The Dave and Dan Civil 3D Show

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posted 12/15/06 by Dave Simeone Expectations…

There are many programs and resources that have been developed or that we’ve learned we need to add to help companies move from their historical civil/survey software solution to Autodesk Civil 3D. Learning new commands, understanding changes in workflow, implementing Vault or using data shortcuts, etc, etc… Those are all things that we expected to be challenges and we’ve invested in resources to help you through it.

The one that I think we all underestimated and that’s harder to solve is Expectations.

Huh?

The “big picture” justification for why your company is going through this disruptive change needs to be set clearly for everyone in the organization. How many times have you heard…

From the savvy production, software employees…

“… I can do the same task <> just as fast in my current product… why spend time learning something new if it’s not that much faster?”

From the CTO or CAD Coordinator…

“… it’s just an upgrade to LDT so we’re planning on a 3 day training class”

A common theme that we’ve seen with companies who have thrived through the transition process is that they’ve worked hard to make sure that everyone on the team understands…

- The ultimate business benefits - whatever is most important to you company (e.g., the ability to absorb client or approval revisions, ability to do more with less, ability to explore more design changes, etc).
- The plan that you’ll follow (fast vs. slow; limited pilots; whatever you define as the best plan for your company)
- The impact/cost (be realistic that people will need to be trained, short-term productivity will likely take a hit, etc)

So, the LDT Power-user needs to know that the real benefit isn’t in the initial creation of the pipe network (although I’d rather use this than LDT any day…). Rather it’s the fact that production drafting in all profiles and section sheets will update if the pipe network changes. And the person who’s going to pay for training and other implementation services needs to understand that the production team will be more competitive and will be able to provide a higher level of service in the end.

So…

Whatever path you chose, do NOT underestimate the importance of setting proper expectations throughout the entire organization.

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