Configuring Autodesk Forma Data Management to Meet ISO 19650

The construction and infrastructure industry continues to grapple with fragmented design processes, broken data silos, and inconsistent file management practices that drive inefficiency and rework. ISO 19650, the international standard for information management, provides a clear framework to address these challenges, and Autodesk Forma Data Management (formerly Autodesk Docs) can be configured to align directly with its principles.

The Challenge

Most project teams are still working with fragmented folder structures filled with inconsistent naming, duplicated files, and unclear versioning (we’ve all seen the dreaded “report_final_v3” problem). Combined with rising on-premise storage costs and growing model sizes, these inefficiencies create significant risks for data loss, rework, and disciplinary silos. Without a structured, standardised approach to information management, even the best design teams struggle to maintain confidence that they are working off the latest approved data.

The Solution

ISO 19650 is a six-part standard, but for the purposes of configuring a common data environment (CDE), it can be distilled into four key pillars: folder structures, information requirements, naming conventions, and workflows. By configuring Autodesk Forma Data Management against these pillars, and saving that configuration as a reusable project template, you can establish a compliant, scalable CDE that supports every new project from day one.

Here is how to apply each pillar step-by-step:

1. Establish Compliant Folder Structures

ISO 19650 mandates four core containers: Work in Progress (WIP), Shared, Published, and Archived. Within Forma, configure these as top-level folders, with subfolders organised either by discipline or by data type (the latter being a mandate for Victorian Big Build projects under VIDA, for example). The principle to remember is that WIP information must not be visible or accessible to anyone outside the relevant task team, while Shared content has been checked and approved for use by other appropriate task teams.

2. Enforce Information Requirements Through Permissions and Attributes

ISO 19650 imposes detailed information requirements that need to be embedded into the CDE. In Forma, this is achieved in two ways.

• First, folder-level permissions restrict access so that a structural engineer, for example, can only see their own WIP folder, not the WIP folders of other disciplines. Comparing an administrator profile side-by-side with a project member profile demonstrates this clearly: where the administrator sees everything, the structural engineer only sees what is relevant to their role.
• Second, custom attributes are used to capture metadata such as status codes (S0, S1, etc.), revision, suitability, and review status against each information container.

3. Apply a Mandated Naming Convention

ISO 19650 requires that all information containers follow an agreed naming convention. While the standard itself does not dictate the exact structure, agencies such as VIDA and Infrastructure NSW provide their own guidance. In Forma, naming conventions are enforced through the naming standard tick box on a folder, with fields such as project number, discipline, document type, and document number configured as required components. Once enabled, any file added to that folder must conform, and related attributes can be auto-populated from the file name through the naming validator.

4. Control Information Flow with Review Workflows

ISO 19650 requires that transitions between states (WIP → Shared → Published) are subject to formal approval and authorisation processes. In Forma, this is achieved using design review workflows. Configure an auto-trigger on a Design Review folder so that any file copied in automatically initiates a review. A two-step review, technical design review followed by document controller QA, can be used to validate the content, update status codes, and automatically copy approved files into the Shared folder, all without giving end users the ability to manually move files between states.

Maintaining Confidence in Approved Data

The combined effect of these four pillars is that every user of the platform can be confident they are working off the latest approved data. A structural engineer pulling a civil drawing from the Shared folder knows that drawing has passed technical review, they are not working off someone’s in-progress sketch or an outdated revision that nobody has signed off on. The same controlled workflow applies again when moving from Shared to Published, ensuring no information leaves a controlled state without authorisation.

Conclusion

ISO 19650 compliance does not have to be a burdensome overlay on top of your existing systems. By configuring Autodesk Forma Data Management against the four pillars of folder structures, information requirements, naming conventions, and workflows, and packaging that configuration as a reusable project template, you can deliver a compliant, scalable CDE that improves data governance across every project. The result is less rework, fewer data silos, and complete confidence in the information your teams are working from.