Cadalyst - April 2008 - (Page 36)

cadmanager The key to programming is starting your learning curve at an appropriate skill level and then jumping in and forcing yourself to learn. Understanding Users I can’t give you a Web resource that helps you understand your users, but I do know how imperative it is to understand their needs and frustrations. CAD managers are most effective when they make it easy for people to be productive, right? So make it your mission to figure out what your users need to be productive and build a list of action items. Listen to user complaints, questions, and concerns — and I bet you’ll have no shortage of things to work on. Start using the software, network, and programming knowledge you’ve acquired to solve user problems much more effectively. The more you learn technically, the bigger help you will be to your users. Web Resources About.com’s Computing and Networking Site http://compnetworking.about.com A comprehensive listing of terminology, concepts, and configuration tips for all sorts of wired and wireless networks, this site is especially useful for beginning to intermediate understanding of network concepts such as bandwidth, security, and WANs that CAD managers should understand. Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) www.augi.com CAD manager forums and user group information for Autodesk customers. Cadalyst.com’s CAD Management Resources http://management.cadalyst.com/cadman A variety of CAD manager topics and discussion forums. Cadalyst.com’s “Get the Code!” www.cadalyst.com/code A variety of well-indexed and searchable programming information with a CAD-centric spin. Programming Resources for CAD Managers www.cadalyst.com/1007cadman This October 2007 “CAD Manager” column has a variety of information about customizing and programming. Tip. Your management team really wants you to focus on productivity. By showing your management team that technical proficiency and user productivity are intertwined, you’ll win points all around. Spend your time gaining technical knowledge, but stress the productivity to your senior management. Summing Up Getting a real handle on CAD management requires not only knowledge, but the discipline to acquire it. I hope that you can prioritize the topics on which you need to work and then use the resources I’ve outlined in this column to build your skill set. And lest you think the quest for CAD management knowledge will ever cease, rest assured that there will always be new software and technology to learn. Robert Green performs CAD programming and consulting throughout the United States and Canada. His new book, Expert CAD Management: The Complete Guide is now available. Reach him via his Web site at www.cad-manager.com. Built for Professionals Boost your performance with NVIDIA® TM Maximize your AutoCAD productivity Quadro® graphics solutions that are built for professionals. An AutoCAD certi ed solution, Quadro enables you to interact with more complex designs without sacri cing visual quality. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com/builtforpros © 2008 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. 36 www.cadalyst.com cadalyst April 2008 http://compnetworking.about.com http://www.augi.com http://management.cadalyst.com/cadman http://www.cadalyst.com/code http://www.cadalyst.com/1007cadman http://www.cad-manager.com http://www.nvidia.com/builtforpros http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - April 2008

Cadalyst - April 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central The Summer of BIM Thin Is In — Large LCD Monitors Caligari trueSpace 7.5 — 3D Modeling Software HP Compaq 8710w — Mobile Workstation Autodesk Design Review 2009 — Design Viewing and Collaboration Software Getting Better — What Should You Learn? Technical Uses for Nontechnical Software AEC on Macs Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Tips Rain Down on Harry

Cadalyst - April 2008

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