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How do CAD Users Think?

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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