Model Audit Template

A practical checklist to keep your BIM models healthy throughout a project. Replace {company} with your own naming convention.

This template assumes the initial model setup is already in place. For how to prepare a model before anyone starts modeling, see the companion post → Model setup criteria.

How to use it. For each check, mark the Status column with ✓ (pass), ✗ (fail) or NA (not applicable), and use Notes to record where, who, or a link to the element.

Cadence (Cad.), how often to run each check: W weekly · M monthly · MS per milestone / phase

Detection, how each check can be verified, with a companion QC addin in mind: Auto the addin resolves it on its own · Partial the addin flags candidates and you confirm · Manual human judgment, the addin doesn’t enter

Model structure and organization

Naming conventions

Common criterion for this section: each item matches the {company} convention and unused ones are purged.

Modeling quality

Families

Coordination and deliverables

Data and parameters

Sheets and drawings

Prohibitions

Notes

Phases and design options

Why I prefer not to audit phases (on ~95% of projects). Phases can corrupt models easily and produce errors that are hard to trace in collaborative environments. This is especially true with linked models: phase filters only behave correctly when phase names and filter configurations match exactly across every file, and otherwise Revit silently falls back to “None”, which shows everything from every phase. Autodesk’s own documentation confirms a host model’s phase filter does not control linked files when filter names differ.

Instead, I prefer to set view templates with Phase Filter: None and apply all visual modifications through regular view filters. That way graphic control is explicit, reproducible, and doesn’t depend on each element’s phase state.

If you do need to audit a project that uses phases, I wrote a short post explaining how they work → How phases work in Revit

About design options. The idea behind design options is sound, but they consume a lot of computer resources and make models slow to work in. Even when inactive and hidden, every option still forces Revit to recalculate how it affects the surrounding elements on each change. In my opinion, the cost of keeping them coordinated across disciplines doesn’t pay off versus simpler alternatives.