| I N T H I S I S S U E |
|
CAD Standards Development Development Progress Killers Implementing CAD Governance - Part 1 Implementing CAD Governance - Part 2 Finding Those Who Care about CAD Turning Caring about CAD into Curing CAD Troubles February Survey results |
| A R T I C L E S |
CAD Standards Development
Every CAD Manager needs a Standard. Thinking about developing CAD Standards - read these blog posts on the process as a starting point. When Should a CAD Standard be Created? Are Bad CAD Standards Worth Having? What should Your CAD Standard Contain?
CAD Standards Development Progress Killers
Many things can get in the way of creating or modifying a CAD Standard. Here
are a few...
Lack of senior management support
This is the number one killer when trying to develop CAD Standards. What
does this look like or sound like? It will be those who actively seek to
derail or squelch any progress toward a standard. They may not know that
they are doing it. It may just be offhand comments from senior people, like
“we tried that before” or “it will not work” or “people will never follow
it”. These kinds of comments suck the life out of those who are striving to
get everyone on the same page.
It may be more active in comments like “these do not apply to me or my
project” or “it will slow us down too much to use standards” or
“standards have a negative impact on creativity”. These comments are
sometimes pointed directly toward a desire for the lack of constraint.
Another type of lack of support may appear in just the absence of
encouragement. Statements like “that is your thing” or “I don’t need to be
involved” can make your job harder.
Implementing CAD Governance - Part 1
Before we move on to developing a CAD Standard lets think about who
needs to be involved in the process. CAD needs governance. Governing a CAD
environment cannot be overlooked. Approaching the oversight of CAD from a
willy-nilly perspective of doing what just comes your way will not allow you
to make greater strides toward higher levels of CAD productivity.
Governing CAD need not be a daunting task. It can be as simple as asking
a few people what they think needs to be done, having them review your
plans, bouncing ideas off of them or more. But it does need to be formal. If
it is not then you run the risk of falling out of a good habit of planning
and into a bad habit of responding only to others input and demands.
So where do you start?
Implementing CAD Governance - Part 2
There are several teams you need to develop to enhance
CAD Governance.
They include:
Let's take a short look at each one.
Finding Those Who Care about CAD
Doesn't anyone care about CAD anymore? Rally the ones that Care Making a change or moving people toward process
improvement, CAD Standards or even a software upgrade takes a lot to
cultural effort within your firm. Finding a group that can help in this
process can help you get more done. Getting them on your side is needed
and finding them is the first step. Those who care about CAD will have some
recognizable qualities and habits. These people will be talking to each other
already. Most of the time you are just trying to observe who is doing
this as a matter of course. Look around and see who is doing most of the
talking about CAD. Not the ones that are complaining, but the ones that
are working toward making things better. They have creative ways of
thinking. They look to pass on tips and tricks. What to look for in the person You are looking for someone who...
Turning Caring about CAD into Curing CAD Troubles
Moving from Single to Group
One of the first steps is to interact with those that you have
identified as caring and getting them into some form of group. Groups often
make greater impact than individuals. Working alone limits the impact of
your efforts. Working with groups expands the impact you will have. Groups
are essential to overseeing CAD.
Gathering individuals into groups will work better if you pay
attention to the group makeup and dynamics. I will address these in another
post at some point. For now, lets just get the ones that you have identified
as caring into a group. Start with a meeting to overview their involvement.
Let them know what is expected and allowed. Discuss roles and
responsibilities and limits of authority. Get the ground rules in place.
Moving toward the Cure
Moving people from individual to group is an adventure. Moving them
from “caring” to “curing” is a challenge.
BIM Manager Blog
I created a new blog specifically for BIM Management
issues. I will be blogging on the people and process side of BIM. Some
of these topics may overlap with CAD Management, but many will specifically
address BIM. I just started this - so stay tuned as more content is
added.
Check out the posts links on the right column of this newsletter February - Poll Results The question? How many users do you oversee?
There are a lot more survey and poll results on my site.
Take a look.
March
2009 Poll Which Autodesk products do you have? pick from
the list as many as you have.
Take the Survey... upper right of the home page.
Received this by mistake? |
|
WELCOME |
|
March - 2009 Thinking of CAD Standards. How they are developed and by whom. This month and in the future I will be doing an extended series on CAD Standards. Keep checking the blog... Mark W. Kiker, Editor |
|
SURVEY - POLL |
|
Which Autodesk products do you have? There is a poll on the right column of the site. |
CADD Manager Book Store This is not a collection of Google Adware recommendations.
These are books that I have read and recommend.
Subscribe
Do you know someone who is not a current subscriber to the CADD Manager Journal?
Forward this Journal to them or better yet have them go to our
Subscription Page
They will be sent a verification e-mail. We use a double
opt-in system.
Respond to that e-mail and be added to our subscribers list.