Lack of interoperability has been identified as an obstacle to collaboration in BIM (Building Information Modeling). This paper reviews the practical context in which interoperability issues are raised in the literature. More precisely, the following questions are addressed: what exactly is expected from a given BIM data exchange? What is interoperability needed for? This review shows that the strong need in interoperability between different AEC trades is being addressed in the literature: an integrative BIM approach is emerging. However, some gaps persist in more basic and fundamental usages, like checking and querying BIM data.