Level of Information Need (LOIN)
The ISO 19650 framework that defines how much information is enough for a given purpose — no more, no less.
Level of Information Need (LOIN) is the ISO 19650 framework for deciding how much information a deliverable should carry for a particular purpose. Its guiding idea is "enough, and no more": information is expensive to produce and maintain, so each model element should be developed only to the extent a specific decision or use actually requires.
The level of information need is described through complementary components — the geometrical information (how much shape and dimensional detail), the alphanumerical information (the data and properties), and the supporting documentation. Crucially, it is defined against a purpose and a delivery milestone, not as a single global setting: the same wall may need rich data but coarse geometry for one use, and the reverse for another.
LOIN was introduced to replace the patchwork of older "level of" scales that conflated geometry and information and were applied model-wide. It is the modern, purpose-driven successor to the legacy level of development idea, and it pairs directly with the exchange information requirements, which state the purposes the information must serve.
Need this in practice?
Information Modelling →