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February 14, 2010 07:03:55
Posted By Christine Longwell
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While putting together a presentation on PDMWorkgroup, I came to the realization that my own document management is lacking, and it’s probably time to practice what I preach. My processes are certainly a lot different from users in a production environment. I don’t produce products, and frequently work with other people’s data. I also churn out a lot of junk for illustration purposes. Also, there’s the “If you got hit by a bus” test for your data. Sorry, but as my own boss, I’m not worried about my data if something happened to me.
However, saying that my files are different isn’t really a good excuse to not adopt a process. I recently heard someone use the colloquialism “The cobblers kids have the worst shoes” to describe the problem and I’m ashamed. I’m ready to come clean, and here is my confession. Today alone:
· I came across several sets of duplicate files. These are file sets with the same part names in different directories. It’s probably my number 1 sin. Which one is newer? If I go to the “recent files” section, how do I know I’m really getting the one I want? Why are there multiple files? Obviously I wanted to leave one of the file sets in a “different state”. In other words, I wanted to make a “Revision”. Heck, I could even go crazy and leave myself a note explaining WHY I wanted to make a revision.
· I opened a 2009 file set and accidentally saved it in 2010. SolidWorks is so good about reminding you to save your work as a default that it can actually be difficult to NOT save your work if you’re not careful. Fortunately I had a copy of the files on a thumb drive, so I was able to get them back, but suddenly I’m violating rule number 1 again.
· I repetitively used File - > Open to browse for my documents. I waste a lot of time looking for things because what makes sense in one context suddenly doesn’t work in another. When I started running 2010 in parallel with 2009 I wanted to be sure to keep my files separate, and I made a different folder. Sounded good at the time, but suddenly I had to remember which customer is on which version, and as a customer migrates I would end up with data in both directories. Even worse, it could be duplicate data, once again violating rule number 1. (PDMw can handle data in various SW versions.)
That being said, I am committed assessing my own unique data concerns. I realize it will likely be a somewhat iterative process, but regular process auditing is core to any successful organization, no matter how small. It is not reasonable to expect a “one size fits all” solution to data issues, and we all have to remember to focus on infrastructure in the lulls between busy times.
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February 6, 2010 10:22:35
Posted By Christine Longwell
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SolidWorks World is over, and we have all headed home and back to work. With the big announcement about data on the cloud, a lot of people are wondering what the implications might be to them. Rather than talking about CAD, I have an example of how cloud computing is going to help me run my business better.
So, I hate all of the back end work that I have to do as a business entity. Quotes, Invoicing, Expense tracking, etc… all seem like a distraction from the real work I want to be doing, and I am going to bring in a college student to do some of these things for me a few hours per week. I had my credit card out, and was about to buy Quickbooks, and I hesitated. I thought “Gee that’s a lot of money for a software package I’m hardly going to use. What computer am I going to install it on?” Well, as it turns out, Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks has an application on the cloud.
Then again, wouldn’t it be nice if my financials integrated with my address book and list of nebulous projects I have hanging out there? Well, for that I use an online CRM (Corporate Resource Management) tool.
Choosing a CRM tool is like picking a spouse. While theoretically, you could leave your current system and go to another one, but there is a good chance that would make you miserable. No, your old CRM tool will not take half your assets, but you might not get all of your data out in a manner that’s transferable cleanly to your new system. Zoho had me at “I’m Free”.
If you want to check out a great example of cloud computing, sign up for a free account at www.zoho.com . In addition to the native CRM application, there are other Apps you can add to your “Dashboard”. It handles email from any Pop account, and it has a money manager, an online meeting tool, as well as a full suite of office tools.
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January 31, 2010 06:27:24
Posted By Christine Longwell
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I can’t remember exactly who said it first (not me), but it reflects the general feel of the conference. I wrote my user group data management presentation on the flight out, and I guess I will simply be rewriting it on the flight back. Maybe next year I’ll learn.
In the morning I saw some excellent content on 3D instant website. No, it’s not new, and No, I’ve never used it either. You can create password protected, highly interactive websites. Phillip Thomas also did a really cool trick with a model on his iPhone. He lost me a bit on the details, but I’ll be stalking him later to ask. (Don’t worry Phillip, I’m harmless.)
The afternoon was the CAD manager’s boot camp, better named “Every SolidWorks User on the Planet should attend if you want to get the Most Return on your Investment”. I guess that title was too long, but it was still quite well attended. I was a bit worried when Greg Jankowski started talking about processors, memory, and hard drives, because I have always viewed hardware as a necessary evil.
Here are a few of the great tips I picked up:
· Excluding SolidWorks files from the virus scan process can help your performance.
· Windows 7 – 64 bit is really that much better than Vista 32 bit.
· I felt admonished for bad computer maintenance.
I’m off to the welcome reception at the partner pavilion. I caught a peek at the Extensible CAD booth, which looked awesome, but this time there will be snacks and beer. There is certainly some fun to be had this week as well.
Next year, I won't be packing heels.
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January 28, 2010 09:51:22
Posted By Christine Longwell
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I have sadly neglected my blog lately, in part because of the FTC’s new regulations about legal disclosures regarding endorsements. I have always been one to adhere to the law to the letter, and this new legislation has made me nervous. After waiting for the fallout of the legislation, and reading the brief, I believe it does not pertain to me in any way. This legislation only pertains to persons compensated for their endorsement of a product. I am a commercial user of the software, and I have paid a fair market value for the software and it’s maintenance. My opinions and experiences are my own, and I have not been compensated in any way to state them.
Yes, I have had acquaintances at the SolidWorks corporation pay for meals and even consulting work. As such I remain an independent contractor, having paid for my own hardware, software, and with my own business interests at heart. I have shouldered the financial responsibility for travel and accommodations to SolidWorks World.
This is not to say that I am opposed to taking free products for the purpose of reviewing them. Really, if anyone wants to give me a product to review (say a 3D connections device, hint, hint…) I would be thrilled to do so and disclose that information that it was provided free of charge.
However, I will be sharing my experience at SolidWorks World, and hopefully this will give my local folks here in South Carolina an insight into what the event is like, and how the technology is evolving.
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December 2, 2009 10:52:25
Posted By Christine Longwell
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Have you ever got started on a project and ¼ of the way into it you wish you had structured the files differently? It’s bad enough when you work by yourself, but imagine the challenges for part/assembly structuring for a design team. People have different ideas about how files should be combined, and some team members (not to point any fingers) have no idea of file structure whatsoever.
SolidWorks TreeHouse is a great, FREE utility that you can use to lay out your project before you start hacking away at it. A design manager could lay out an entire project in this visual format, assign custom properties and part numbers to the files, reuse old data, and automatically generate the appropriate SolidWorks Documents.
From there you can check it into PDM, assign owners, and have designers “do the needful” to get the project in the works. As a planning too, it will give you an idea of how much of the new design needs to be created from scratch, vs. reused.
If used correctly, it reduce the number of files that need to be obsoleted in the process, and it could make it easier to assign resources early in the project.
http://labs.solidworks.com/Products/Product.aspx?name=treehouse
I could really see it as a tool for the quoting process. You can build up your design hierarchy without doing the detailed work, and quickly have a clear picture of the engineering scope ahead. If the project fails to come to fruition, (never happens, right?) not much time is lost. When the Purchase order comes in, the team can use the skeleton to jump right on it.
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