Watch my AU session on Revit API examples at my new blog.
http://jasongrant.squarespace.com
In past Autodesk University events have you ever wished that you could influence what sessions you have to choose from? There is actually a venue to do so. For the second year, Autodesk is allowing the AU community to vote on their favorite session options for Autodesk University 2009. Your vote will help influence what classes there are and when they are scheduled.
Autodesk has been coming up with new ideas each week for why the "Ribbon" was a positive move. While I would like to believe all the new reasons for why Autodesk forced the ribbon, I still believe it came from some marketer's dream, that influenced corporate, which then became a movement requiring all software packages to look the same. They were going for a wow factor. The wow factor being that if something looks better then people will want it. This works for product design, sometimes websites but rarely on software. Below are some examples:
Product Design
People will buy electronics that have less features and costs more than another on the shelf simply because it is better designed and more visually appealing. When perusing the shelf or website they created a wow that separated this product from that. Design for this has a purpose and it works.
Websites
An overly designed "Wow" website with animated graphics and shifting/sliding of content and controls can actually make it more difficult to see the important information that the website is trying to reveal. While you may get more people wanting to look at the site, they are looking at your "Wow" and not YOU and what YOU can provide to them. The person who clearly states their core values and services on the front page, easy to read, will probably get a better business response.
Software
So recently I was trying out different DVD ripping programs so that I can copy my toddler's movies onto an external drive so that when he destroys the disk, I can just burn a new one. I had two serious contenders for my money and both were on full use trials. The first I decided to try was because they had created a Wow Factor in their User Interface design, the downside was that it actually did not work well. The burned DVD would automatically skip from chapter to chapter 50% of the time and you would finish the movie in seconds. So I tried the other which was a basic interface with nothing graphical about it and few buttons or options. It worked perfectly and did what it was designed to do. Which one do you think I spent my money on?
Today I will be completing the 4th day of Revit 2010 training for a new team that has never used Revit. While one of the premises for the new UI was that it would make it easier for new users to grasp, I actually believe that it is harder. With everything shifting and sliding, tools there and not there, go to this tab and then back again... the issues go on and on. There is no easy way to say when you want to do this you go here. Everything is in constant movement and revealing tools in different places. What is interesting is that I see more users who will probably go back to text commands (like Autocad) because tools like the copy button move all over the place and you are constantly having to think and search out the command. While there is nothing that can be done going forward with the UI since it is here to stay, I sure hope Autodesk makes some huge advancement in the tools for the next release. Otherwise, it is a "Wow" type interface which is hard to navigate, does not follow the flow of working on design projects and has many tools that still do not adequately perform the tasks that they are suppose to do.
I got an interesting RSS feed from http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/ today.
Autodesk is taking an interest in today's economic crisis where they will actually help those of you who are unemployed. Follow this link for more information http://students3.autodesk.com/?nd=assistance_home&lbon=1 and this one for a detailed .pdf explination http://students3.autodesk.com/ama/orig/Autodesk_Assistance_Program_Customer_FAQ-_FINAL.pdf
In one of my previous posts, I had thought it would be beneficial for the unemployed to be able to get a student version at a student cost for a 13 month license. Autodesk seems to have taken it one step forward and is offering the software free. This is a great move by Autodesk to show that they understand where the economy is and that they care about the users of their programs.
Check out the links above for more information.
I read a facebook status update the other day from a friend who was laid off from an architecture firm due to the economy. He wrote that while unfortunate, it is allowing him time to work on his exams, study for LEED and to learn this BIM thing. It got me thinking about how he would actually learn BIM. He could download the Revit trial, use books to train and try to learn it but what can you actually do in the 30 days of the trial version. Is 30 days enough to learn? When I first started on Revit, I had gotten a demo while at Autodesk University 2004. I had demos beforehand but you just start getting into it when the demo expires. The demo that they gave at AU 2004 was either a 60 or 90 day (can't remember). What I do remember is having adequate time to learn and start implementing it.
While pondering this, I thought about whether Autodesk could do something to help the numerous unemployed which would not cost much but could lead to significant gains for Autodesk's future. What if Autodesk could provide Revit to the unemployed using the cost structure of the Student License and also have the similar 13 month license? Of course, there would need to be some type of proof (unemployment check, call to the last employer or something similar). This would allow numerous individuals with the ability to learn Revit, become proficient and be more marketable. The benefit for Autodesk is that there would be many more users of the program for when the market rebounds. When these users go into their new jobs they will essentially be your sales force within those companies. Another senerio is that many of these individuals may end up starting their own practices. After seeing the benefit of Revit, what software do you think they would choose to buy when the license expires?
Something interesting to think about and I would like to hear some of your comments.
In one of my previous emails I may have been slightly harsh about the releases of Revit. In my mind, the time and energy spent on the UI is not worth while since not enough of the actual tools have been perfected enough yet to take the fustration out of day to day use. While I stongly believe that there are serious flaws in the workflow and use of the tools, the Revit team has been innovative on an actual tool that should help with the early design of a building. The conceptual massing tool is that innovation and is a great first pass at a Sketchup like flexibility to massing.
Kudos to the team that worked on conceptual massing. You are definately going in the right direction and I look forward to where you take it from here.
But my comment still stands... make the product work as perfect as it can and then pull some of the programmer's time away for other things. I know Revit as a whole can never be completely perfect but it CAN be a lot better.
Continuing on the previous topic...
Version Comparisons can offer more than just justification for upgrades, it can actually help your users find which product is best for their needs. For instance:
Navisworks - Do I need Manage, Simulate or Review? There is also Freedom but that is just the viewer but where do the options of the viewer overlap the others?
Max or Max Design?
Alias - Would I need Design, Surface or Studio?
There are probably others but I think my point is made. The moment that you start creating a disconnect by increasing the options for a single product line it is imperative that you include some type of comparison. At least Navisworks tries to do it but only on a high level. For example, all have Review Toolkit and 3D File and data aggregation but what does that mean to someone who has not used it? I challenge the people who created this list to go home and ask their spouse (or better yet call your mother), show them the list and ask them what the differences are between the products. Ask them what Review Toolkit is and see if they can come up with a remotely similar description to what you think is straight forward.
Why make this confusing when you probably already have the information at your fingertips. You spend a huge time marketing your but you missed something big when you don't allow the users to understand differences without extensive research.
With the economic downturn affecting many architecture firms, there is a movement to re-evaluate what they spend money on. One significant aspect of every budget is software. Do the companies who almost force you into subscriptions really give you the benefit of getting each new software release? Adobe gives you a comparison chart to help you evaluate what has changed and thus puts the power in your hands to determine if the software advances from the company warrant the payment for the upgrade. Autodesk will give you a feature summary but is that enough?
Another example of product version comparisons from Techsmith on Camtasia. They allow you to pick your version and have it compared to the current. Simple idea that most software companies do...
Sometimes I forget with simple "Service Packs" of any program, that they all should get adequately tested before installing on a mass of computers. So, we have a user that was having serious issues that the rest of their team was not having on a 180mb Revit file. Even though none of this user's issues were on the fix list I had hoped that it would resolve some of the issues until we could get the user a new computer. After installing the Service Pack 2, the user would have Revit close (without warning or error report) when they would attemp a save to central command. I had to do a system restore because there was nothing I could alter on the machine that would allow the program to save to central. Luckily, since we are switching out hardware so that the users will have Vista 64bit with Revit 64, I only installed the Service Pack (Web Update) 2 on one computer.
Just a reminder that you should always test before installing on too many computers. I almost forgot and if we were not changing out hardware I would probably have suggested installing it on 50 computers. That would have been a headache!
This could have been a system issue so I am in no way suggesting that you not use the new Revit update.
Before the 64-Bit was even released I was just finishing up a benchmark program that was very difficult and taxing on RAM and processor. We were trying to figure out what laptop would be best for our Revit users. Since the 64-Bit has been released I have now run it and was shocked at the improvement. On another note, I was let down that the SP2 for 2009 was actually slower then the WU1 but that quickly disappeared when I heard about the 64-Bit version. Below are the results:
Below is an image from the benchmark. It is way overmodeled with bolts, complex chairs, glass beakers in the shelves in the lab and so forth.
Autodesk has released the 64-Bit Revit and can be downloaded on the subscription website. A longtime dream of many has become a reality. We have a difficult benchmark within the office that takes about 2 1/2 hours on the 32-Bit Revit so I will let you know the results on the new version.
Thank you Autodesk!!!
I was wondering how long it would take for Autodesk to finally have solid Revit Blog. The wait is gone and I look forward to seeing what insight can come from constant, more relaxed, topics of discussion from the source. Written by Harlan Brumm, he lists this on his bio:
"As the Global Technical Lead for Revit Architecture within Product Support, I train our support staff on the technical side of the software and I help solve pesky Revit problems. I also help to author white papers and technical solutions on our Knowledge base."
The site called The Revit Clinic describes itself as Preventative and Rehabilitative BIM Care. With a start of about one post every three days he is off to a great start with some interesting topics.
The following link from Autodesk descibes the acquisition of Green Building Studio by Autodesk.
Autodesk Press
and below is the email I just recieved from Green Building Studio
After nearly 10 years of market changing innovation, Green Building Studio is delighted to announce we have signed an agreement for Autodesk, Inc. to acquire our assets. In other words, our Green Building Studio (GBS) web service will soon join the Autodesk product family. Please be assured that our talented team will continue selling, training, and supporting architects as they use our web service to design carbon neutral buildings today and in the future.
“Autodesk is committed to providing technology that makes sustainable design easier and more efficient,” said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Autodesk AEC Solutions. “We look forward to adding the Green Building Studio technologies to the Autodesk portfolio and helping our customers more easily leverage the coordinated, reliable data created in the Revit® platform for building information modeling (BIM) to help predict performance and design buildings with reduced environmental impact.”
After closing this deal, Autodesk also plans to continue support for the Green Building Studio web service, carbon neutral building design training, and to strengthen the web service’s integration with its BIM software. The gbXML schema will remain an open industry standard, and the GBS web service will continue to be available to any other BIM software.
“We have partnered with Autodesk for many years, and commend their ongoing support for sustainability,” said John Kennedy, President & CTO, Green Building Studio. “We are eager to contribute our industry expertise in green buildings to drive mainstream adoption of sustainability and accelerate the AEC industry’s transition to carbon neutral buildings.”
We expect to finalize the acquisition in the next few months. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
Green Building Studio - web service facts
6600+ Users
6200+ Projects
646 LEED Projects
35,000+ Simulations
210+ million floor area (ft²)
20 second average simulation time
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140-2004
The reason I started this blog was to descibe our experience of working with consultants who use Revit Structure and Revit MEP. While I have not been able to do that to date, all is about to change. Today we recieved a signed contract for converting a 37,000 GSF warehouse into retail space. While the owner already has a structural consultant on board who did not use Revit Structure on the project, we have a MEP consultant who is willing to use Revit MEP. This will be their second project that they have started in Revit MEP. My goal is to share as much as possible (the good and the bad) about the coordination, file transfers, and workflow.
This is a really exciting development in the way that we work within our office. Not only will things be more coordinated but it will be really interesting to see it all in 3D. Isn't it amazing it has taken this long to get to this point. You would think that since we design 3 dimensional structures that we would have moved away from 2D drawings a long time ago. I look forward to sharing and would like some feedback from anyone else who has tried this.
The first thing I hear when I tell someone that I use Revit is “Really… I heard it is great… But” and then the second part that always follows is “Is it hard to learn”. The simple answer to that question is No but it depends on what you have already learned. If you have never used any type of CAD program then I believe that it would be the easiest program to learn. If you had AutoCAD or ADT background then I believe it will be a little harder because of all the bad habits, shortcut keys, customization, and workflow that we learned along the way. It took me months to stop using the space bar as enter or the escape key.
Some of the differences are:
Layers – Revit has none since you control objects (Doors, Windows, Plumbing Fixtures, and many other categories) It is great to be rid of all of those layers. No longer do you turn off one layer and something else goes off that you did not intend.
Shortcut Keys – Revit also has some but you can not easily alter them like in AutoCAD. This is good because it was really annoying when I went to another co-worker’s computer and I could not do simple commands since they changed them. Shortcut Keys also are not as needed in Revit since the layout of commands are easier to get to.
Customization - As I mentioned before you can not customize as much as in AutoCAD but it is really a good thing and this is the quickest thing you get over.
Workflow – This is the biggest difference and too much to explain effectively. Basically, in AutoCAD you draw in 2D, ADT you almost draw in 3D but very difficult to use, and in Revit it is very easy to do work in 3D but sometimes you need to decide what is worth the time to do 3D and what you can just do more quickly in 2D. The power in the workflow comes from things like the details knowing where they are on sheets and the keys renumbering themselves when they get moved and automatic scheduling of anything you want to schedule.
So what about Learning it?
Basic Commercial buildings are easier to learn on then Basic Residential buildings but it is all fairly easy to learn either way. Revit was designed for Architects by Architects so the program controls revolve around Architecture and thus makes it much more user friendly. AutoCAD was designed for mostly machine drafting and then for some reason became the basis for most architects.
The problem with the learning curve comes from when you want to add a lot of detail to the interior and exterior elevations. If you try to do this all in 3D you will have to invest a lot of time. When first starting, I would suggest creating your floor plans and schedules dynamically and then using the dynamic elevations as an underlay and draw 2D linework over it. Then turn off the dynamic element and you will have a clean elevation. Once you have a couple projects done then try experimenting more. Make every project better then the one before it and never stop pushing the limit of the program. It seems limitless, so keep pushing until you find that limit and then tell Autodesk if you did find one. I have found things that could be improved but not anything that stops me from getting a great end product.
What is new with Revit? Unless you work for Autodesk or are a Beta tester in the new release, you won't know until it is released. One thing we do know is that you will see a new name on the box when it is delivered.
Revit Building 9.1 will now be Revit Architecture 2008
Revit Structure 4 will now be Revit Structure 2oo8
Revit Systems will now be Revit MEP 2008
Ohh... I almost forgot my pre-Revit software
Architectural Desktop will now be AutoCAD Architecture 2008
I think this is fitting since the product is just basically AutoCAD with a couple other features.
Along with this name change are some changes to the Autodesk website. HOK seems to have a lot of exposure on the Autodesk Website and other sites relating to Autodesk. Anyone know what the connection is?
After thinking more about my last post on this subject, I have come to the realization that Autodesk will probably never create content based on manufacturers. There would be many legal issues and ramifications with them creating these. This could stem from many aspects: incorrectly sized object creates a cost impact in the field, wrong part number brings the wrong item to the field, and the big thing is how does Autodesk pick the manufacturers. They could really alienate themself from companies if they chose one over another to create content from. Why should they worry about this even though it is the largest hurdle that a new user finds with Revit? The family editor is definately the hardest aspect of learning Revit. You need to understand what the best type of family you want to create to get the best end result, know what aspects should be locked and what ones are dynamic, what information you want to schedule, referance planes, visibility settings, add enough detail but not too much also, and they just take a lot of time to make correctly which is never in the budget. If you really master the Family Editor then you have pretty much mastered Revit and you can do anything.
With that said, we are left on trusting how others create content and then downloading from a variety of sites or just creating our own. My goal by the end of this year is to create or download a lot of content so that we can work more efficiently in our office. Here is a list of what I need more of..... What would you like to see? Throughout the year I will upload some of my good families to Revit to pay back the Revit Community for the many downloads that I have used in the past year and a half. It would be great to hear what you think would be beneficial to have more of.
1. Doors - Variety of interior and exterior with different panel options, glass options, and an adjustable swing. Also, I need these in single, double, bi-fold, and pocket. The other item not really well covered is garage doors. I have a lot of manufactures in mind for the door category but it really matters what you are working on.
2. Windows - Where do I start with this.
For our residential projects it would be great to have Double Hung (regular, cottage style, half-round, and archtop), casements, awning, and transom units. It would be great to have these with different grille patterns but it would be best if you could at least turn on or off the bottom grilles or both the top and bottom grills since not every project uses them. Manufactures for this would at least be: Andersen, Marvin, Pella, Duratherm & Jeld-Wen.
For our commercial work it would be really great to have some content from EFCO, Kawneer, and Vistawall. This includes regular aluminum windows, storefront, and curtainwall.
3. Plumbing - This is an important category since it really does affect layouts in bathrooms but it would also be great to be able to schedule. Some key companies could be: Toto, Elkay, Kohler & American Standard.
4. Elevators/Lifts - Not as important since you have many variables to consider before having a set size and manufacturer but some standard sizes would be great.
5. Fireplaces - There are a few of these around but I think this category could always be expanded with some more parametric models. Also, chimney caps are really important but hard to find.
6. Architectural Woodwork - Stairs, Railing, Ballusters, Generic Cabinets, and more trim profiles.
7. Site - Bicycle Racks, Site Benches, and Planters
8. Toilet Compartments & Accessories - Don't really know who I would use as a manufacturer for toilet compartments but I would probably use bobric for the accessories.
9. Lighting - Too many manufactures to list. I started recently with taking the Iris line from Cooper Lighting and creating downlight and downlight accent fixtures. They started out simple but at least they look good on the schedule. This is a category that I will focus a lot of time on.
What do you think about the list? What do you think is important, what is not, and what would you add? It was really great for me to think this through but other input is always great.
Why is it so hard to find manufacturer based family content? There doesn't seem to be anything out there. Sure, we have the Andersen Windows that we can download from autodesk and you can find Pella Windows and some other things at RevitCity. Where is everything else??? We can not be expected to create architecture and then all of the furniture and fixtures that go into it. The biggest problem that I come across is that the standard families that you can use are not realistic sizes and/or do not work correctly.
There should be someone at autodesk who only creates family content. Getting over the learning/concept of the Family Editor was not as painful as how many families I download and then need to fix because they forgot to lock something to a reference plane or you try to make something a little smaller or bigger and the family freaks out. Even the out-of-the box content has this problem.
How much would you pay to download good clean families that would make your job easier? I know I would pay (or make my boss pay) A LOT!!!
Manufacturers... people would spec your product just because we can insert a family of that product and have it automatically scheduled. Easier for us... more sales for you.
Sorry... Had to get that off my chest.
The future of Revit looks good. Autodesk is continuing to work on refining Revit Building to make the product more efficient in what we do on a day to day basis as Architects. Today, I went to the Autodesk facility in Waltham, MA to test out some refinements to the program. While I did not sign a Non-Discosure, since the revisions I tested are not slated for use in a specific release, it is understood that I can not release too many specifics. This test of the program was a follow up to Autodesk observing me and asking questions about Revit in my office in Lexington, MA. Autodesk believes that customer contact is key to developing the product and it shows. Basically, Revit in the future will be faster and more efficient while other programs just get slower as they add features to be more like Revit.
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