AUGIWorld Magazine September/October 2007

attaching that same Xref. If others are having trouble, then the “problem” is the Xref, not the user or the file on which he or she is working. By looking for wider circles of impact, we can step back to see that the root of a given dilemma is not the paint chip we are looking at, but the five-gallon bucket of paint. Patterns may not appear only inside your firm, so you need to listen for patterns from the outside world. When a new release of software becomes available, start listening to the chatter on the wires. Are the early adopters excited? Do they have troubles? Have you checked to see if the new release will answer your internal issues that impact production? Is there something in the new release that improves your workflow? These answers are available from AUGI and other online sources and from your circle of colleagues outside the firm. What? You don’t have a network of other CAD managers outside the firm? Then start making some contacts. If you have seen a pattern in the series of day-to-day problems, then this is a prime candidate for your long-range thinking. How do you avoid wasting time, focusing on the wrong problems, and expending too much time on the irrelevant? Here are some tips. Create a list of all your problems and tasks. Don’t worry about ranking them yet, just get them all down on paper. I am not talking about the day-to-day support issues that come up such as plotting one file or e-transmitting a reflected ceiling plan— those will change every day. I am talking about the recurring problems and tasks that you have. If you have found that pattern of problems, then put it on the list. Now prioritize it. Prioritize as if you are leaving the office for a week or a month and had to get the most important things done before you leave. 1. Assign a due date to each item. Decide which ones must be done today, this week, this month, and this year. Now sort the list by due date, closest due dates at the top. 2. Assign a weight to each item as it relates to other people’s priorities. I know that everyone wants everything NOW, but try to figure out which ones impact someone else’s ability to get something done. Move those items to the top of the list. 3. Look at each item and ask, “Would it really be a concern if I never did this?” Move those items to the bottom of the list. 4. Identify which items will have the longest and widest impact on your firm. Sep/Oct 2007 Move those to the top. By sorting and resorting the list you can filter the best candidates to the top. A few things to remember about your new, “long focus” list. • The most urgent is not always the most important. • The most impact will come from other people’s priorities. You may have to work on items that others don’t think are important. They are focused on getting today’s work done. You are focused on getting better productivity or creativity from the firm, long term. There are various ways to assign weights or numbers to categories when helping you prioritize. There are some with fancy acronyms, some that divide tasks into categories, some that assign numbers to each task in multiple categories and total them up to see which is first… the list is endless. I tend to go by gut feeling and common sense. Once you have looked at your list a few times the important ones will bubble to the top and the least important ones will drop off the bottom. Now, work on the top 10 percent until they are completed. Do not work on the bottom 10 percent at all. Try to do at least 20 percent of your priorities each day. Give 80 percent of your mundane work away so you can do the 20 percent that really matters. Always put a due date on every task. Prioritize each day, week, month, year, and then again after completing each major task. At whatever interval you deem appropriate, revisit your list. Add new items to it. Re-sort it again to see if things have changed. Time changes perspectives and completing large tasks changes priorities. By prioritizing your job functions and initiatives you can avoid some of the tyranny of the urgent that is thrust upon you by others. CAD managers are tasked with both putting out fires and preventing them from starting. Prioritizing the problems can help you focus more on prevention. Mark W. Kiker is a member-at-large on the AUGI Board of Directors. Mark is a National CAD Standards Project Team Member and team member of the National BIM Standard. He is the General Editor of BLAUGI and also publishes caddmanager.com, the CADD Managers Journal, and the caddmanager.com blog. He is a returning faculty member at Autodesk University. He is currently Chief Information Officer for HMC Architects in Ontario, California. Not all PDF and DWF Files are Created Equal Wilhome.dwg converted to PDF at 300 DPI For full test results visit: http://www.cadzation.com AutoCAD 2008 (412 kb) Acrobat 8.1 (151 kb) AcroPlot Pro (138 kb) TM ® ® Focusing your vision higher quality and smaller size PDF files. Input Formats AcroPlot Pro consistently creates TM AutoCAD 2000 - 2008 Compatible Batch Creation of PDF, DWF, or Images Automatic Bookmark Creation Custom File Naming Options Create a PDF from any Windows Application Try it free for 30 days. Output Formats Corporate Headquarters USA 518 South Route 31 Suite 200 McHenry, IL 60050 847.973.9460 Main 866.845.6881 US Toll Free AcroPlot Pro is a trademark of CADzation. All other band names, product names, or trademarks are property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2007 CADzation. All rights reserved. r rv 5 http://www.cadzation.com http://caddmanager.com http://caddmanager.com http://caddmanager.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine September/October 2007

Contents The CAD Manager Feature: A Good First Impression ADT and SketchUp Team for Presentations Accessing Values: Now or Later Finding the 3D in Map 3D: Surface Visualization Rocks & Rock Walls Autodesk University 2007 Preview The Missing Link On the Back Page

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