Overview
Steve’s Build Blog (SBB) has developed gradually over many years. That pace was intentional. I was refining core concepts with a small team while self-funding the creation of a substantial body of work.
SBB grew out of BuildUSA, an effort spanning the multiple areas of expertise that define the building industry. Focused on improving the Building industry by developing the technology, business strategies, and most importantly, Standards, Templates, and Workflows (STWs) required to answer one question:
How do we deliver Building projects that are:
- Higher quality
- Higher performance
- Faster market delivery
- Lower cost
Developing the SBB software ecosystem, learning and managing publishing tools, and shaping the strategies, storylines, and supporting materials has required time, discipline, and iteration.
Post 84: “What is Steve’s Build Blog About?” introduced SBB’s purpose and content types.
This post explores:
- Why SBB was created
- How it is organized
- Where it is headed over the next 12–18 months
The purpose of SBB is twofold:
- Tell the evolving story of Building—its history, its current status, and its future.
- Introduce the BuildUSA framework and, over time, reveal its specific tools and solutions.
This is a major undertaking and a long-term effort.
What SBB Offers
Building is complex. SBB exists to provide insight into:
- The major forces shaping Building’s future
- A clear vision of what that future could look like
- The tools, STWs, and product solutions being developed and eventually offered through SBB
To date, most content has addressed items 1 and 2. In 2025 there has been a growing focus on item #3 and 2026 will continue and grow this emphasis.
To be clear, enormous amounts of research, testing and product development have taken place on item #3 issues, for many years. Many of the solutions have been tested in real life project situations. But they are not ready for prime time, to share with the SBB audience. Ultimately, that is the core purpose of SBB. To initially develop a clear understanding of the,
- Challenges and pressures facing Building
- A clear vision of the what Building’s future will look like, and finally
- Be an industry leader in providing clear solutions and tools that support that vision of Building’s future.
The following three linked documents outline SBB’s themes, categories and tags at a high level, but the real value lies in its storytelling framework.
Major Story Telling Themes & Categories
These frameworks have been developed and are being shared because there is no agreed upon, centralized structure for the Building industry. Developing one is a large and complex task, and SBB is contributing a foundation.
Content Categories
| Category | Description | Classifications |
| Forces Shaping the Building Industry | Major influences and trends | B1_Life Lessons (LL) B2_Challenges & Opportunities (CO) |
| Building’s Future | Long-term vision and desired outcomes | B-3_L.I.F.E. Concept (LC) B-4_What Solutions Look Like (WSLL) |
| BuildUSA Solutions | Tools, standards, and workflows under development | B-5_BuildUSA Solutions (BUSA-S) |
| Miscellaneous Stories | Additional insights and perspectives | B-6_Miscellaneous & General Interest (MGI) |
| About SBB | Descriptions of, and Meta-content about SBB and its development | B-7_Steve’s Build Blog (SBB) |
| Uncategorized | Content that belongs to no specific Classification. | B-8 Uncategorized Content |
The Origin and Structure of SBB
From day one, it was clear that Building touches a vast range of interconnected issues.
Capital-B “Building” refers to the full ecosystem: architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, distributors, owners, operators, and everyone in between.
Lowercase “building” refers to the design, construction, and operation of physical structures.
To begin, SBB engaged a consultant (Jeff) and shared a substantial library of reference material. Through extensive discussion, we explored the Building ecosystem and created a structured outline, a roadmap to guide both SBB content and BuildUSA’s development.
The outcome was the Build Blog Map (BBM), a framework of dozens of interrelated themes that chart Building’s past, present, and future. This reflects the complexity of the building industry and is a core reason change in this industry has been so slow. The BBM remains central to keeping SBB’s development coordinated and has been a core driver of how the categories, themes and tags have developed.
SBB posts now include unique identifiers and are organized consistently to help readers navigate themes and understand the larger story. This system will continue to evolve to support clarity and long-term knowledge management.
For the first phase, I wrote freely to build core content. With the foundation in place, the content has now been organized into themes, categories, and tagged so readers can:
- Understand the overarching narrative
- Find topics more easily
And the content provides a coherent and more compelling storyline providing greater clarity to the reader.
Navigation & Reading Paths
Two indexes have been added to SBB that organize all the content in two ways.
- Chronological index (posts by publication date)
- Theme-based index (posts grouped by major storyline)
A third index will be launched soon, offering recommended reading paths for:
- New readers exploring Building innovation for the first time
- Experienced professionals seeking fast access to the future vision, solutions, and tools
Looking Ahead
SBB remains a work in progress—just like innovation in the Building industry. As content expands and becomes more detailed and comprehensive, this overview will be updated. Toward the end of 2026, SBB plans to introduce podcasts to further advance its storytelling and deliver deeper insight into Building’s future.
Photo by Abbe Sublett on Unsplash