If you take Building Information Model principles from Site down to Shelf/Product level the "Building" part seems limiting. I've used the term Retail Building Information Model in the past but wonder how appropriate it really is. BIM technology is the core physical data model but the extended data goes far beyond a building. I have been trying think of a better term, but not sure I have:
- RBIM - Retail Building Information Model
- DSM - Digital Store Model
- DSIM - Digital Store Information Model
- VSM - Virtual Store Model
- DSP - Digital Store Prototype
- DRP - Digital Retail Prototype
- DRFM - Digital Retail Facility Model
- DRM - Digital Retail Model
So far Digital Store Model seems the best fit to me. Virtual also works but I find people then leap from immediately from "Virtual" to "3D" (as in games, Web, Second Life etc). While a Digital Store Model includes a 3D model it's not just about 3D. I also have to go through our existing TLA's*, there are lots, to see if it already means something else within the business.
The video below, which I first saw tonight, is the best explanation of Architecture (in the general sense) that I've seen. Mind you I'm not an Architect! It's nicely executed and eerily similar to the concept for a Digital Store Model presentation that I sketched out today. Now I have the challenge of turning that random scribble into something worth sharing. Guess who is attempting to describe "What is a Digital Store Model?" to a totally new audience...
Architecture from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo I saw via a post on blog.miragestudio7.com.
