Explaining the Gap between the Promise and Practice of 5D BIM implementation

Cost management remains a challenge in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, as cost estimation, budgeting, and control depend on fragmented information, heterogeneous stakeholder responsibilities, and discontinuous processes across the project life cycle. Although 5D BIM (Building Information Modelling) promises improved quantity take-off, cost visualization, and decision support, its practical implementation often falls short of the benefits demonstrated in isolated or experimental settings. This paper investigates why the continuous use of BIM for cost planning, cost estimating, and cost management has not yet become common practice. The study adopts a qualitative exploratory case study design based on semi-structured interviews with representatives of clients, designers, contractors, general contractors, and specialist firms in the context of German AEC industry. The empirical data were analysed using a deductive–inductive category system informed by the DeLone and McLean information systems success model. The findings show that technological advances in 5D BIM coexist with persistent discontinuities in cost management processes. In particular, limited reuse of model-based cost data and differences in the definition and interpretation of cost-relevant information restrict implementation across project phases and stakeholder boundaries. The paper contributes to product and process modelling in the built environment by explaining semantic interoperability as a central condition for integrating model-based information systems into practical cost management workflows.