Revit Training and business case

[dhavalpatel_us337373]

Hello, Folks

I need some help super fast since I don't have too many days left before my big presentation.

Does anyone have any type of Revit presentation for Management or any type of slideshow or any type of documentation?

I am trying to accomplish multiple things here. I want management to know in nutshell what Revit is all about and how much powerful tool it can be and why we want to move into that direction. Also, I would like to let them know about the training, implantation, time and cost.


Thanks you so much folks for all your hard work and help in advance.

[Mike.Perry]

Hi "dhavalpatel_us"

Please note I have *moved* this thread from the Local Chapters - General forum to this one, as I believe it will be better served here.

Thanks, Mike

Forum Manager

ps Revit Forum Moderators, if this is not the correct Revit forum for such a thread, could you please move it to the most appropriate one. Thanks.

[dhavalpatel_us337373]

what's going on? How come no one has responded? any idea? why did you have to move?

[lswinea]

Mike moved your post to here because this is the Revit discussion group, and this is where you should get more feedback.
I would suggest you visit the Autodesk site, it has some great presentation stuff on Revit.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...112&id=6861034

Larry

[kpaxton]

what's going on? How come no one has responded? any idea? why did you have to move?

dhavalpatel_us,

Sorry that you feel no one has responded to you - sometimes we just get a bit busy here answering a lot of questions in the other forums. So you've got a big presentation that you're doing to management on Revit? Where are you located - States? overseas? How big is your firm? how many principals? just curious.... I'll try to give you a brief synopsis of what might assist you.

One of the important things to remember is not to be rushed when doing this. There should be systematic reasons as to why a firm wants to switch platforms. This shouldn't be because it's 'cool' and it's fun, (although those ARE good reasons!) Remember for a business sometimes it's more about the bottom line than anything else. Productivity and Profits are the key backbone to anyone staying in business.

With that said, Revit can and will take a firm there- if they promise to stay the course. It's been said (and proven) that 2 Revit implementors can do the work of 4-6 AutoCAD drafters during the life of a project. I've seen it in practice! I also speak from experience when I say that there will be growing pains while implementing. You'll have people on staff who don't want to change, they want to stay in their comfort zone, they want to keep their job security. There are also issues of what to do with all of the 'legacy' dwgs and blocks and add ons, etc. Once they are shown that yes- you can keep your position, yes- you can keep the legacy information and yes - you can get more done in a shorter amount of time - people will start to pay attention.

How to show this to your management? My suggestion is to find an authorized reseller in your area to come with you to your presentation - as backup. Talk to them and ask them to sit second chair. IF they come in all alone, then it may seem like all they are doing is trying to sell a product. Have them back up what you're showing with examples, etc. I would also suggest one of the many independent training firms that exist, but on such short notice...it would be extremely difficult.

Here's my comments also on implementation and training. Slow and Steady! One firm I worked for did a wholesale change...everybody... all at once. And we failed miserably. There are training methods now that use one of your own projects in office - and you get trained while working on that project- you're billable while you're training!! Decide on a small team or teams at first - say 4 to 6 to 8 people. Let them become accustom to the workflow, then they can help the second team later. One of the other pieces of advice is that after training... those trained need to immediately start using the software on the projects. I've seen people go through training, then have to go back to using Autocad for a couple of months, then get asked to come back on a Revit project... it's a bit difficult for them to remember and pick up where they left off. This also hints on what I said earlier about smaller teams... they can immediately hit the ground running, while the other teams remain productive finishing up other projects. When a new project needs to start, it can be implemented in Revit.

Have you contacted a trainer yet to inquire as to schedules and cost? I would suggest that you do - this is helpful information. There are some good training programs offered by the resellers out there as well as ones given by independent trainers. You can do a search on these forums for threads regarding these. For example, I was trained personally by CDV Systems - they come to your firm for a week's intense training where you learn on a project and learn the ins-and-outs of the program and most importantly - how to integrate Revit into your workflow. I'm not going to quote what they or other trainers charge - but it was worth every dollar.

Cost of the program itself can vary from reseller to reseller, however, I believe the list cost is between $3900 and $4600 per seat (incl. initial subscription and taxes, etc.). I am also referring to the SERIES cost, and not the standalone. My suggestion is that you'll want the Revit Series, which comes with Autocad 2007, to be able to review & modify consultant dwgs as well as your own legacy information. The cost isn't that much more than the standalone cost anyways. And get the subscription!! You'll need this to have access to tech support and get the updates issued yearly. A way to look at this is that you have your initial startup cost, then a low maintenance fee each year.

As far as examples? Slideshows? I haven't seen much in that regards - other than than provided by Autodesk on their website (as mentioned) You can certainly go into the gallery here and look for examples of renderings others and I have done. most examples come in the shape of someone doing a live demonstration. As a small testimonial - I've recently gone on my own, opening up my own firm. I had a relatively small clubhouse I needed to complete - about 8,000 s.f. in size, and two smaller auxiliary buildings. I completed the design development package in less than 8 days - working no longer than 7 hours per day on the project. On my own. I don't even want to imagine doing that in Autocad.

In all things, proper implementation takes a well thought out plan of attack. One that has little disruption to your firms current workflow. There will be some, of course, this is to be expected. How to minimize this is the key. There is alot more information about implementation, but I will leave that to the resellers and the trainers.

I hope this helps. If you need anything else, post a reply or send me an email. Good Luck.

Kyle

[Brian Myers]

Kyle's post is a great one, I don't really have anything to add. I do want to back up his suggestion about getting a reseller involved, they are experts in the program and can answer the on the fly questions you might not be able to answer. Also they might be able to work with you on the presentation to get it over to your company.

[robert.manna]

You may want to take a look at what the AIA has to say about Integrate Practice (on their website). Revit is merely a tool for putting into practice the process of BIM. Mangement needs to understand what BIM is and means to the practice of architecture in general, and that Revit is a purpose built tool for architects (and engineers) to make their process of designing and documenting a building more accurate and efficient. There is certainaly a cost attached to such a sweaping change to how we practice our art, however the cost of not changing may be (I truly beleive it will be) far more expensive then the cost to change.

HTH,
-R

[dhavalpatel_us337373]

I will like to involve the resellers too but not at this stage, since I was at the AU and would atleast like to present the group something useful.

[dhavalpatel_us337373]

Kyle, thanks. you have provided some good information. I will let you konw if I have anymore questions.