Well, they are now 13 days past the date when they were supposed to provide content to us and still not even a usable template.
I spoke with the Apprentice for about an hour on the phone on Friday, and we appeared to be making progress. I then received email from The Specialist saying that an updated version was on their FTP site, but I checked in all of the folders that have been used by them to post for us and (of course) nothing was there. I sent out an email to The Specialist, The Apprentice, and the Project Manager saying what wasn't there. To his credit, the Project Manager replied at 6:48 p.m. Saturday night and asked "can you forward your cell number on so that maybe (The Specialist) can call you..." That's all. I didn't check my email until Sunday morning, and that's the only contact.
So much for me trying to make up a lot of time and create content on my own over the weekend. I'm tired of wasting my weekends & spare time waiting for something that is long overdue.
Wow. All I'm going to say right now is that what I expected is 180 degrees from what we got.
I'll post again tomorrow. This has got to end. The level of concern on their part for how this is affecting us as a business is becoming more obvious every day.
One last note on the bright side: try a Google Search for "Revit Structure 2009" and #1 on the list is the Revit Structure page of my website: lukewarmcoffee.com. It is even ahead of the Autodesk entry. How did that happen?
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Still waiting...
The conference call that was supposed to happen yesterday was canceled (more or less) by mutual agreement, so I'm still in a "semi-limbo" state.
However, I am in contact fairly regularly with The Specialist (even though he's in the middle of nowhere he has found the time) and his Padawan Learner. The Apprentice has emailed me some content & posted some to FTP. The template is shaping up somewhat and things should be taking a turn for the better - even more after a Webex (?) in the morning with The Apprentice that I hope bears much fruit.
Honestly, the Project Manager seems content with the fact that they have completely blown the first part of their commitment by not providing the content before the training (as agreed) so that we could immediately put RST to work. It is not his concern that we are falling behind our targets because he made false promises. I was told (by him) that he received a promotion recently and is now extremely busy. That's great, fantastic, and I'm happy for him. Does that mean that maybe someone else should be in charge of our implementation if he doesn't have the time? Very possibly.
Example: on Tuesday, he set up a conference call between myself, him, and The Specialist for yesterday morning. Before the end of the day he told me that he couldn't attend and it would just be me and The Specialist. !!!! I would have thought, with all of the trouble we've been having, that a 'project in distress' would garner the Project Manager's priority. That is, unless all of his projects are going down the same path because "other duties" are getting in the way of managing projects.
I'm curious about one thing. If Avatech doesn't follow through with the terms of the contract during the first major phase, can we count on them to deliver quality for the duration of the contract? I wonder what they would think about us if we didn't keep our side of the bargain: $$$.
I do think that the worker bees in the firm are very good and want to get things done. I'm going to check out the new template that the Apprentice gave me today. Wish me luck.
However, I am in contact fairly regularly with The Specialist (even though he's in the middle of nowhere he has found the time) and his Padawan Learner. The Apprentice has emailed me some content & posted some to FTP. The template is shaping up somewhat and things should be taking a turn for the better - even more after a Webex (?) in the morning with The Apprentice that I hope bears much fruit.
Honestly, the Project Manager seems content with the fact that they have completely blown the first part of their commitment by not providing the content before the training (as agreed) so that we could immediately put RST to work. It is not his concern that we are falling behind our targets because he made false promises. I was told (by him) that he received a promotion recently and is now extremely busy. That's great, fantastic, and I'm happy for him. Does that mean that maybe someone else should be in charge of our implementation if he doesn't have the time? Very possibly.
Example: on Tuesday, he set up a conference call between myself, him, and The Specialist for yesterday morning. Before the end of the day he told me that he couldn't attend and it would just be me and The Specialist. !!!! I would have thought, with all of the trouble we've been having, that a 'project in distress' would garner the Project Manager's priority. That is, unless all of his projects are going down the same path because "other duties" are getting in the way of managing projects.
I'm curious about one thing. If Avatech doesn't follow through with the terms of the contract during the first major phase, can we count on them to deliver quality for the duration of the contract? I wonder what they would think about us if we didn't keep our side of the bargain: $$$.
I do think that the worker bees in the firm are very good and want to get things done. I'm going to check out the new template that the Apprentice gave me today. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Overall Evaluation Temporarily On Hold!
Today wasn't a happy one in regards to the implementation.
If any of you recall, I voiced my doubts about whether they would be able to make the content creation happen before training (paragraph 2 & 3 of the May 16 post). After some reassurance via email from the Sales Rep and a conference call during the Kick-Off Meeting with the Project Manager & The Specialist, I then retracted those comments in my next post (paragraph 3 of the May 28 post). I also mentioned in the same post (paragraph 3) all of the items that I uploaded (per their instructions) to their FTP site for them to create the content. Remeber my retraction of my concerns? Well, don't. Big mistake. I retract my retraction.
We are in a holding pattern for starting our first Revit project because not one single piece of content that was supposed to be completed prior to the classroom training has been given to us yet. Actually, they did send me a template today, but I opened it to check out the goodies. I cannot find one single item that had been changed from the default template that ships with Revit Structure. Not one.
Wait: they did rename the file. I stand corrected.
Did they really think I wasn't going to notice?
There is a conference call scheduled for Wednesday (tomorrow) morning, so maybe we can get this all figured out, but they have already put us behind schedule. It has been 5 days since training ended and we still have nothing of what they promised (verbally & in writing) would be created before we hit the classroom.
Lesson for today: Do what you can to make sure that there is some wording in what you sign that covers you in case the company you go with doesn't keep up their end of the bargain.
This blog was supposed to be a positive thing about what to do and what not to do when your firm goes to deploy Revit Structure. It was also (hopefully) supposed to be a plug for the firm we contracted with to do this implementation. Nobody wanted them to be the "perfect team" more than I/we did.
My sincere hope is that it still can be. Hope is not lost. Not at all. We just need to be able to put this behind us and move forward.
It also bothers me that they know absolutely everything that I have been concerned about through this whole process - and I'm not talking just about the emails & phone conversations. I have been tracking every single click (date, time, IP, etc.) on this blog and there have been at least 4 hits by their firm after every posting here since some time in May. They are watching me - they just didn't know that I was watching them watch me.
It bothers me that they are reading this and things are still not happening.
I would give just about anything to be able to turn this back into a "good blog" but that can't happen until we can Revit.
That's all I've got to say for tonight. Check back tomorrow after we've tried to resolve some of the issues.
If any of you recall, I voiced my doubts about whether they would be able to make the content creation happen before training (paragraph 2 & 3 of the May 16 post). After some reassurance via email from the Sales Rep and a conference call during the Kick-Off Meeting with the Project Manager & The Specialist, I then retracted those comments in my next post (paragraph 3 of the May 28 post). I also mentioned in the same post (paragraph 3) all of the items that I uploaded (per their instructions) to their FTP site for them to create the content. Remeber my retraction of my concerns? Well, don't. Big mistake. I retract my retraction.
We are in a holding pattern for starting our first Revit project because not one single piece of content that was supposed to be completed prior to the classroom training has been given to us yet. Actually, they did send me a template today, but I opened it to check out the goodies. I cannot find one single item that had been changed from the default template that ships with Revit Structure. Not one.
Wait: they did rename the file. I stand corrected.
Did they really think I wasn't going to notice?
There is a conference call scheduled for Wednesday (tomorrow) morning, so maybe we can get this all figured out, but they have already put us behind schedule. It has been 5 days since training ended and we still have nothing of what they promised (verbally & in writing) would be created before we hit the classroom.
Lesson for today: Do what you can to make sure that there is some wording in what you sign that covers you in case the company you go with doesn't keep up their end of the bargain.
This blog was supposed to be a positive thing about what to do and what not to do when your firm goes to deploy Revit Structure. It was also (hopefully) supposed to be a plug for the firm we contracted with to do this implementation. Nobody wanted them to be the "perfect team" more than I/we did.
My sincere hope is that it still can be. Hope is not lost. Not at all. We just need to be able to put this behind us and move forward.
It also bothers me that they know absolutely everything that I have been concerned about through this whole process - and I'm not talking just about the emails & phone conversations. I have been tracking every single click (date, time, IP, etc.) on this blog and there have been at least 4 hits by their firm after every posting here since some time in May. They are watching me - they just didn't know that I was watching them watch me.
It bothers me that they are reading this and things are still not happening.
I would give just about anything to be able to turn this back into a "good blog" but that can't happen until we can Revit.
That's all I've got to say for tonight. Check back tomorrow after we've tried to resolve some of the issues.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
RST 2009 Core Training: Day 3
Our last day of training went very well, starting off with Dunkin Donuts again. I'm almost glad they didn't get Krispy Kreme, even though the K.K. store is just a few blocks from the classroom. I would've had to sit in the back next to the box and I wouldn't have been involved for the first 20 minutes or so. Charles Barkley likened warm Krispy Kreme donuts to crack cocaine. That's got to be pretty close to the mark.
We invited (at the suggestion of The Specialist) two different architects that we will be doing Revit projects with to sit in on a little session. The whole purpose was to show them how the whole process works, what they need to do so we get a usable model from them, what we will be doing when we get a model from them, get their input, and have a few beers in the classroom.
Actually, there was no beer in the classroom. For a few seconds this morning I did think that there were a few bottles of scotch or bourbon in the cupboard. Unfortunately, it turned out to be some kind of flavored syrup(?). Don't tease me like that, guys!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...... Anyway, the "meeting of minds" seems to be a great idea. Each discipline gets the same line from Autodesk that goes something like this: "Coordination works great and all you have to do is this..." I think the architects got a little dose of reality today when they saw that it just ain't that easy on our end. We all learned that if we (structural) can get more information very early in the project from the architect, turn that into some early design info, get it back to them, and keep the communication lines open, it will work much more smoothly on both sides. I know that's not always easy, but it looks to be a necessity when you use Copy/Monitor with the architect & engineer in different offices. If we can manage to get all of our architects that want to do Revit projects with us to tweak their models in a few small ways, it will make a huge difference. That meeting was an excellent idea.
A little note about The Specialist. One of the architects had his company's training with the same people we did, but had a different instructor. After a little more than an hour in there with us, he commented that "your guy" is much better than the one he had - and he is a happy customer of theirs. That wasn't meant as a dig on the instructor he had, but more like a few gold stars for our guy. He really knows his stuff and does implementations for Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP.
The rest of the training went very well. We are all ready to dive right in and, very probably, really screw-up our very first Revit project. Really, though, the attitude our crew has exceeded my original expectations by leaps & bounds.
I was initially concerned that there would be some resistance to The Revitlution, fearing that everyone's comfort level with AutoCAD would leave them hesitant to go into the unknown. Maybe I was totally wrong, or maybe that period is yet to come after some of the glitz & glamour of the initial training wears off and some of the frustration sets in. The enthusiasm is still running at a high level right now, though.
Hopefully we will be putting it to the test starting with our first official project tomorrow morning. That is, provided that we receive the content tonight that was supposed to be completed before the classroom training.
That will be the theme for tomorrow: an honest and complete evaluation of the implementation to this point. Before I make my next posting here, I will be reviewing the contract we (SPC and Avatech) signed a few months back to see what was promised, when it was promised, what we both could have done to make the whole process better, and what we both did to make it "not-as-good-as-it-should've-been."
This part will be a fairly regular part of the Lukewarm Blog, and it should be if I ever hope to be of any help to anybody else. If you have been keeping up with this blog, you have heard me be critical of my own performance a number of times - and I will continue that trend when necessary. I have also been, at times, generous with the compliments when it comes to the Training Team. And they deserve it. I complimented The Specialist directly on Day 3 about his knowledge & teaching ability, and he thanked me. I told him "Don't thank me - you deserved it. I'm not just 'blowing smoke' because you're standing there."
The other side of the story is the fact that we have contracted with a very well-known & professional company to provide a professional service, in a professional manner, for a very professional price. Because of that, my postings may seem critical at times - even overly critical according to some of you. You are entitled to your opinion, but so am I. When it comes right down to it, the fact is that we are only under obligation to provide two things: lots of money & honest effort. And whether the 'honest effort' is spelled out or not, we are definitely responsible for that. If not, how professional are we?
Everything else is their responsibility. Right, guys? [[wink, wink]]
Tune in again tomorrow...
We invited (at the suggestion of The Specialist) two different architects that we will be doing Revit projects with to sit in on a little session. The whole purpose was to show them how the whole process works, what they need to do so we get a usable model from them, what we will be doing when we get a model from them, get their input, and have a few beers in the classroom.
Actually, there was no beer in the classroom. For a few seconds this morning I did think that there were a few bottles of scotch or bourbon in the cupboard. Unfortunately, it turned out to be some kind of flavored syrup(?). Don't tease me like that, guys!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...... Anyway, the "meeting of minds" seems to be a great idea. Each discipline gets the same line from Autodesk that goes something like this: "Coordination works great and all you have to do is this..." I think the architects got a little dose of reality today when they saw that it just ain't that easy on our end. We all learned that if we (structural) can get more information very early in the project from the architect, turn that into some early design info, get it back to them, and keep the communication lines open, it will work much more smoothly on both sides. I know that's not always easy, but it looks to be a necessity when you use Copy/Monitor with the architect & engineer in different offices. If we can manage to get all of our architects that want to do Revit projects with us to tweak their models in a few small ways, it will make a huge difference. That meeting was an excellent idea.
A little note about The Specialist. One of the architects had his company's training with the same people we did, but had a different instructor. After a little more than an hour in there with us, he commented that "your guy" is much better than the one he had - and he is a happy customer of theirs. That wasn't meant as a dig on the instructor he had, but more like a few gold stars for our guy. He really knows his stuff and does implementations for Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP.
The rest of the training went very well. We are all ready to dive right in and, very probably, really screw-up our very first Revit project. Really, though, the attitude our crew has exceeded my original expectations by leaps & bounds.
I was initially concerned that there would be some resistance to The Revitlution, fearing that everyone's comfort level with AutoCAD would leave them hesitant to go into the unknown. Maybe I was totally wrong, or maybe that period is yet to come after some of the glitz & glamour of the initial training wears off and some of the frustration sets in. The enthusiasm is still running at a high level right now, though.
Hopefully we will be putting it to the test starting with our first official project tomorrow morning. That is, provided that we receive the content tonight that was supposed to be completed before the classroom training.
That will be the theme for tomorrow: an honest and complete evaluation of the implementation to this point. Before I make my next posting here, I will be reviewing the contract we (SPC and Avatech) signed a few months back to see what was promised, when it was promised, what we both could have done to make the whole process better, and what we both did to make it "not-as-good-as-it-should've-been."
This part will be a fairly regular part of the Lukewarm Blog, and it should be if I ever hope to be of any help to anybody else. If you have been keeping up with this blog, you have heard me be critical of my own performance a number of times - and I will continue that trend when necessary. I have also been, at times, generous with the compliments when it comes to the Training Team. And they deserve it. I complimented The Specialist directly on Day 3 about his knowledge & teaching ability, and he thanked me. I told him "Don't thank me - you deserved it. I'm not just 'blowing smoke' because you're standing there."
The other side of the story is the fact that we have contracted with a very well-known & professional company to provide a professional service, in a professional manner, for a very professional price. Because of that, my postings may seem critical at times - even overly critical according to some of you. You are entitled to your opinion, but so am I. When it comes right down to it, the fact is that we are only under obligation to provide two things: lots of money & honest effort. And whether the 'honest effort' is spelled out or not, we are definitely responsible for that. If not, how professional are we?
Everything else is their responsibility. Right, guys? [[wink, wink]]
Tune in again tomorrow...
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