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CAD Standards – Silence equals permission

If the Standard is silent – users can do whatever they want

Do you have this perspective with your standard?

Or are you calling people on the carpet for not doing what you never told them had to do? Or for doing something that you never said they could not do?

Here is my thought…

If my standard does not cover a topic, then the users can do whatever they please with their Project Managers permission. If I have failed to include something in my standard, I am not going to yell at someone for being creative. I fully expect them to be able to defend their decisions. They should not just be randomly creating garbage. They need to use wisdom when selecting a path and be able to define the reasons they decided to do what they have done.

My goal is to put into my standard everything that is critical for my team to do correctly and in a unified manner. If I do not include it, then it is my fault if people are doing things in differing ways. I don’t blame the users.

BUT…

If it is not silent, then I expect (demand) that they follow the standard. There is no wiggle room. I have defined what is needed and they need to comply. If I have the full and complete backing of upper management, then no one can violate the standard without cause. And the causes are very few.