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  I N   T H I S   I S S U E

Writing the CAD Standards

Start with an Introduction - Don't overlook this vital area of your documentation

Include Acknowledgement

Copyright your Standard

CAD Standards Terms of Use

CAD Standards Distribution

Roles, Responsibilities and Change Management

Include a Revision History

Define Hardware and Software Requirements

Define your Terms

April Poll results

  A R T I C L E S

Writing the CAD Standards

Okay let’s get down to business. Here is where we start writing the standard. You have collected information and organized what you have. It is time to start writing things down so you can see what you have and what you are missing.

Start with a skeleton outline

Just jot down the areas that you think need to be involved. Use the basics that I have written about. You could just use those as chapter headings. Don’t fill anything in yet. Just include the bones of the standard, no meat yet.

When you have the outline completed, you can start adding and expanding the sections. I do not expect to write a standard from start to finish, one time through. I go back over it multiple times before I finish the first draft and then have multiple drafts in the process of reaching toward publication.

I want to focus in on the beginning of the document in this issue of the Journal.

NOTE:  Each Article has an Example of what you might include!!

Start with an Introduction

The first thing you need is to have an introduction. Why do you need this? Who cares about something that most people won’t pay attention to anyway. It is just extra wording that you don’t need. Or is it?

Here are some things that I think need to be set forth before you publish your standard. You have defined how these work, so you need to let people know.

more on the Introduction...


Include Acknowledgements

Let those who have assisted in developing the standard have their place in the document. Mention teams and members by name. This not only produces ownership of the document and reflects appreciation for contributing, but it also enhances accountability.

More on Acknowledgements...


Copyright Your Standard

Who owns your CAD Standard? You do or your firm does.  Be sure to include a copyright statement on every page. It is not a big deal to add one. It protects you from unauthorized use.

All you need to include is a copyright statement. Update the date on the copyright every time you update the standard. In fact, even if you do not add a copyright statement, it is still covered.

If you publish your CAD Standard, even internally only, how do you know your copyrights are in place? Copyrighting is not complicated or difficult; there is a quick and easy way to copyright anything you produce, at least in the USA.

More on Copyrighting...


CAD Standards Terms of Use
 

Who can use your CAD Standard? How can it be used? Will you share it with outsiders? Will you provide it to clients? Will you share it with consultants?

You need to define how your creation can be used. 

Of course it can be used by your staff, but what about others.  You may need to send a copy with client proposals.  If you do not get the job, then they have a copy of your standard.  Are they allowed to use it without your firm being hired?  This needs to be defined.

Find out more here...


CAD Standards Distribution

Distributing the CAD Standard once it is developed should be done via hard copy. I still think that each user should have a copy at their desk. They can keep it open to the layer list of the folder structure. You can refer to it when they ask a question.

It should also be stored electronically, on your company Intranet. In read only PDF format.

Part of your standard document should define where users can get another copy. When someone is looking for where it is located, it should be written into the standard in the introduction section so that people looking at the hard copy they can find the original.

More - plus an example...


Roles, Responsibilities and Change Management

When you are writing the standard, define what the development teams do and their areas of oversight.  We discussed who they are here, and what they do here.  but you need to include something that helps others know who, where and how things are created and refined.

Include who is responsible for maintaining and changing the document. Explain how changes are managed. Define how the standard gets modified.

More on the topic...

 


Include a Revision History

When changes are made - document them in the Standard. You could also include prior versions that have come before, even if you were not involved. This allows people to know how many times the standard has been improved.

You could document what was changed as an itemized list. I have done this in the past as part of the document, but found that most people never read it. So I just keep a copy of the prior version to use as reference to see what has changed.

More...

 


Define Hardware and Software Requirements

Include what hardware and software were involved in the deliberations of creating the standard. When you define your standard, you have a standard hardware platform in mind. What size hard drive, how much RAM, graphics card, etc.

Also include software versions. This will define what the baseline is for expecting the software to act according to the standards. Prior versions may not be able to do what the standard requires.

You never know where a copy of your standard might end up.  A client machine may not be a robust as yours or they may have an older software version.  Stating what it takes to get the best results from your standard may avoid getting slammed for failures that are caused by weak hardware and old software.

Look here for an Example...

 


Define your Terms

Some firms have special in house terms that they use for file types. Backgrounds, Base Files, Master Files, X files, Sheet Files, Plot Files, CD Files, etc. Not all firms use the same “buss words” for the same kinds of files, so if you have some that you think are unique, include short definitions of each file type in the introduction pages of your standard. Then when you refer to them in the document there will be no doubt.

Include what goes into what file. What kind of data and information in placed in each file type? If the software defines the file type, like AutoCAD for Architecture, then still define what is placed in each file.

More on this topic...

 

April - Poll Results

I asked you to comment on your existing CAD Standard...



There are a lot more survey and poll results on my site. Take a look. 

May 2009 Poll

When was the last time you updated your standard?

Take the Survey... upper right of the home page.

 

 

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CADD Manager Journal is a publication of the Core Technology Group
Editor: Mark W. Kiker
mark dot kiker at caddmanager.com © 2009 by CTG.

 

WELCOME

May - 2009

CAD Standards - a lot to cover.  More about that in this issue. 

In fact - this may be the largest issue ever.  With so much to cover and so much to discuss, it is stuffed with more info than I have ever included before.

Introductions are valuable - don't overlook them.

Keep checking the blog for much more on CAD Standards...

Mark W. Kiker, Editor


SURVEY - POLL


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How long since you last updated your Standard?

There is a poll on the right column of the site.


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