BricsCAD® The Guide to Change Management
Picture this: a family with 3 children, the children come home from school, and immediately raid the pantry for snacks. No rules. Eat what you want. This went on for years. All of that was fine until the parents noticed the children were no longer hungry for dinner. It affected the entire house. That is until the parents unified and said, “No More Snacks after school” and implemented change. One child was happy as they didn’t really eat snacks anyway. The middle child just shrugged their shoulders. The third child said, “It’s not fair! You’re being the meanest parents ever!” and stormed out. While this story sounds ridiculous in this context, believe it or not, this is a typical parallel scenario in organizations and companies, and quite frankly, it’s human nature.
The parents (CEO/CFO) don’t like the direction things are headed within the family (Organization/Company) and see the need for change. The children (End Users) enjoyed the fact that there are no rules. The CEO/CFO has communicated to the end-users; paraphrasing, “Things are going to change around here,”, and how did the children receive it?
One child was happy and accepted the change. One child was indifferent and seemed like they would be on board with it after a week or so. And the last child rebelled as if the parents were the worst parents on the planet. Are you starting to see the parallels?
Join Grant Dott and me as we discuss our daily experiences assisting clients transitioning to and implementing BricsCAD®. We'll share common practices that can be applied by your organization to any scenario, with a particular focus on those implementing CAD software.
Getting Ready for the Switch?
“Grant, can you give us some reasons why companies are looking to switch CAD products?”
“Sure thing, Craig. There are usually three reasons why companies and organizations are looking to change CAD products.”
“Saving money! Companies love saving money. And now more than ever, they are looking for additional ways to cut costs without having layoffs or reductions in force. Inquiring about an alternative software at a lower cost is a minimal risk/high reward venture.”
“Additional functionality. While CAD is a general term, no two CAD products are identical. A lower cost CAD product, like BricsCAD, may in fact have more intuitive functionality for the user, which increases productivity.”
“And lastly, organizations are simply unhappy with the current CAD solution. Some companies really dislike their current software and will do anything to move away from it. It might be anything from poor customer service, a change in licensing structure to diminished functionality and corporate greed.”
“Thanks, Grant.”
While these are the most common reasons that we encounter, there are still many more. Also, when it comes time to look at the switch, be sure to share your reasons and findings with your end users. Not surprisingly, this kind of information may not be shared with the end users until implementation is upon them. As well, management should also be included in the process. You wouldn't leave the children with the babysitter and not update the babysitter with the new rules, would you?
Implementing the Steps
Don’t wait until your current CAD contract is nearly out of date and secretly uninstall the user's current CAD program and replace it with a new solution. While it is not our recommendation, we have seen it happen.
"Grant, tell us how well this type of switch is received by the users?”
“Craig, I can tell you that it is not well received at all. It is imperative to plan the switch. The users are upset by the lack of notice from management. They have customizations that cannot be migrated and other preferences that are just lost. In general, it causes chaos. So, communicate the change in advance. Our advice is to assemble a team that is responsible for planning, gathering, executing, testing, implementing, and gaining feedback from the other users. You may also want to consider this team in the decision-making process.”
“The Implementing Steps are where we gather the information needed to ensure a proper transition.”
“Craig, once the switch has been decided, it is now time to get moving. How can we best make use of these four steps and get started?”
Plan
“Well Grant, let’s start with planning. First of all, you need to get a grip on the current CAD ecosystem that you are moving from. You need to know how users and stakeholders of all types will be involved and the roles they will play. Similar to the CAD ecosystem, get a handle on the file structure and customizations. Outputs and output hardware need to be considered and evaluated; network and shared pathing, how project files are stored, distributed, and consumed. Additional resources needing to be migrated potentially include but are not limited to .ARX, LISP routines, custom hatch patterns, toolbar customizations, tool palettes, and fonts. This is also a reminder that there may need to be a recompilation of LISP/ARX/VB and .NET or custom code that may require more resources. Be diligent in discovering as much as you can before you start.” (See Fig. 1)
Figure 1 – Plan
Execute
“Next, we have execution. The aim here is to develop a new BricsCAD machine setup on its own, running two parallel CAD environments. It’s best to have redundancy as you most likely won’t get everything the first time. Install BricsCAD. Create a User Profile and configure the necessary pathing and folder structures that you will need. Another note, please do not use your current CAD software profile. Migrate over customizations and test them for compatibility. Edit and update them until they perform as expected in the new environment. Remember to keep the User Profile up to date with any changes. Continue the process of building the new BricsCAD ecosystem and take time to test, which is our next step.” (See Fig. 2)
Figure 2 – Execute
Check and Test
“Checking and testing may seem obvious, but it is important to maintain as similar a working environment as possible between the two machines. Every phase of execution requires testing and perhaps multiple testing with different parameters or file types. Test the outputs on different peripherals and compare them to the incumbent CAD product. Keep the User Profile up to date as you make changes in configurations and test again until you are satisfied it is correct. Continue to do so until you are satisfied that the build you have can be deployed to all users.” (See Fig. 3)
Figure 3 – Check and Test
Managing the Switch?
“As we mentioned earlier, assemble a team to manage the switch, where all stakeholders are kept up to date and involved in the process. You don’t want some big boss controlling all aspects of this. If you have good people working in your organization, then they will generally manage themselves, right? What the big boss can do is challenge the team to embrace the change positively.”
“Grant, this is a big step, changing CAD systems. How do you see a business moving through the switch when there may be a few team members who might be a bit distant when it comes to change, especially a big one such as this?”
“Craig, unfortunately, not all of us like change. And this is where the rest of the team can come to the rescue. Some changes require a learning process and supportive team members can help with the learning curve of others. By keeping in mind the four steps, as above, the process of migrating from A to B can be part of the learning curve. It is an opportunity to see how things react in a different environment and adapt to the situation. And let’s face it, switching to BricsCAD is not as difficult as it may seem at the start of the process. It is an environment with a similar look and feel and a low learning curve for seasoned Cadders.”
“Good point, Grant. Let’s also not overlook how important training is to the user. Regardless of how familiar the new software is, it is imperative to train and support your staff. While there may not be a huge difference in how things operate within the UI, creating familiarity and getting users on board is crucial. There might be a keystroke difference, here or there. For some, it’s no big deal, just like child number one. And for others, like child number three, it’s the end of the world. Additionally, BricsCAD offers a variety of machine-learning productivity tools that are not offered in other CAD programs, so this may also mean that a revision in standards, procedures, and processes is potentially needed. But instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water, carefully consider what aspects are salvageable and worth preserving, while discarding those that are not serving you well.”
Conclusion
It’s human nature to resist change and new rules. Change can be scary. It can be frightening. However, implementing CAD software is none of those if you plan, execute, check, and test. You might even discover that this change had a positive effect on your organization. Lastly, once implementation is complete, grab your favorite snack from the pantry and enjoy your efforts. Of course, just not before dinner.
More About BricsCAD®
Bricsys® BricsCAD® is professional CAD software without compromise. Accelerate your time to deliverable without compromising on performance, cost, licensing flexibility, and data security. Not ready to buy? Download the free, 30-day trial of BricsCAD® at Bricsys.com. Would you like free lessons? We have that available with Bricsys Learning. Ready to migrate to BricsCAD®? Download the Migration Guide. The latest version of BricsCAD® improves the tools and features users love, as well as new functionality and UI that supercharge productivity. Follow us today on LinkedIn and Youtube.
More About Bricsys®
Bricsys®, part of Hexagon®, is the global technology company that creates the BricsCAD® family of computer-aided design (CAD) products and the Bricsys® 24/7 project collaboration platform. We are relentlessly committed to the success of our customers by offering cost-effective, mission-critical CAD software with industry-leading product support. Learn more at www.Bricsys.com.
Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions. Learn more about Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.
