ABSTRACT
The transition to fully digitalised building permit processes holds immense potential to improve the quality, transparency, and efficiency of regulatory procedures for the built environment. However, this transformation involves complex changes across organisational, technological, and informational dimensions, requiring a structured approach to guide municipalities and permitting bodies. Maturity models provide a valuable framework for assessing an organisation's current digital maturity, identifying gaps, and building strategic roadmaps to advance their building permit systems.
This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of the maturity assessment of the building permit process, bringing insights from academic literature, public procedures, and industry practices. It begins by contextualising the need for digitalisation in the building permit process, which is often hindered by paper-based procedures, missing or redundant information, and lack of standardisation. The chapter then surveys existing maturity modelling approaches relevant to this domain, including frameworks developed for Building Information Modelling, Geographic Information Systems, and e-government.
The core of this chapter is the detailed presentation of the CHEK Digital Building Permit Maturity Model (CDBPMM), an assessment tool created to address the unique requirements of regulatory approval processes. The CDBPMM defines 35 key maturity areas across four core categories: Process, Organisation, Technology, and Information. The chapter explains the model's structure, assessment criteria, and progressive maturity levels, illustrating how it can be leveraged by municipalities to evaluate their current and desired state and plan a strategic course for digital transformation.
Beyond the CDBPMM, the chapter discusses complementary maturity modelling techniques, their strengths, limitations, and applicability to building permit digitalisation. It also explores emerging trends, such as the use of artificial intelligence to enhance permit decision-making, and how maturity models can be adapted with the contribution of these technological advancements.
