Have you been working as your company's unofficial CAD Manager, and don't have any official authority with management? In this class, join other individuals who are in a similar situation or other full time CAD managers for this roundtable discussion. Learn tips from others on how to turn an unofficial position into an official position. Engage in a lively discussion where you can learn from others and share your experience on CAD support and CAD management.

Come join us for a civil industry-focused CAD-manager discussion panel with some of the industry's most experienced CAD managers. Learn from managers from both small and large firms as we cover a full range of issues, including software implementation and customization, training and support, and challenges in bridging the gap between end users, management, and software. There will be a series of questions submitted to the panel before class, and we'll also take some questions from the audience. The mediator will be Brian Levendowski, support manager, CAD Technology Center.

The tools and ancillary programs that CAD managers use seem to miss out when it comes to updates and new features. In fact, some of these tools haven’t been updated in years. This roundtable discussion will focus on what feature changes or improvements would make the CAD manager’s job more efficient. Tools and features to be discussed will include (but will not be limited to): Reference Manager, Sheet Set Manager, Standards Manager, eTransmit, and Fields. Attendees will be expected to actively participate, as an AutoCAD Product Team member will attend, so this is an opportunity to have the CAD manager’s voice heard!

Previous CAD-manager wish-list sessions focused on the ancillary tools and programs that come with AutoCAD software, but haven’t been updated or improved since their release. We've discussed desired improvements to things like Reference Manager, Sheet Set Manager, Standards Checker, eTransmit, and Fields. In the 2018 edition, we’ll focus on your ideas for a perfect CAD management world. We’ll discuss your various bottlenecks and challenges, and what you, as the CAD manager would like to see as solutions. These solutions may be updates to current tools, or something that may not even exist (yet!). Attendees will be expected to actively participate, as an AutoCAD Product Team member will attend, so this is an opportunity to have the CAD manager’s voice heard!

After a one-year hiatus, the CAD manager wish list is back, with a focus on the unique challenges that 2020 has presented fellow CAD managers. Did you have to switch your staff to a work-from-home environment? How did you handle it? What would you do differently in the future? How could you be better prepared if there’s a next time? Various work-from-home strategies, licensing issues, file access concerns, user management, even shifts in meetings and collaboration—we’ll tackle many topics that made 2020 a memorable year for any CAD manager. As usual, an Autodesk research team member will be in attendance, so this is an opportunity to have the CAD manager’s voice heard!

Last year we discussed the feature changes and improvements to the tools and ancillary programs that Autodesk has included for years, but which have remained basically the same. This year we'll investigate the group's findings and add our own suggestions. The tools and features we'll discuss will include the Reference Manager, the Sheet Set Manager, the Standards Manager, eTransmit, and Fields. Additionally, we'll expand our topics to include anything that can make the CAD manager's job more efficient, whether it currently exists or not. Attendees will be expected to participate actively, as a member of the AutoCAD Product Team will be in attendance-so this is an opportunity to get the CAD manager's voice heard.

CAD and BIM managers deserve professional recognition. Gathering together will enable that to happen. Getting CAD and BIM managers to define their roles will encourage growth in the industry. At this time it is every man for himself and no standards exist for what is expected from a CAD or BIM manager. Companies do not know what they are looking for and managers have no measures to prove their capabilities. Is it time to create a community of CAD/BIM managers with certifications or guidelines for quality?

This will be a follow-on discussion from the 7 Challenges of a New CAD Manager presentation. The roundtable will provide an opportunity for new CAD managers to ask direct and specific questions to seasoned veterans. Join with other newcomers to get real-world advice or share your experience with those coming up in the ranks. This up-close interaction will team up the best minds to find your answers.

As CAD managers, we face a variety of challenges when developing, supporting, and coordinating adoption of a company’s CAD standards package. These tasks can include a variety of considerations, such as user acceptance, change management, production impacts (or disruptions), training prerequisites, collaboration techniques, solution architecture, rollout strategies, feedback protocols, and, of course, user pushback. Join the speaker for this roundtable discussion as we explore strategies that have worked (and those that have not) and discuss what you need to know as a CAD manager when “selling” the standard—from the single drawing-production staff member through upper-tier management. This is an opportunity to share your CAD management experiences with others in attendance. Participation is expected.

You are probably familiar with Lynn Allen's world-famous class, “60 Tips in 60 Minutes.” Let's do the same with tips geared toward the CAD managers! We'll review some tools to help diagnose and solve problems, some tips that help streamline application usage, and some tips just for you to help your users in the background. This session features AutoCAD, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and AutoCAD Map 3D. AIA Approved

Ever feel like your boss doesn't like you? You aren't alone. The battle of Management versus CAD/BIM Manager is real. It's not how well you know the software that will lead to your success, but how well you can manage management that will determine your outcome. This class gives you ringside seats as a non-tech principal and a CAD/VDC director go head to head. We will give you a glimpse into the dark side of business and explain why this matters. We will give you tips on how to overcome the roadblocks that principals will throw your way. Both sides will give you tips on how to articulate your CAD/BIM agenda in business terms that your manager will understand and respect. We will explain why CAD/BIM Managers shouldn't make their boss look stupid even when they can and why diplomacy and IT tact will go a long way. We will discuss the challenges management faces and how as a CAD manager, you can become a valued and respected leader in your firm.

CAD/Building Information Modeling (BIM) management requires a diverse set of management skills, but you already knew that. In this roundtable discussion we’ll examine proven strategies that successful CAD managers are using in a diverse range of industries. We’ll discuss problem identification, problem solving, user motivation, standards, senior-management support, budgeting, training-program justification, objection handling, and more as we move around the room to get perspectives from everyone. As the discussion progresses we will encourage all attendees to create their own inventory and prioritization lists so that they can create action plans they can use as soon as they get back from Autodesk University. This class is product agnostic, so don't worry about what discipline you support as a CAD manager. If you want to pick up some great tips from your peers and gain a fresh perspective on your CAD management duties, this class is for you.

This course starts with the assumption that many CAD / Building Information Modeling (BIM) managers have little to no direct managerial authority over the staffers they support, yet they're still expected to get results. To make things worse, many times these managers are also engineers, architects, or designers working under severe time constraints while expected to remain billable. This course will present strategies for peer-to-peer interaction with users and project managers that can help you persuade people to comply with key CAD/BIM management directives such as standards, file storage, training, and interdepartmental coordination. If you fit the peer-to-peer CAD/BIM manager profile, you're sure to pick up some solid ideas you can use immediately. And even if you do have full managerial authority, you can still benefit from using some of these collaborative and persuasive strategies. This class is designed for managers of numerous disciplines.

Many CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) managers have little to no direct managerial authority over the staffers they support, yet they're still expected to get results. To make things worse, many times these managers are also engineers, architects, or designers working under severe time constraints while expected to remain billable. This discussion will focus on strategies for peer-to-peer interaction with users and project managers that can help you persuade people to comply with key CAD/BIM management directives like standards, file storage, training, and interdepartmental coordination. If you fit the peer-to-peer CAD/BIM-manager profile you're sure to pick up some solid ideas you can use immediately. And even if you do have full managerial authority, you can still benefit from using some of these collaborative and persuasive strategies. This class is designed for managers of multiple disciplines.

A couple of years ago I packed my family home into a U-Haul and left the bright lights of the United Kingdom's capital city for a little village on England's south coast. Why? I had finally found the position I had been working so hard for: CAD manager. And you know what? It didn't work out quite how I expected. Maybe I'm not yet experienced enough to tell you how to succeed as a CAD manager, but I can certainly help you to avoid the mistakes I made. Come and join us for a lively session as we discuss how to put aside the CADing and Codeing, and we talk about what to do next.

New tools like AI are automating tasks and giving us ways to analyze big data in new ways. But what does this mean for the CAD manager? Is the role more important than ever? Or is it outdated and headed for extinction? This award-winning panel is back to share insights on the digital transformation and important lessons learned from decades of experience. Learn from this panel of diverse CAD managers that are widely respected as leaders in their field. Hear their unique perspectives and solutions to challenges facing CAD managers from organizations of all sizes and backgrounds. The panel will discuss how new tools can make you more effective, while sharing where you need to enhance the human element. Hear how they've worked to embrace the future, while not forgetting the past and being productive today. Join us for a panel discussion that has become an anticipated AU tradition. Take this opportunity to learn from four CAD managers who have been there and done that.

Some CAD managers may serve as solid bridges of support between end users and IT departments, but what about those of us who struggle to build that bridge for better administrative support, faster turnaround times, and strategic planning for future department needs? It's easy to get stuck feeling the pressure or, even worse, seeing only one of 2 equally valid perspectives. In this class, attendees will learn how the speaker put the "manage" back in CAD manager by creating mutual understanding and improving collaboration between 2 departments that may not always see eye to eye.

Our group of CAD Manager All-Stars is back again this year with a new list of topics to discuss. Learn from the experiences of this panel of diverse CAD managers who are widely respected as leaders in their field. Hear their unique perspectives and solutions to challenges faced by CAD managers from organizations of all sizes and backgrounds. Topics include CAD standards, keeping up with rapidly changing technology, managing users, communicating with management and other nontechnical people, budgeting, and much more. There will also be time to ask these experts the questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Bring your questions and get answers from 4 CAD managers who have been there and done that. AIA Approved

As those who work out know, the core is the center of the body that drives every other area. For CAD managers, the core is composed of the central perspectives and beliefs that drive them to action. The core motivates, outlines, circumscribes, defines, and restricts every decision, action, and outcome that they are involved in. Get the core right and you get more done, motivate more people (including yourself), and inspire and encourage others. Get it wrong and you may cripple your CAD efforts, derail your decision making and tangle your team into knots.