Texts versus models. In a digital brief, information is captured in an entirely different format than in a traditional brief. In a paper brief, requirements are formulated in words and sentences. In contrast, a bim brief captures information in objects (e.g. rooms), with particular properties (e.g. size or capacity), and relations to other objects in the database. A simple example can illustrate the difference: in a traditional brief there may be a sentence like The restaurant should be located close to the entrance. In a digital model, the same information is captured by making two room objects (restaurant and entrance) and a relation between these (a proximity relation)see figure below. The main benefit of this way of capturing information is that the computer knows what is being asked for, whereas traditional text can only be understood by humans. This makes it possible to conduct (automated) checks for missing or conflicting information and to exchange information with other applications (i.e. design and calculation applications). Furthermore, it pushes clients to be very explicit about their requirements, which adds to the clarity of the brief. Externalvistormust be accessible to must be Conference area accessible tomust be in the proximity ofmust contain Reception deskRestaurant Lockersmust be in the proximity ofEntrance Card readersA network of requirementsThis diagram is an example of how client requirements can be captured in a network of objects and relations. The objects can be rooms, activities, fit-out elements and other pieces of information. The relations between the objects can also be of different kinds: proximity relations, accessibility relations, location relations, and many more.