Avoiding Information Overload

In this age of BIG DATA and information overload, exactly how much information can we absorb? When we communicate with our customers/clients, what is the right amount of information to provide? The answer to these questions will always depend on:

• communication mode (face to face, email, web-meeting),

• customer sophistication (is this new technology, are you evangelizing, etc.,

• relationship with the customer (new or existing). 

However, there are some 'rules of thumb' worth keeping in mind. 

Physiologist George Miller developed a 'maximum packets of data' theory. I am calling it the… MAGICAL 7 +/- 2

What the theory describes is that in any one encounter (sales call, presentation, conversation) the human brain can absorb/understand 7 (plus or minus 2) packets of data at one time. 

Let us think about this for a second. Seems to make sense. If I try to push too much information, I lose my audience, they drown in the information. In my research of infographics, the same theory applies; too much graphics/data, and the audience is overloaded - and then disconnects. 

My experience has been I try to leave my conversations/presentations with one or two key points, with an informational backup of 3-5 relevant stats/data/info. This seems to follow in line with Mr. Miller's theory. 

What does this mean to you, who must present to customers, talk to customers, interact with customers? 

1. Avoid PowerPoint overload. Endless text violates the magical 7 +/- theory.
2. Plan ahead. What are the 5-9 key data points you want the listener to go away with? 
3. Try the "tell them what you will say, say it, and recap what you said". This will help define and clarify the 5-9 datapoints.
4. Please keep the data graphics simple. Too much information causes the brain to simply 'tune out'. 

Most of this seems common sense, however, it is amazing to see in many presentations how these common sense rules are violated and ignored. 

Better communication leads to better customer/client understanding, which leads to a better customer experience. 

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design–build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, data integration, and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and construction industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Listen - Analyze - Synthesize: A Business Process

When determining customer needs, there are three areas of concentration:

• Listening 
• Analyzing 
• Synthesizing 

If you are having trouble with figuring out what the customer is trying to say or determining a customer's need, you are probably missing one of the three parts.

LISTENING 

In general, we all could do better at listening. Listening to what the customer: says, and more importantly "does not say." 

Customers, like most people, do not want to admit to issues until they are way past critical stage. Some gentle questions, open-ended, will usually get the customer to speak more directly to their pain, and therefore business need.

If you are always convincing people you are right, you are not listening to their needs. I think lively exchange is the best. Lively exchange focuses on a conversation that elicits emotion from the customer. Give the customer every opportunity to express their needs.

Ask open-ended questions (open-ended questions cannot be answered with yes, or no, or one-word answers). Ask clarifying and follow up questions. Take excellent notes. Those notes would include your thoughts, strategies, and tactics too.

ANALYZING

The next step is to analyze what you heard. Sometimes this can happen during the conversation, but I found it is more effective to focus on information gathering during the conversation and it is better to analyze after the conversation. Why? Because by reviewing your notes after a bit of time passing, it gives you a better analysis. Your brain should be working behind the scenes to analyze the information.

Make sure to:

• Think about what business issues you are trying to solve, including the desired deliverable.
• Discuss with internal sources (salespeople, internal technical resources, etc). 
• Re-read your notes to reveal key themes.

SYNTHESIZING

Synthesize is defined as combining various components into new whole; to combine different ideas, influences, or objects into a new whole. So the act of synthesizing is a process of 'connecting the data' you have gathered into a new whole. What does the 'new whole' consist of?

• An understanding of the problem to be solved in a clear and definitive way. What is the business problem to be solved. 
• What is the defined solution to the problem. As you should note, the solution needs to solve the problem. 
• How will you know when the problem is solved. How will the customer know? This would correlate with the Conditions of Success. 
• An understanding (even if just in a broad way) the major tasks required to accomplish the solution.

A colleague of mine suggested that this is mostly a vetting process, and I quite agree. Part of the process may conclude in that you cannot solve the business problem, the customer does not have a compelling event, or there is not adequate schedule or budget to solve the business problem.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design–build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, data integration, and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and construction industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Journey - Taking a Step

Every journey starts with a first step. That frightening, anxiety-ridden first step. Why do we pause?

• Are we scared?
• Are we prudent? 
• Are we frozen? 

I learned that the first thing to do is to reduce the directions to take with the first step. Should I go north, south, east or west? If you know what direction you don't want to go, that increases the possibility of going in the right direction. 

OK - how do we take this notion and apply it to our work? 

• To do good work, you need to do things you have never done before - take a risk.
• This journey, takes a 'first step.' 
• Decide what direction you are going to go. This involves deciding such things as: 

• What are the company's goals for this journey?

• Who can I get to assist me on my journey? 

• How much effort am I willing to put in? 

• Are you all-in or just surviving?  

• When is it due? You will need to match the effort to the time available. 

The other item I learned is that you cannot eat an elephant in one bite. What does that mean? 

• Break the larger/longer journey into smaller easier trips. Take your project and separate it into smaller sub-projects. 
• Anxiety is reduced when smaller steps and more goals that can be reached are created. Anxiety is what stops us from taking those uncertain steps on the journey. 

Your life's journeys need to be nurtured, but can not be fully realized without taking the first step. Take a step today.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Expectation vs. Outcome

In today's consulting world, a lot of talk is made about setting expectations. "We have to meet and exceed the expectations of our clients". This phrase is discussed with the same certainty as looking out the window and seeing if it is raining or not. My experience with expectations, is that it is far more difficult; closer to deciding if it will rain during my vacation this summer.

"Expectation - a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future." 

Expectations require discussion, analysis, synthesis, and some push back to the client to properly "set the expectation". It is important to realize that one of the reasons the client uses consulting services is that they have a need (however undefined the need has been stated). Defining and clarifying that business 'need' is the key to setting expectations. The business need is what is the driving force for customers to reach out and look for consulting.

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

Some Strategies:

• Proactive - If the client has to voice their expectations, you already have lost some credibility ground with the client.
• Early - have the expectation discussion early. Don't believe that everyone understands, no matter how many times you have interacted with this client, I believe in setting expectations during pre-sale meetings (much to the account manager's dismay/objections).
• Firm - don't agree to something your company cannot do or a time schedule that cannot be met. 
• Decision Maker - your only true client is the person who writes the checks. Solving the decision maker's business issue(s) is the priority. 
• Communicate - in writing where possible. This is hard for some to find time in this cell phone/texting world. If communication is done well, there is a start of a checklist to customer satisfaction. 

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS

Now comes the harder part, meeting and exceeding expectations. I learned from Bob Palioca that by setting realistic expectations, exceeding expectations is an achievable and sustainable goal. His point is that if I promise 110% if what is achievable and I reach 99.9% of that goal, then my customer will be upset. However, if I promise 98% and deliver that same 99.9%, my customer will be delighted. (I met and exceeded the customer's expectations.)

"Anger always comes from frustrated expectations." -Elliot Larson

Like the last good dinner at a restaurant you had, what the clients desire is a predictable outcome at an agreed upon price. 

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Breaking Down Barriers

One of the responsibilities of a leader is to encourage team communication. That open discussion of strategic goals the company is achieving, projects that need completion, issues that need resolution are all important elements of a successful team. Barriers stop the achievement of these elements. 

WHAT SHOULD A LEADER DO? 

ANSWER - Break down those barriers. Some approaches that make sense. 

• Create consensus - everyone “rowing in the same direction”
• Create a culture of active listening (which helps in creating consensus) Leaders need to participate in discovery, process, and solution of the goals/projects.
• Remove roadblocks - wish I would have understood this earlier in my management career. 

Good leaders can manage to remove barriers in most cases. However, there is a barrier that is hard to overcome. 

THE TEAM MUST WANT TO SUCCEED! 

What would make a team member not want to succeed? I think the crucial part is the word “succeed.” Consensus is not alignment. Alignment of goals, needs, and motivation are overlooked elements to the word “succeed.” What is the difference between an aligned and non-aligned team: 

Alignment to the goals is key. Verifying that your team is in alignment is tougher. Ask the tough questions, set definable benchmarks, and hold the team accountable.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

The 80/20 Rule

The phrase 80/20 rule gets used by a lot of pundits to describe "that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts."

The original 80/20 rule came from the Pareto Principal which talks about root cause analysis - 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes. 

My 80/20 Rule 
It has been my experience that the first 80% of any task or project takes 20% of the time - and - the last 20% of a task or project takes 80% of the time.

Here are some examples:

1. Trade partners (construction subcontractors) will get about 80% of the work done, leaving 20% to be found by others. 
2. Students will prepare for about 80% of the test material, hoping the last 20% will not be on the test. 
3. Kids will clean 80% of their room, and hide the last 20% under the bed or closet.
4. Team members are gung-ho to finish the first 80%, but have other priorities at the last 20%. 

Why Does the Last 20% Need the Most Attention? 
It needs the attention because that is where the 'finish' zone is. The finish zone is where all the: 

• Synthesis is done. 
• Customer receives the value of the service. 
• The job /task/project is DONE and COMPLETE. 

The last 20% may be the hardest part, but it is worthy of the same attention and dedication and thoughtfulness as the first 80%. Here are some strategies: 

1. Understand the last 20% will be harder and give it the appropriate amount of project time. 
2. Give the effort that is required. It is hard being the last 20% team member, but I say it is rewarding to be a part of the 'finishing' team. 
3. Use more checks and balances so the last 20% is not so much about fixing things (see Last Planner, Agile methodology, and writing effective requirements.)

Finally, the pundits say "that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts." I think here they are talking about most of our time in life and business is not spent in productive pursuits. How much time do we spend trying to find that email the boss sent out that he/she wants an answer on? Too much time, I agree.

A job worth doing is worth doing well (and to completion). Planning well and good execution are the keys to success. 

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

The Art of Managing Up

Recently in my managing career, I read an article by Wayne Turk titled "The Art of Managing Up." I don't remember where I found this article, or if someone recommended it to me. The article can be found here. It proved to be a perception changing article. 

First, if you work for a company, I would definitely read this article. If you work for yourself, you still have customers/clients that you need to 'manage up.'

It was an important article because it clarified to me several key points. 

• I was struggling too hard to change my boss to my way of doing things. That was clearly the wrong approach. It reminds me of Jim Croce's lyrics to "You Don't Mess Around With Jim:"

"You don't tug on Superman's cape 

You don't spit into the wind 

You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger 

And you don't mess around with Jim"

• Managing up is really about stretching yourself - see article. What can you do to make the situation better (whether that is the project, the corporate culture, or the company itself)? I understood the need to stretch, but didn't realize my participation in dysfunctional company interactions was limiting my ability to manage up effectively.

• Communication - I cannot stress this too much. I had to learn my boss's communication style. Every manager, including me, has a different style. 

• See how they communicate with you, it usually is a good indicator of how they want communication to happen. 
• For some managers, ask - they might tell you, but observation of the manager's communication style will be more illustrative. When, how often, form (written/verbal) are all aspects.
• Some managers want discussion, some want just the 'short and sweet' discussion.

• Lastly - provide solutions to the problems you bring to your boss. Be a solver, not a whiner. Does your solution need to be complete (helpful, but not required). The solution does need to be thoughtful, cogent, and provide a path to success. 

Managing up is not manipulative, but a method to create a stronger 'bond' with your boss and create an better work environment

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

All-In Strategies

I have received many nice comments about my blog post about being all-in - Are You All-In?.

What is interesting is that I have also heard that it is impossible to be all-in these days. Some of the obstacles stated are:

1. Frustration - how do I work with people at my company that are not all-in? 
2. How do I get others to be all-in?
3. How can I get others to notice that I am now all-in?

FRUSTRATION  
Work is full of frustration. Lack of time, competing priorities, office politics, etc. Some team members get so frustrated, they just give up. We all feel frustrated at times. It may seem that some of your work colleagues do less, talk more, and don't seem to be as invested in success as they should be. What are some strategies to overcome your frustration?

• Realize that there are some people who will never be all-in. Don't invest your time in them. They are 'energy suckers'. 
• Consistency - that is the key. Be consistent in actions and interactions. You are either all-in or not - there is no 50% all-in.

GETTING OTHERS ALL-IN 

Getting other to go 'all-in' is not possible with words, or emails, or meetings. Your team members must decide for themselves to be all-in. Show them through your actions, your enthusiasm, and your conviction. That example, through your actions, is the only way others will see the benefit of being all-in.

HOW TO GET NOTICED

You want management to know you have upped your game. Here's what managers want to see:

• Actions - not Words
• Interaction/Communication - not 'Yes Man'
• Enthusiasm - not Passive/Aggressive
• Proactive - not Reactive
• Value Add - not Status Quo
• Work Within System - not going Rogue
• Think about how Company makes profit - not your Paycheck.

With the new year, start a new dedication to being all-in.  Stay the course, see the prize, and feel the satisfaction of a career well done.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Intersecting Circles - Hedgehog v. Fox

There is an old fable about the hedgehog and the fox. It is a discussion about whether you are a person who needs one defining idea or can chase many ideas at once. It is from an essay by a Greek poet and then further expressed in an essay by Isaiah Berlin - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hedgehog_and_the_Fox). "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."

Which one are you - a hedgehog or a fox?

Is it better to be a Hedgehog or a Fox?

In today's fast-paced business environment, there are many ideas to chase.  In fact, those new technologies and opportunities just keep coming - should they all be considered?

Should you put all your chips on one big idea - risking a better idea you did not explore, or put one chip on them all in hopes that one of them 'pay off'. 

I am not suggesting I know the answer, just some strategies:

• You don't have enough time to chase them all - so prioritize.
• Constantly evaluate new technologies and see where they might fit.
• In today's technology landscape  - you better be a bit 'foxy'.

HEDGEHOG CONCEPT

The hedgehog concept is interesting as it describes the intersection between passion (being 'all in'), economic growth (value proposition), and what you are best at (another aspect of being all in). 

The sweet spot is in being a fox about technology and then a real hedgehog about focusing in on your passion.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Are You ALL IN or Just Surviving?

In poker, there is a term called ‘all in’ where the poker player puts all their remaining chips on the table in order to win the pot. In business ‘all in’ means commitment to making a business decision, or business situation better/faster/stronger.

My question is, as a member of a team (whether you are the top or the bottom of the team, whether you are an internal member or an external consultant)…

Are you ‘all in’ or are you ‘just surviving?’
 
More and more I see both internal and external team members taking the passive ‘just surviving’ approach to their work lives.

How do you know which side you are on?

All In	Just Surviving
I will be committed to success	I am working for a paycheck
I will communicate my concerns, issues, and comments to make the company stronger	I don't want to make waves.  My boss doesn't listen anyway
I will make the company better	I just work here
I will search to do more, ask how I can help, look to improve my company 'coinage'	I will wait for someone to hand me responsibility and shy away from a challenge
I am fearless	I am fearful/timid/reluctant
I am here for the long haul	I am hanging around here waiting for my next job
I will stretch and grow and learn from my mistakes.	I want things to be safe, and I expect someone to tell me what to do.

If some of this makes you feel uneasy, that is a sure sign of just surviving, just floating; hoping that someone else will take charge and make things better. 

The interesting part about ‘just surviving’ is that we won’t need to take ownership of what happens at the company. We get to say we feel unfulfilled and we are still ‘deciding what you want to be when you grow up’. If only someone would show us the path to our ‘career.’

The path to job security, and a rewarding career is to be ‘all in’ – is there a chance we will lose the poker hand by putting all your chips on the table? Yes, but we learn from those events and become better and stronger. 
 

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Ideate, Inc. Publishes a First – a Civil 3D Virtualization Study in Success

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 10/10/2013 - Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller Ideate, Inc., a solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, today announced the publication of its first Virtualization-focused Study in Success, “Ideate Consulting and IMSCAD Lead ESA to Autodesk Design Solution Virtualization Mastery.”

Ideate customer Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental science and planning firm with offices in the Western and Southeastern United States, faced challenges when the firm needed to seamlessly integrate IT hardware and its office and accounting software with graphics-intense Autodesk design technology software. Virtualization looked promising, provided it could be achieved within the firm’s desired parameters of a reliable, cost effective, and functional solution.

ESA enlisted Ideate Consulting and its strategic ally, UK-based IMSCAD, and as John Lessard, Director of Information Technology, ESA, said, “We spent several hours at Ideate. The comparison to anything we had experienced to date was night and day. We determined that the concept of running AutoCAD Civil 3D in a Citrix environment was not only possible. Virtualization, it turned out, was very doable.”

The first-of-its-kind Study in Success reveals how these expert allies partnered in scoping, installing, and configuring the components, then implementing a successful desktop virtualization project that is working for ESA with Autodesk design software, and specifically with AutoCAD Civil 3D.

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says, “Being able to use any hardware from anywhere is facilitating fast-paced collaboration for ESA. The firm is streamlining software deployment and upgrade procedures, all while lowering its costs. Our goal is always to have our customers be overwhelmingly delighted with the solutions we provide, and we could not be more pleased.”

Ideate has published “Ideate Consulting and IMSCAD Lead ESA to Autodesk Design Solution Virtualization Mastery,” online. Download the Study in Success at ideateinc.com/ideas/case

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is a leading Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, ATC and Civil 3D are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.

Citrix is a trademark of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
 

# # #

Making New Mistakes + Grow

Many people believe the word “mistake” is a taboo. The perception is that if you make mistakes, then you are not “perfect” and therefore incompetent.

When I first started in the construction industry, my business partner, Ron Warrington, made a great statement “Let’s make new mistakes.” Of course, I argued. His point, and it was/is a brilliant one, is that we learn from our mistakes.

Learning From Mistakes
There have been many studies that say we learn far more from our failures than from our successes.

“The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.”
–Dale Carnegie.  

The general notion is that we are too busy patting ourselves on the back when we win than when we lose. How true! Ego is the biggest roadblock to getting better.

What are the best practices?

• Post-mortems are really a requirement – post-mortem is defined as an analysis (not blaming) on “what we wish we would have known” before we made the decision/proposal/presentation/decision. 

• Critical Analysis is needed – this is different than self-criticism. You must look at the situation with as much dispassion as possible. Remove the emotion.

• Brainstorm this analysis – you are looking to uncover the rock, and discover the nugget of where you went wrong.

• Get other stakeholder’s input. You might be too close to the trees to see the forest. Sometimes it is the simple themes we forget – such as “you never ask for the business.”

• Put what you learn/discover into practice as soon as possible. If your issue is ‘getting mad’ and making a poor decision, maybe delaying the decision for one hour might give you a new perspective.

My experience is that we are never too old or experienced to learn from what went wrong. 

Making mistakes is human nature – learning from the past and reaching past existing boundaries is where leaders are made.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Virtualization’s Impact on the AEC Industry

Ideate is always investigating new technologies that affect AEC firms’ workflow. Virtualization is one of those technologies. Server virtualization has been around for a while, and the firm’s IT Department/Consultant has been at the forefront of server virtualization.

Application virtualization is a different type of virtualization technology. Application virtualization is the dividing of a server into separate ‘virtual’ computers and then pooling the RAM resources of the server to serve all the virtual computers. Why is this a ‘game-changer?’

• No need to purchase new laptops/workstations every 18-24 months. 
• Ability to allocate resources (CPU + GPU) based upon usage metrics. Resources can be allocated dynamically, so each user gets the RAM they need, when they need it.
• Deployment of software applications, users, and resources can be done centrally and pushed out to the users. Resource usage can be monitored and measured.
• Lastly, users can access the firm’s software assets from anywhere, using any hardware (MAC or PC), through virtualization’s secure URL interface.  

Sounds easy, right? Well, it turns out there are some key issues to consider. This is what Ideate has been researching and testing over the last year. Here are some key factors to consider: 

• Buying the right server hardware is crucial. Most critical errors to user satisfaction are because the hardware was bought on price, without thought of usability. 
• Make sure your virtualization partner has Autodesk and virtualization experience. Most IT consultants are very experienced at virtualizing Microsoft Office programs, and not experienced at successful Autodesk software virtualization. 
• Have the right Autodesk licensing. Virtualization is not a methodology to use one license of Autodesk product to serve many concurrent users. A review of the Autodesk Software Licensing Agreement is essential.

Want to know more? 

• Watch Ideate’s Virtualization video – What is the Business Value for AEC Firms?
• Email Ideate at consulting@ideateinc.com for more information. 

Ideate Consulting can provide both implementation and support services to ensure your firm’s successful move to virtualization.

Don’t forget to look through the great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Navisworks, Civil 3D, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech

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