identifies the actors, either initiators or executors, for each transaction;
— establishes the required interactions within the business process;
— defines the business cooperation and communication requirements allowing the contributions of
relevant roles to the information exchanges to be managed;
— supports the detailed expansion of the steps within a transaction to ensure reliable completion.
4.6 Exchange requirements
An exchange requirement represents the connection between process and data. It describes a set of
information that shall be developed and delivered by an actor to enable a downstream activity to be
performed by another actor. It shall be defined with a clear understanding of the information requirements
of the downstream actor.
4.7 Information delivery
The information delivered in response to defined information requirements is referred to as an information
model. This includes both structured information containers (including digital representations of physical
assets in the built environment) and unstructured ones such as digital images, drawings and text documents.
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