BIG NEWS, BIG CHANGES, BIG OPPORTUNITIES

What does this announcement have to do with this building?  It does not have anything to do with one of my previous firms Margulies Perruzzi Architects having designed the LEED Gold Base Building.  If you look in the top right corner of the metal panel façade you will see the name Dassault Systemes who are the makers of Catia and other products as well as the parent company to Solidworks.  This is the new building complex they moved into during the last month in Waltham, MA.  Have you guessed the news yet?

After having worked for Architecture firms since 1997, today will be my last day working directly for an architecture firm.  I have decided to pursue a different career path to better utilize my skills and passions.  I have joined DS Solidworks as a Product Manager for their AEC software.  Yes, I did say Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) software.  As hinted in my post on Sunday, this blog will take a slightly different direction based on this change.  The specifics of what that is be will be shown in time but it will definitely be new and exciting.  I have enjoyed getting to know the top experts in large firm BIM as well as those in small firms being innovative at a different scale and everyone in between.  With your help we can create something great.  I look forward to working with all of you further in the future!

7 Reasons Why Competition is Good

I got this general outline and bulletpoints from a post on ProBlogger Blog Tips which had a great guest post by Sean Houser of StartByDoing.com

It was a really interesting post and I thought it could be applicable to AEC software with some rewrites.

1. Lots of competition means there’s lots to write about

With competition, there is more to write about for all of the bloggers out there.  Sure, there is never an end to the how-to posts but the real excitement comes when you can compare products, get the scoop on something new or theorize what the future may be.

2. More competition means more idea sources

The more I get into software, the more I see how so many tools and logic have been merged from other sources.  With competition there is a greater ability to increase the idea sources for further development and new ideas.

The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind—creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people—artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers—will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.

Daniel H Pink - A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

3. More competition means more channels for your content

With more people passionate about different software there are more possibilities for your blog, twitter, facebook, linkedin being shared with a greater audience.

4. More business models to follow

Each company is different with their business models.  Where one may be innovative through acquisition another may be through internal development.  Where one is guarding it’s development another may be more open to their customer requests and needs.  Each business model will change the process of development of new tools and processes.

Plans let the past drive the future. They put blinders on you. “This is where we’re going because, well, that’s where we said we were going.” And that’s the problem: Plans are inconsistent with improvisation.

Jason Fried - Rework

5. More opportunities to partner and mastermind with top players

If one is open to discussing the pros and cons of a software with someone who uses another software, that would allow them to learn from each other.  If the top players (masterminds) of different software packages compared notes could their combined efforts help create a super product?

“Good to Great companies think differently about the role of technology.  They never use technology as a primary means of igniting a transformation.  Yet, paradoxically, they are pioneers in the application of selected technologies."

Good to Great by Jim Collins

6. More competition means more opinions and points of view

How many times have you thought that this tool or process cannot be the only or best way to accomplish the task at hand?  Common knowledge is not an excuse for accepting that your current practice is the best way to work.  Challenging what works and what does not is the only way that one can force innovation if adequate changes are not being made in the industry.  Do you want to be heard more? Do you want to see changes instead of talk?

The more expensive it is to make a change, the less likely you are to make it. Huge organizations can take years to pivot. They talk instead of act. They meet instead of do. But if you keep your mass low, you can quickly change anything: your entire business model, product, feature set, and/or marketing message.

Jason Fried - Rework

7. Competition forces you to be the best you can be

Without competition, how would there be innovation to challenge the status quo?  What would be the reason to take a chance without competition?  If you are the only one who does this particular thing, where is the challenge to be the best you can be?

99% of the time, in my experience, the hard part about creativity isn't coming up with something no one has ever thought of before. The hard part is actually executing the thing you've thought of.

Seth Godin

What's Your Six Word Memoir?

http://www.smithmag.net/ hosts a site which asks, "So, What's your story?" SMITH is the home of Six-Word Memoirs^© and a vibrant community of storytellers. Explore story projects, write your story & share it with friends.

A few great ones listed on their blog are:

• Most Spirited: “I dance even if everyone’s watching.” -mlmpoto 
• Toughest Narrative Arc: “Twins enter life together. Die seperately.” -lilikoi92
• Most Meta: “Six Words. My kind of commitment.” -MachV
• Most Earthly: “My heroes all have stretch marks.” -Huck
• Most Insightful: “I’m not walking away, just forward.” -lovethelittlies from SMITHTeens
• Even Better Wordplay: “Older. Wiser. Patience improving. Gaining wait.” -Loon
• Best Metaphor: “License revoked, words were driven home.” -endlessness

It is intriguing to step back and think about how to define your life in six words.  Some people have fun and some are deep.  Off the cuff here are a few that I came up with... The challenge is choosing what defines you the most.

Family, Friends and Technology equals fun

Life Best When Challenging Status Quo

Would Not Think Of Changing Anything

Make Next Thing Better Than Last

Six Word Memoirs: The Video Story

What's After BIM?

What's after BIM?  This has been a recurring topic on twitter, blogs and the term BIM seems to frustrate many every time the BIM Forum conference rolls around due to the Building Information Modeling Model mistake. There are many things that also get mispronounced, ATM machine for example, but I think the issue comes down to confusion with what BIM is and not just that you say model twice.  About a year ago I had a post about the term BIM and what it means to do BIM but now I think a little differently.

BIM even has Wikipedia wondering what is going on stating that the article might be confusing.

 The problem is that I think there are currently 4 distinct types of BIM and each one means different goals and work plans but owners have been marketed that BIM is all of them.  These are:

• Design Intent BIM
• IPD BIM
• Fabrication BIM
• Owner/Facilities BIM

Basically, one BIM cannot easily be another and that is a huge misconception that many do not understand.  The issue with this is that while one would think the data and model can be used throughout the life cycle of the project, the reality is that a lot of time is lost between project phases.  In the graph below is what I think happens throughout the life cycle of a project.  With each phase, one builds up the data and model only to have a lot of the effort lost as the project goes to the next phase.  Modeling needs to be recreated and data entered again.

What does Wikipedia say about Building Information Modeling?

Building information modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle.

Wikipedia

What it says is that you are managing data throughout the life cycle but I don't think that has been realized and if you read further down it starts to explain what I think is after BIM or the goal of what BIM should have been.  That is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

Under the guidance of a virtual design and construction project manager (VDC) BIM can be seen as a companion to Product Lifecycle Management(PLM), since it goes beyond geometry and addresses issues such as cost management, Project Management and provides a way to work concurrently on most aspects of building life cycle processes.

Wikipedia

BIM has never been the whole story but a companion to what I always thought BIM was suppose to be.  If you are anything like me, the description of PLM from Wikipedia is exactly what the industry needs.  Just think of the building and your deliverables as the Product.

In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal.  PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprise.

Wikipedia

If the data and modeling can be more easily reused from phase to phase then PLM could be the game changer that we all thought BIM should be.  So, you think we could drop the whole BIM concept since it is too undefined and confusing?  Below is the type of graph that PLM could provide which constantly builds upon the data and modeling so that the end is more beneficial.

5 Years of Blogging... Almost Nothing Worthwhile is Easy

Almost nothing worthwhile is easy, and it’s hard to just jump in and be good at something difficult right off the bat…

The only reliable way to succeed at anything is to actually do it, repeatedly, with concentrated effort. True for individuals, and true for organizations. Athletes, artists, businesses.

—John Gruber in Cutting That Cord

As of today, I have been blogging on BIM and technologies for 5 years which began at Archin3D.blogspot.com and now this squarespace site.  It is definitely not easy keeping up with writing between family and work but it is worthwhile for all the relationships I developed over these years.  I started blogging after having utilized Steve Stafford's blog to help get through the struggles I faced learning Revit through self teaching and trial + error.  This was at Revit release 7 when there were not as many web resources as there are today so I started blogging because I wanted to help those like me.

As times have changed, so has my blogging with the topics evolving as I have grown in knowledge, experience and interests.  I want to thank everyone who reads, comments and emails on what I write as it makes everything I do that much more enjoyable.  I always look forward to having you challenge my opinions, supporting those opinions or just asking questions that have stumped you or others.  It amazes me how technology has created so many friendships and helps continue friendships made at conferences and events.  I look forward to the next 5 years of sharing with you and learning from you.

Just as this blog's focus has changed over the years, after this week it will take a slightly different path and I hope you all come along for the ride as it will definitely be an interesting one.

Will it be relevant to what you do?  Definitely

Keep tuned for what this change is later in the week.

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BIM, Revit, Architecture and Business Topics by Jason Grant