AutoCAD Software Updates (In My Experience)
As an OG Autodesk software user, I have seen many improvements and new verticals introduced to the AutoCAD lineup over the last forty-five years. Having started with basic AutoCAD in 1980, I thought it was the greatest. As my experience grew, I learned many things about AutoCAD. My work experience has, over the years, covered many disciplines from die design to product development.
As an AutoCAD vanilla user for many years, I had developed many ways to use the software efficiently. When I was hired as a controls CAD designer using AutoCAD Electrical, I expected that the challenge of working with schematic symbols and their metadata in a new application would be an easy transition for me. After all, it is just a variant of vanilla AutoCAD, or so I thought.
When using the software, once I got used to the UI it was very intuitive. The challenge that I found was in how the company implemented the transition to AutoCAD Electrical from the vanilla AutoCAD they had been using.
When I was hired, my responsibilities were limited to CAD design and creating product documentation. My drive to improve on the already excellent AutoCAD software had me thinking about how I could make AutoCAD Electrical more efficient and tailored to the company-driven practices. I inquired with IT and my manager about the corporate network and how their software was managed. What I found when I investigated things was eye-opening.
Poor CAD Management Choices
The company did not consider CAD software management a high priority. AutoCAD worked fine if you asked the CAD operators (despite being a version that was over five years old). However, no one had taken a serious look at the efficiency of the CAD documentation process. The CAD design group had never really been trained or properly exposed to the company's policy on documentation control.
With the implementation of a “new” program (AutoCAD Electrical), people had to relearn what the software was capable of and how it reacted to user input. I had recently begun to work with AutoCAD Electrical to tune the UI and customize the various aspects of the software. I could already see many potential ways to boost productivity.
As one who is always looking to improve efficiency and streamline my work processes, I began to develop my own processes to better utilize the default software capabilities. Based on previous experience, I knew that many aspects of fine-tuning the software are focused on the reliability of the network infrastructure where the software resides. I investigated the blogs and forums that were available on AutoCAD Electrical and saw that others had also found that the software was potentially easily derailed with an improper network configuration.
Being proactive (or just nosy), I started looking into the infrastructure of the network. I was friends with the IT manager, so I asked a few questions. What I found out about the existing setup was not what I had expected to find.
Corporate Infrastructure Weakness
When I was hired in, the company had been in business for many years and was (in fact, still is) a well-known design house, known for its products and the quality of its customer service. There was always work to do and a consistently high backlog of jobs in the pipeline. As I worked with the software, I sought to improve CAD designers' experience with AutoCAD Electrical, to make daily work easier, and make the department more productive.
Being a busy company and consistently profitable is never a bad thing; management is happy, and employees are generally willing to put in the extra effort to get things done. There is a flip side to that coin, however, one which can derail future growth and profitability in a hurry. It is not often thought about when there is profitable work to do.
I did not expect to find a poorly managed infrastructure. The software was installed years ago and had not been reviewed during updates. Like any business, servers were updated and changed over time. This is normal and can be managed with the AutoCAD installation if properly followed up. Setting path definitions and libraries can be easily configured and deployed to all users; however, if this is not done, errors and lost productivity are likely.
Corporate management was focused on growth and profitability, as most management people are. The flaw in their plan was not their focus; however, it was in not reviewing the infrastructure for updates needed and treating it as a living task to be reviewed regularly.
Final Thoughts
The example described above is one that I have unfortunately experienced in the past. It is a crucial and costly lesson for any organization to learn when updating its software. Infrastructure vulnerabilities can easily derail a successful software update or application change.
A thorough review of corporate infrastructure vulnerabilities and weaknesses should be a living process, part of any organization’s forward-thinking policy. Reviews need to be scheduled regularly to be an effective tool for positive growth and corporate success.
Autodesk is always on the cutting edge of software development, a true visionary in their field. There needs to be a conscious effort on the part of the end user, however, to take full advantage of their product.
1 Comment
