Why This Matters for Global Enterprises

As digital transformation accelerates across the global construction industry, many companies are leveraging the visual programming tool Dynamo to improve work efficiency. One construction company client had actively adopted Dynamo across its projects but began to face serious management and operational challenges as usage expanded. These challenges included a growing maintenance burden due to frequent version upgrades and a heavy reliance on individual developers as the number of Dynamo-based functions increased.

Against this backdrop, the client consulted SHIFT ASIA, leveraging our extensive experience and proven track record in BIM software development, to help modernize and stabilize their development environment.

SHIFT ASIA analyzed the client’s existing Dynamo programs and undertook a project to migrate them to a more versatile and maintainable Revit API–based workflow, significantly reducing management overhead. The migration was executed while preserving the existing operating environment, enabling a smooth transition that improved operational efficiency and led to substantial reductions in maintenance, operation, and management costs.

Client Challenges

As the organization’s reliance on Dynamo increased, the number of operational functions grew to more than 200, revealing several critical challenges during the operational phase.

Version Upgrade Constraints and Error Handling

In the client’s environment, many programs stopped functioning whenever Dynamo or Revit was upgraded. Testing and fixing more than 200 functions after each upgrade required significant manhours, causing maintenance and operational costs to escalate rapidly.

Lack of Versatility and Functional Silos

Many Dynamo-based functions were developed to meet the needs of specific projects or individual users. As a result, they were difficult to reuse across other projects, forcing teams to build similar features and repeatedly reducing overall business efficiency.

Resource Constraints and Dependency on Key Individuals

Maintenance of Dynamo programs relied heavily on a small number of engineers with specialized knowledge. As knowledgeable engineers left the organization or were reassigned, many functions became “black boxes,” increasing the risk that systems could no longer be maintained, fixed, or enhanced.

Client Requirements

The client sought to move away from its growing dependency on Dynamo, which was approaching its practical limits, and transition to a more stable, organization-wide, and usable system. Specifically, they required migration to a Revit API–based solution that met the following criteria:

Reduced Maintenance Costs and Stable Operations

By migrating to the Revit API, the client aimed to minimize the impact of version upgrades and establish a more robust system with fewer operational errors.

Standardization and Reusability of Functions

Project-specific Dynamo programs needed to be analyzed, reorganized, and redesigned as standardized, general-purpose functions that could be reused across all projects.

Business Continuity During the Transition

Rather than performing a full system replacement at once, the client required Dynamo and the new API-based environment to operate in parallel to ensure a smooth transition without disrupting on-site operations.

SHIFT ASIA’s Approach and Results

SHIFT ASIA assembled a team of engineers with deep expertise in both Dynamo and the Revit API, providing end-to-end support, from analyzing black-box legacy assets to full migration and optimization. Our approach extended beyond code conversion to include process optimization and long-term sustainability.

1. Eliminating Dynamo Dependency and Improving Maintainability

We conducted a detailed analysis of more than 200 existing Dynamo programs and categorized them into those to be discarded, consolidated, or converted into Revit API solutions. By rebuilding critical functions using the Revit API, we significantly improved processing speed and operational stability. This dramatically reduced the effort required for version upgrades and significantly eased long-term maintenance and management workloads.

2. Standardization and Expansion of Core Functions

Functions that were previously limited to specific projects were redesigned as general-purpose Revit add-ins. Leveraging SHIFT ASIA’s BIM development expertise, we unified the user interface to improve usability. As a result, designers and construction staff with no prior Dynamo experience could use the tools intuitively, accelerating adoption across the entire organization.

3. Smooth Transition and Elimination of Individual Dependency

During the migration period, Dynamo and the new API-based system were operated in parallel to prevent disruption to on-site workflows. By adopting standard programming languages and development practices, we established a development framework that no longer depended on individual skills. Comprehensive documentation and source code management were also implemented, ensuring a sustainable and scalable development and operational model.

Project Outcomes

This project enabled a smooth transition from a highly maintenance-intensive Dynamo-based environment to a robust Revit add-in ecosystem. The Revit API implementation significantly reduced the effort required for version upgrades, resulting in substantial reductions in maintenance and operational costs and easing the burden on related departments.

Furthermore, by standardizing and deploying reusable tools across the organization, productivity improved not only for specific projects but company-wide. The elimination of dependency on individual developers also ensured long-term system stability, regardless of personnel changes or retirements, greatly strengthening the client’s operational resilience.

Key Technologies Explained

To provide context for readers who may not be deeply familiar with BIM tools, the following section outlines the core technologies referenced in this case study.

What Is Revit?

Revit is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) software platform developed by Autodesk. It is widely used by architects, engineers, and construction professionals worldwide. Unlike traditional CAD tools, Revit allows teams to create intelligent 3D models that include both geometric and non-geometric information, such as materials, quantities, and the relationships between building components.

Revit supports collaborative design and ensures consistency across project documentation. It also enables automated updates whenever the model changes. Additionally, Revit provides an extensible Application Programming Interface (API) that allows developers to create custom tools and add-ins tailored to specific business workflows.

What Is Dynamo?

Dynamo is a visual programming tool that integrates with Revit and other Autodesk products. It enables users to create automated workflows by connecting graphical nodes rather than writing code, making automation more accessible to those without programming experience.

Dynamo is commonly used for rapid prototyping, rule-based modeling, and project-specific automation. However, as workflows increase in number and complexity, solutions built with Dynamo can become challenging to maintain, especially during software upgrades or in large organizations.

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates how a structured transition from Dynamo-based automation to a Revit API–driven architecture can deliver lasting value for construction organizations operating at scale. By eliminating dependency on fragile, project-specific workflows and introducing standardized, maintainable BIM solutions, the client achieved greater operational stability, reduced long-term costs, and improved enterprise-wide productivity.

Beyond technical modernization, the project established a sustainable development and governance framework that supports business continuity, mitigates operational risk, and enables future expansion. The ability to maintain consistent BIM workflows, regardless of software upgrades or personnel changes, has strengthened the organization’s digital foundation for long-term growth.

Through this engagement, SHIFT ASIA demonstrated its role as a trusted global partner in BIM development and construction digital transformation. By combining deep technical expertise with an enterprise-focused delivery approach, SHIFT ASIA helps organizations build scalable, resilient BIM environments that support both current operations and future innovation.