Users will be more connected to other Users

The overabundance of information that overwhelms the user now will continue to expand. The sheer volume of information now outstrips our ability to take it all in. Blogs, Wiki’s, Forums, Discussion Groups, and so much more. The good thing about this is that you can find information on just about any topic that you may need at any time. The bad thing is that this information is scatter all over the place and is often not formatted for searching or buried in a long thread.

In the future, there will need to be a better way of uncovering the meat of a conversation on the web. There will need to be an aggregator of all this info in some searchable form. I am talking beyond Google style searches. Since many of the inputs are opinion related and offering suggested solutions, there needs to be some way of sifting through it all for the answer you need. Some are better at getting good hits on their searches now. But it is an art that many do not share.

In the future, the search tools will be imbedded in the tools that we use. The help files delivered with the software will also include searches that extend beyond the understanding of the developers and the ones that write the help files. These tools will scour the internet for the best and brightest rated information. Ratings will be provided by those that find the information useful. Sites will gather and refine the information into easily digestible chinks or related information. This will assist not only the end user, but the development teams that cannot keep up with the volume of questions on how their tools could be used.

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Change will be a constant even more

Users in the future will exist in a constant state of change. You ask yourself “how can it get any faster than what it is now? “ but it will. In the future, there will be a collaborative effort to make the tools work together, but the range of tools will continue to expand.

Changes come from software developers that continue to push the envelope in response the the demands of the users to make tools do what they want. The complicated tools of today may give way to a simplification of interfaces and a reduction in interaction points. This might push into a new menu interface that is beyond our reach at this point but that may possible since the tools are pushing us into better hardware.

As hardware strives to catch up with the software demands, this will create a new baseline machine that is more powerful and faster than the ones we have today. This platform will launch the developers toward offloading the tedious work that we have to now do. The things that were promised in CAD, began to be delivered by BIM will be achieved in a new platform that embraces fully expanded 3d functions.

There will be a backlash as users demand simplicity in the products that they buy. The developers cannot keep pushing the users into more advanced tools without a simplification happening. There has to be some breathing space for the tired user in the future that allows them to stop and refresh themselves. There also has to be a concerted effort to fix all of the lingering annoyances of CAD and the developing ones in BIM. I am patient with BIM because it is still maturing, but CAD – come on.

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Users in the future will think and work in 3D.

All of them, not just some. Even more so than today, in the future users will be immersed in 3D Design products. The current level of design tools has mad fantastic strides toward the next step by encouraging us to work in 3D. Most of them are still developing output that is focused on 2D. As the users and designers press forward with 3d, the output and deliverables will become more 3d in nature also.

3D printers are making headway into the rapid prototyping environment, soon they will become commonplace. These use to be the high priced washing machine sized devices. They are getting to the level of desktop tools now.Read more about this from Cadalyst Magazine where they just published a review of 3D Printers.

Immersive 3d environments will help designers visualize their work. Research into tools like “the CAVE” will allow for immersive interaction with as yet un-built environments. A “CAVE” is a system of rear projection devices that display on a roughly 10’ x 10’ environment. Users wear special glasses that allow then to move around in this environment and look at the environment in 3D. It is immersive in that it projects a 360 degree image. Even the floor is projected.

According to Wikipedia definition of the technology… A lifelike visual display is created by projectors positioned outside the CAVE and controlled by physical movements from a user inside the CAVE. Stereoscopic LCD shutter glasses convey a 3D image. The computers rapidly generate a pair of images, one for each of the user’s eyes. The glasses are synchronized with the projectors so that each eye only sees the correct image. Since the projectors are positioned outside of the cube, mirrors often reduce the distance required from the projectors to the screens. One or more computers, often SGI workstations, drive the projectors.

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Table of contents for How Users Think

1. CAD Manager – Think Like a User
2. How do CAD Users Think?
3. How do CAD Users Think? (more)

There are some patterns that I have seen that frame the way an end user thinks and the concerns that they have that a CAD Manager must not forget when working with them. If you do not keep the End Users in mind, then you may overlook some of the obvious influences that affect your environment.

We looked at 1) being under pressure and 2) they think they are doing things correctly.

3.  Users don’t really want to think about CAD issues.

Most Users are happy drawing and modeling to their hearts content without having to think about Standards and methods.  They are not purposely avoiding standards, they just don’t necessarily think about them much.  There are some that think about them all the time and that is good, but I think that most do not.

You need to be the reminder for them all. You need to check in with them to see how they are doing and what they are doing.  You need to provide training and information about the standards constantly.  Keep them informed.  Remind them again and again.

4.  Users wish that you would make CAD easier.

They want things to go smoothly and not to worry about the standards as much.  They want the systems and menus to help them stay within the guidelines.  They do not understand why the software does not do all the things that the CAD Manager is asking them to do.

CAD Managers need to look into custom programing, third party tools and whatever they can get their hands on to make the system comply with the standards as the Users are drawing.  A few LISP routines and custom created blocks can go a long way.  Editing menus and the CUI will make the tools work to your advantage.

Table of contents for How Users Think

1. CAD Manager – Think Like a User
2. How do CAD Users Think?
3. How do CAD Users Think? (more)

I do not pretend to know everything about the way that anyone thinks. There are so many perspectives, ideas, concepts, information, influences and circumstances that impact the thought processes at any given time that there is no way that anyone can even guess what someone is thinking at any given point with consistency. So I am not going to try.

BUT…

There are some patterns that I have seen that frame the way an end user thinks and the concerns that they have that a CAD Manager must not forget when working with them.  So instead of trying to figure out what they are thinking and getting it wrong, I will focus on the framework of their thought process to see what we can learn (if anything)

Here are a few…

1. They are under pressure.

Everyone wants everything done yesterday. The time crunches of today’s projects place a great amount of pressure on the User to get the job done. I just talked to someone yesterday and they commented on the value of one use “because he is fast”. Most CAD Managers were fast back in the day. Speed is king and things that slow the process down are to be avoided.

Focus on making the Users faster. Get them back to work quickly. Give them the answer they need as soon as possible. Do not ignore their immediate need. If you do – they will find the answer elsewhere – or just make one up (that does not follow the standard).

2. They think they know what they are doing.

Don’t make that into an insult before I explain… I am not saying that they do not know what they are doing, but I bet they think they know how to do their job pretty well. The impact of this is that they do not ask for help when they actually need it. This is because they do not think they are doing anything wrong. The problem is… they do not know what they do not know. They are doing the best they know how and most of the time, they are getting it right. (Except for those few that we know about that seem to always do it wrong)

Check in with the Users to get input. Ask them some questions on how things are done. See what they say. Ask for their opinions on issues to see how they think. Set up a CAD QC program that checks their work. Don’t assume that they are right, verify it. The more you verify that they understand, and are delivering on that understanding, the better your environment gets.

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Table of contents for How Users Think

1. CAD Manager – Think Like a User
2. How do CAD Users Think?
3. How do CAD Users Think? (more)

“User” is such a harsh sounding term, but that is the most common term for those that are the “hands on practitioners” with the software we support.

Thinking like a User is something that may have slipped away from you as you move farther from the day to day workings of the tools and into managing the tools.  Thinking like a User helps you retain that – get it done – got to have it now – kind of attitude that Users have.  If we move to far away from that, we will end up adding their concerns to the bottom of our “to do” list instead of the top.

Thinking like a User means keeping the mind frame that they have.  Thinking their thoughts.  Fitting into their shoes.  Most of us have come from a hands on background and so we know what they think.  But in the progress that we make on a higher plane of Managing and not Using the software we may become ambivalent to the needs of those who need us most.

I am going to explore this concept in the next few blog posts.  How do Users think?  What do they need?  When do they need it?  I am not going to just provide the standard answers – like “I need it now!” but will delve deeper into the perspectives and pressures that they have in getting things done.

So stay tuned…

Some want to go farther with the software that they use.  They want to continue to move forward even when others are having trouble following.  They just keep finding new ways to use the tools that others do not understand.

Some will push you forward before you are ready.  Maybe you need a little push now and then.  But what if you don’t need the push forward?  What if you are pushing at the right pace for your firm and additional pushing will frustrate your users.

What do you think of these folks?  Maybe you need to push back.

Keep them close. I have said this before – but you need to enlist them on your team.  Talk to them more than you do to others.  Encourage them to talk to you.  Try to keep them on your time line, not theirs.

Help them understand that others are slower. Have them help support others.  When they see how others struggle – it may help them see things from another point of view.

Let them know where you are going. Some will fall in line if you just share where you are going and when you are going to get there.

Lay down the Law. I seldom say this, but there are times when you need to remind them about who makes the rules.  If you do not want them introducing advanced processes until you say so – tell them.  You are the CAD Manager after all.  You have been given the final responsibility for running an orderly house.  The authority that has been invested in you has to be exersized occasionally.  Make sure that everyone knows that you have to give approval before processes are changed or expanded.  You need to do it respectfully, but you may have to do it.

According to Wikipedia… Newbie (also said as nooby or newby) is a slang term for a newcomer…  a somewhat clueless newcomer… It can have derogatory connotations, but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without a value judgment.

I just got a new blackberry device (I use to have one of the older models way back when).  So I am “getting up to speed” on it.

I wanted to try to figure it our myself, so I did not ask for help, did not read the book and did not go online.  I wanted to see what an unassisted newbie felt like. I quickly figured out most of the functions, but eventually ended up asking on others.

What did I learn from trying to figure out my new device (and from other things)

• That newbies are all around us.
• That you can be an expert in one area and a newbie in another.
• That newbies feel lost from time to time.
• That newbies are not as productive as others.
• That Noobs are often left without help.
• That noobies often cannot help themselves.
• That newbies depend on the internet to find out how to do things.
• That newbies are not to be blamed for not knowing.
• That newbies often do not get it right.
• That newbies need help and it is not their fault.
• That I am a newbie in many areas where I have not ventured yet.
• I have been a newbie in the past and I will be one in the future.

All of this means that the CAD Manager needs to be patient and helpful to newbies.  Kind of a no brainer, but a good reminder anyway.

Autodesk products can seem daunting, complicated and intimidating. I become concerned at times in this blog about the not so rapid pace of tool adoption and it is troubling at times.

BUT, if you are just beginning with the software, Autodesk programs have produced a large following of users that are dedicated to sharing their skills. User groups are unique to the software world. I did a search on Google for “user group” and found 8,690,000 results. Yahoo has 5,230,000 results. I started looking at them and found that the term is virtually limited to technology groups alone. Software, hardware, OS, programming languages, and more. There was no Tiddlywinks User Group. No NASCAR Racer User Group. Not even a Barbecue Users Group. Technology Only. Hmmmm.

If you are a newcomer to the tools, don’t give up.

Here is some advice for those just starting out…

1. Focus on the main tools that you need.
2. Don’t let what you don’t know stop you from using what you do know.
3. Ask dumb questions – cause there is no such thing as a dumb question.
4. Take notes
5. Refer to your notes – often
6. Read the Help files – they actually help
7. Join a use group in your area
8. Join AUGI – It’s free and it is full of high tech folks to answer your questions
9. Get close to your reseller – they sold you the software and they are a great resource.
10. Don’t give up
11. Ask folks to clarify jargon, if you don’t understand
12. Don’t expect to know it all in a few weeks
13. Don’t expect to know it all – ever
14. Don’t stop learning
15. Seek out others who have used the tools longer than you
16. Don’t be afraid to admit you do not know
17. Don’t be discouraged if you are confused – the light will eventually come on
18. Borrow from others – use their files as examples (hopefully they will be good)
19. Experiment – it won’t break (but do it on files that are not project critical)
20. Have Fun and don’t sweat it – we all started out on the same level – we all knew nothing at one time.

So – the AutoCAD water truly is fine (notice I did not say “perfect”) – come on in, join the club, we will help!

Soon you will be saying like Delmar,”ok…I’m with you fellers!”