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Second in a series of articles designed for those of you who wear the CAD manager’s hat. This month, a fictional dialog between representatives from companies large and small.
Last months article (part 1) is here
First in a series of articles designed for those of you who wear the CAD manager’s hat. This month, it’s all about migrating to new versions.
In the last installment we outlined the areas of concern related to moving from one release of software to the next. Let’s quickly review.
The three areas of reflection are:
- What to do before the migration
- The actual migration event or period
- What to do after the migration
We move now to the second stop on this trip which is actually moving ahead and making the migration.
Let’s first discuss when to make the move
You should move when it makes sense. Sometimes we are forced to move and start using a new release even before we have time to prepare.
When is the best time to move?
Before the next Project begins. Many people want to prepare and move before a major project starts. Rather than move the whole company at one time they take one project into the next release and manage the process like a Project Manager. This can be a good thing and a bad thing.
The Good – It sets you up to use the increased productivity in the new release to be applied to the new project. It also places you on focus for the future since the project will outlast your prior release use. By taking a project into the next release, you can control the tools used on a small scale, selecting which new tools to apply. Sheet Sets? Project Navigator? Vault? No need to expect to use all of the new improvements, just select the ones that will impact the project for the better.
The Bad – Your upgrade troubles may slow down the project schedule. Training and tech support issues may impede project timeline. Productivity may (will) take a slight dip until users get up to speed. All of the this impacts the project
My Advice – make sure the Project Manager is supportive. Let him know the issues surrounding the use of the new software. Make him your ally. If not – he could turn into your worst critic.
After Training
The Good – When you have completed training your users are hopefully excited and ready to use the software. Training can create momentum for the migration.
The Bad – Training takes time away from project work. Productivity loss from training time may need to be recovered as users return to the project environment.
My Advice – you need to train before the migration begins, but you may want to wait a week or two so that all the projects are caught up from any time lost during the training.
When demanded by clients
The Good – May force your team to make a move if you are having difficulty making progress. It is often hard to get the migration started. After I was prepared, I have used a client’s demand for upgrades to get my team moving.
The Bad – The demand may come before you are ready. You may not have trained. You are forced to move and may be reluctant. Bad morale may creep in since it was not your choice
My Advice – The whole issue of when to move may or may not be in your hands. If it is, then you should think carefully and plan for the move. If it is not, you should prepare for it because it may be inevitable. Be prepared!
Start the migration with your best users
Let them have the software earlier. Load the next release on their machines with plenty of time for them to use it. Let them test it out. Let them find the good and the bad of the next release. Have them write down what they find and report back to you. By having them work with the software (not on production drawings) you can find the strong points you can capitalize on when trying to convince others to join the move. You also can defuse the weak points by finding out what is failing and plug the hole before it does much damage.
Migrate a small team or the whole office – you should figure out which may be best for your office. Some take the whole office to the next release in one weekend. Others take smaller teams forward making the move progressively expanding to the rest of the office.
My advice – the bigger the firm – the smaller the migration group. Taking a large group (30 and above) at the same time to a new platform is tough. A smaller team generates fewer support issues. You can use the lessons learned from the small group to make the next groups move even smoother.
Line Up Support before You Start
Management should be fully behind you before you begin. This would include Project Managers, Leads, Engineers, and anyone who might feel the impact of a move.
Vendors – keep them involved. They can provide support and lessons learned from other firms that have made the transition.
Your Family – yep – those folks at home that could be impacted by the time you may need to make the change happen. Don’t leave them out of the loop. They may not understand what you are talking about, but they need to know when you are faced with deadlines and milestones. If a spouse makes a meal that you don’t make it home in time to eat, you best should have warned them. If the kids have a big game coming up, make sure they realize that you could miss it if worse case scenarios kick in.
Stay focused on the goal: Getting your team to the next level with the least resistance. Keeping everyone involved will help.
I attended the Autodesk Realize Your Ideas Tour last week in Anaheim, CA. It was very well attended. The speaker, Guy Kawasaki, was very good. He had a lot of food for thought (which I like) about moving things ahead, getting things done and making things happen.
Lynn Allen was her usual best. Always a pleasure to hear her speak.
If you get the chance – you should attend one of these events in your area.
The best part may be rubbing elbows with your cohorts in CAD. I have a few good conversations related to migration, learning and collaboration with folks from my area.
Take the time away and attend.
Over the past two months we have looked into some reasons why a migration to a new release may be warranted and wanted. Then we listened in on a fictitious conversation between Larry and Sam about large firm and small firm issues surrounding migrations. Now we turn our attention to how to make a move.
When the settlers started moving West in the great migration to California and Oregon in 1849 they first needed to prepare for the migration. They just didn’t get up one day and jump in the wagon and set out. They had to prepare for the journey of several months over rough terrain. A software migration may mimic this type of journey in several ways.
We start our planning long before we move so this month we will look into the areas we need to think through before we start off. There are several areas of review and focus that can be thought of in terms of organizing for a migration. An organized plan helps you to think through all of the issues and step through them once thought out. Get out a large sheet of paper and start jotting down notes as you go.
The three areas of reflection are:
- What to do before the migration
- The actual migration event or period
- What to do after the migration
We should first stop and categorize the areas that may be a concern before the migration begins. Here is a quick list of things to think about before you even consider starting a migration, before you go to management and ask for the money, and before you purchase the upgrades.
Before you migrate – prepare for the journey
In the words of one Oregon emigrant:
“In procuring supplies for this journey, the emigrant should provide himself with, at least, 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of bacon; ten pounds of coffee; twenty pounds of sugar; and ten pounds of salt.” A family of four would need over a thousand pounds of food to sustain them on the 2000 mile journey from St. Louis to Oregon. They needed to take time to prepare for that kind of need.
Let’s start thinking about what we need to do to get ready…
Your desktops and laptops: Are your current systems able to effectively run the new release? Autodesk products are requiring better and better hardware to get the job done. Building Systems “requires” 2 GB of RAM. Can you machines handle the stress.
Your server: Do you have enough space for shared content? Does file size matter? Can it run network licensing software?
Third Party Apps: Do they work on the new software release? Have you upgraded them yet? Have you budgeted for the upgrades? Will you get approval to purchase upgrades for them also? Often one critical application can stagnate a firm from moving ahead. Make sure that your tools all work together.
Output devices and drivers: Will your old plotter still work with the newest versions? Are the new drivers ready? Is now a good time to make an upgrade to your plotting output devices also? I have found that most firms do not want to spend money and are slow to approve expenditures. But once they decide to purchase, they want to get it all done and get it right. Try to include purchases of hardware with the software at the same time. Don’t continually go back and ask for more money. Management does not like it and it makes it look like you failed to plan.
Existing CAD files: Hopefully this should not be a problem, just open them in the new release and they work fine. But have you tested it? Have you defined when the old files will be migrated? Do you just move all of them or do you take them one project at a time? Do you switch software release in mid project or only start new projects in the upgraded release? Don’t let your environment become chaos. Make sure the users know when to move the files.
CAD Standards: In need of review and updating? Does the new release affect your existing standards? Should you update them before the move or after? Have you defined how you are going to use the new features that will be embraced once you move? Don’t get caught off guard with new features being used in several different ways. Sheet Sets, Project Navigator and more. They can be used in several different ways. Control their use creatively and you will succeed.
Prepping the people
Management: Have you been discussing the issue of migration with your upper management? Are they aware of the impact to production that a switch in software creates? Hopefully they are convinced (as you are) that the new software will eventually make them more productive. But the short downturn in efficiency that a change creates will impact projects. Let them know it is short term.
User: Are they ready to make a move? Do they want to make a move? Start feeding them information and create a sense of expectancy. Start generating a little positive PR about the new software. Have quick lunchtime demos of the new features. Get excited – it is contagious.
Support Staff: Are they up to speed on the software? Have they been trained? Are they ready to move? Have they tested the software? Beta? Final version? Make sure that your staff and yourself are ready for the move. You don’t need to know every last thing about the new software but you do have to have a “beyond the basics” knowledge.
Clients: It might be a good idea to mention your migration to your clients to get their reaction. They may applaud or abuse you based on their perspective of the new features. It may be your client that is driving you to upgrade. Let them know when you are moving.
Customization: Big changes in this area may keep you handicapped if you have heavily customized older versions. It is a whole different game now. Do you know how to migrate all of your settings, profiles, menus, LISP, VBA, etc.? Have you done it yet? Have you tested it?
User Training: Are you set for it? Are you going to do it or your reseller or someone else? I would suggest that you train your folks as soon as they can get their hands on the software. Train before you move production into the upgraded world. Either train right before you deploy or train as you deploy, but get some training material, get times and dates set and start training.
Well, it may seem like a long list but if you take the time to ponder the issue you may even come up with others. Share them with us via the forum on this article.
Last month we looked at a few internal reasons to move to a newer version of software. These included thinking from the perspective of your users and management, issues like training and finances and finally your industry at large.
We revisit the issues surrounding migration pros and cons as they relate the size of your firm. Do large firms gain more from an upgrade? Do smaller firms make the change easily? Are the issues the same for both?
Defining my terms
First let’s define the term “small and LARGE”. For general purposes I will be defining a small firm as one with less than 15 seats of CAD. Some firms this size are considered huge if they are in a niche market like kitchen design or fire protection. Some firms with 15 seats are considered tiny if they are competing with larger AEC firms or multi office firms. So I leave the final distinction of small and large in your lap. You decide if you are small or large after you see the perspectives below.
Just understanding the perspective of upgrades depends on your size and resources. So I will look at it from both sides as if I were listening into a conversation between 2 CAD Managers.
Large firm Larry (LL) thinks “upgrading is easier for small firms”
LL: “Purchasing and financials related to upgrades and migrations are easier for small firms because you don’t have so many seats to deal with. The sheer dollar volume of upgrading with the higher seat count at my firm often slows me down.”
Small firm Sam (SS) says “large firms have it made”
SS: “Give me a break! You have it made because you have unlimited funds. I wish I had budgets the size of your firm. I could buy anything I wanted.”
LL: “Training is a streamlined event for you, Sam. Small firms have fewer people to train. They get it done quicker. You don’t miss as much time away from work because there aren’t as many who need to be trained.”
SS: “You get your training as an outsourced event. Sure large firms have more users, but they get training contracts and have outsiders come in and make it happen. I have to do it all myself.”
SS: “And let’s talk deployment. It is a no brainer for large firms. You have the tools and wizards and servers and high end software to get everything done without even having to be in the office. You can easily deploy from a remote location.”
LL: “Deployment? How hard can it be to roll out the software when everyone is in the same office? You can do it over a few lunch periods.”
LL: “And don’t bring up Support Staff. They may not be as plentiful for smaller firms, but the needs are also less. You have fewer plotters, users, PC’s, smaller networks, etc. Support staff is not even needed. The users support themselves.”
SS: “Your Support Staff is highly trained and plentiful. You have dedicated CAD staff that does nothing but CAD 40+ hours a week. I have to be productive on projects just to keep my job.”
SS: “You big guys have enough muscle to get everyone on the same version of software. You, your subs, your contractors. You just throw your weight around and everybody jumps.”
LL: “Yeah – right. Like we can force others to buy software. You can’t imagine how tough it is to be exchanging DWG files. Most of your subs are happy with a vanilla AutoCAD file and couldn’t care less about my troubles. It makes my head spin.
LL: “Project workflow is never a problem for you like it is for me. It is not an issue because you guys typically work on one project at a time since you have fewer projects. Shifting software is smooth because your guys all just take a weekend and change over.”
SS: “Who works on just one project? Not us! Project workflow is not an issue for your folks, not mine. Your teams typically work on one project because their projects are so large. Everyone can transition to a new piece of software between jobs.”
LL: “Smaller firms are able to keep up with technology because they can deploy and embrace the newest versions as soon as they roll out. It is a proven fact that smaller firms make the change quicker. I wish I could get on that gravy train.”
SS: “Larger firms are able to keep up with technology because they can buy and embrace the newest versions as soon as they roll out. You most likely have subscriptions for free upgrades. It is a proven fact that larger firms make the change quicker. I wish I could get on that gravy train.”
LL: “You have fewer demands. Small firm Clients are not as demanding as with larger firms. They do not require a firm to comply with CAD Standards and software requirements. They are happy to get their job done and never complain about software problems.”
SS: “Whoa big fella. Big firm Clients are not as demanding as with smaller firms. My clients expect us to keep up with the latest tools and technology just to get the contract in the first place. I am required to comply with CAD Standards and software requirements. Large firm clients are happy to get their job done and never complain about software problems.”
We live in the same world
Hopefully my scenario above demonstrates that the problems, concerns, troubles, and annoyances of migrating are common to all firms. Whether you are a large or small firm only sets the stage for your particular difficulties. We may have differing areas of concern and constraint, but we all are in the same boat. Migrating to new software takes thought, planning and execution to succeed. Next month we will move to the planning stage.
Most firms have an unspoken distaste for upgrading their CAD environment. The existing software may be working quite well and they don’t want to interrupt projects and productivity. They have no time to train their people in the use of the newest versions. They don’t have the time or the budget for upgrades. Sound like your firm?
CAD Managers are called on to lead. You must move the users, management and your firm along. No one wants to get left behind. Sometimes you must coach and sometimes coerce people into the future. But your migration must be planned, well thought out, well coordinated, and executed with talent. Over the next few Hot News issues, I will be sharing migration stories, plans and lessons learned.
Ruminating on Reasons
This month we will start with reviewing the issues surrounding a migration. It is imperative that you think through the reasons that may exist in your environment for making a move. What are the driving forces? What are the rewards and risks?
CAD Users
Some users want to move ahead, sometimes faster than you can keep up with. Your users are constantly in need of refining and updating their skills. Their career path includes knowing the latest software. If your industry is expanding then the skilled worker is worth more. If your industry is tightening up, then the more skills the user has the greater his marketability to the outside world. So your users are thinking about keeping up with the rest of the world.
Some users are fearful of change. Some of them are pushed to the edge just keeping up with building codes, guidelines and industry demands. Asking them to learn a new tool or update their skills can send them over the edge. They may bristle at the thought of another training session and actually exude negative feelings about moving ahead.
Management
Obviously your firms management wants to gain more work, produce your designs fast, better, cheaper and reduce needles expenditures. They look at most technology through this lens. If it can achieve these results, they will rally behind you.
So what may be driving them to make a move to the newest software release? Client demands? Having a technology differentiator? Increasing Productivity? Unleashing creativity? Or better, what may be hindering them from making the move? Too costly? No time? Status quo is fine?
Training
One of the biggest sticky points in a migration is training time and budgets. The biggest obstacle to training may be carving out time. It is a double whammy. Freeing up your users for training involves first getting them off the project (removing them from billable work) and then paying them for the training hours (overhead dollars).
You must be able to argue a case for holding the training. What is its purpose? What return is expected from the training? How does the training relate to the design purpose? Do they strengthen your productivity? How will you measure the success of the training?
Financial constraints
Whether you prescribe to financial measures such as return on investment (ROI) or qualitative measures such as return on expectations (ROE), the ultimate objective is the same – i.e., generate the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. The value of upgrading can be maximized by either increasing the benefits or reducing the costs. Of course, upgrades that offer the greatest benefits at the lowest costs are the most attractive.
The Industry
Is your industry moving ahead? Are you being left behind? It is surprising to me to see how interested people become when you start talking about a competing firm and what they are doing with their software. Do early adopters get burned? Do laggards get left behind and spend more time and money playing catch up?
Conclusion
So there are many areas to think about when deciding when and if you upgrade your software. How many of you have been down this road and can share some of your good advice to us all. I believe that collectively AUGI members have seen just about every obstacle, pot hole, road bump and also our share of triumphs, narrow escapes and successes. Let’s start sharing. Feel free to post a comment about migration on the AUGI forum about this article or in the CAD Management forum or e-mail me.
Better yet – take the May AUGI Survey about Migration at http://www.augi.com/surveys/survey.asp
The CADD Manager June survey has been posted – take a quick survey about how you interact with AutoCAD. How do you issue your commands? How do you insert your symbology and content?
The May CADD Manager Survey is completed and here are the results…
Almost half of the respondants feel that Dynamic Blocks will be the most productive enhancement to AutoCAD 2006. I would agree with that but think that it will be hard for some to embrace. Dynamic Blocks are a great expansion of blocks, but they do take some time to create. Do you have the time?
Workspaces edge out Dynamic Blocks and Heads Up Input as the most difficult to sell to your users. So my feeling above about Dynamic Blocks rings slightly true. Workspaces are a convenient way of organizing your display but most folks will just forget to swap them out.
I keep a file on my hard drive and make a note of things that I think should be fixed in AutoCAD. The list is called “AutoCAD Bugs Me” and here is one or two of the things on the list. Maybe these should be wish list items I could post on AUGI?
1. When you have multiple files open from differing locations, “Open” should remember where you opened each file from and go there depending on which file is active.
2. We need a way to identify and stop people from calling up old files in 2006 and saving them without knowing that it should have stayed a 2000 format files. Provide a “save as original version” option that does it automatically.
Do you have a wish list item?
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