Preparing for a fifteen-minute capacity audit
A short capacity audit is more useful when the practice brings a clear picture of its work. BIM12's fifteen-minute conversation is intended to review capacity, see the workflow and assess a suitable plan. It is an initial fit discussion, not a promise that a particular percentage of improvement will apply to every team.
Bring a realistic workload snapshot
Prepare the number of new projects expected each month, their approximate floor counts and the stages at which modeling support is needed. Identify when drawings normally become complete and which deadlines create pressure. Include one representative package if it can be discussed within the confidentiality arrangements. Separate recurring production from unusual assignments. A team handling several modest projects may have a different need from one handling a single complex building, even when its total modeling hours appear similar.
Explain the current bottleneck
Describe who currently converts drawings into models, what interrupts that work and how the results are reviewed. Estimate preparation, production and checking effort using recent evidence where available. Identify whether delays arise from modeling volume, unresolved architectural decisions or missing references. External capacity can address a defined production task, while a decision bottleneck needs a different response. Be candid about the time your team can allocate to questions and acceptance; that internal availability affects how useful the returned bases will be.
Use the conversation to test fit
Ask to see how source files, modeling questions, reviews and deliveries connect in the proposed workflow. Confirm the architectural scope, required formats and any Revit version requirement. Review plan capacity, project definitions, change rounds and the conditions attached to delivery timing. If renders, training or a custom arrangement matter, explain the actual need. Keep specialist engineering and regulatory work explicit. Ask which assumptions would need a longer follow-up rather than trying to force every technical question into a short introductory call.
Bring three things to the audit
- Prepare a realistic month of projects with floor counts and likely readiness dates, identifying the deadlines and incomplete references that shape the team's production pressure.
- Choose one current bottleneck and describe who handles it today, including the time the practice can devote to preparation, questions and acceptance after outsourcing.
- List the requirements a first commission must meet, then leave with a clear next step and any scope or commercial facts still needing confirmation.
Record the likely plan, any unresolved scope questions and what a representative first commission would require. Use the audit to improve the brief even if the decision needs more evidence. The useful outcome is a shared understanding of the workflow and capacity need, with clear facts to confirm before sending the first complete package for architectural modeling.
General guidance: each project's scope is confirmed before commissioning.