The “Jump” as we call it is based on the simple idea we’ve all been pursuing for years.
I think the tenant of model-based design, BIM, or whatever you want call it is:
“Work the Same and Publish on Demand”
This is EASY to wave your hands around and talk about THAT, but more than a bit difficult to execute on in the real world, with live people working on actual projects. There are lots of “issues” that make this so as you know better than I.
Fundamentally, I KNOW that the two things “Work the Same” and “Publish on Demand” are two DIFFERENT processes.
In engineering speak the first is a iterative and benchmarked QA loop process to maximize the design and/or the quality of the “design data”.
The second a more linear series of publishing events or “production”. Yeah. The second is more like the first than we may let on. :)
These core engineering principals DO WORK in the real world with albeit varied degrees of success. Often the measure of that success is based on how well we actually manage to divide the processes and accountibilities. Because we manage to do these "right" for a while, doesn't mean we'll continue to do so. In fact, history tells us the opposite is more often true.
Whether or not we can sell or someone buys the designed results are other matters entirely.
An Old School Illusion
Our history and experience in survey, civil engineering, et al in both PAPER and CAD environments says – these DIFFERENT processes ARE the SAME thing.
They HAD to be. Nothing else made practical economic sense given our investment in man-hours (and the prerequisite skills), the limitations of “CAD” tools, and our ability to practically manage the one-off project process.
CAD allows us to gain the advantages of reusable and replicated parts but they remain just parts.
The “drawings” (assemblies of parts) we create and edit ARE the end deliverable we are paid for.
Everyone who continues to do that will continue to face the same problems.
Style Matters
Civil 3D isn’t a perfect model- based software, but it’s getting better at it faster than anything else I know of for many survey/civil projects. It does obey (for the most part) data (Feature) centric perspective and importantly separates the model building from the publication in principal, function, and practice. Style matters.
One Two Three
The Jump says use a tweaked InstantOn Basic (a cleaner more evolved Free Jump) to run the Work the Same production environment.
The Jump Kit (and Symbol Sets) provide a huge set of standard resources to help deliver the necessary tweaks for project and/or task specific templates and drawings. These resources are not perfect or all inclusive, but there is more than a lot there.
The resources do keep getting better and deeper in a documented and consistent fashion.
They get better because customers actively participate in their development.
They get better because we do the iterative testing QA loops that continuous development demands.
What You Can't See Isn't There
Everyone's biggest limitation is VISUALIZING for USER their available choices NOW.
Civil 3D’s current employment of NAMES in lists is all we have to work with at the present time.
This is a major reason WHY we always deliver a working Project to root around in.
This is why we document Styles.
This is why I wish for picture properties (links to the same perferred) built into the Civil 3D object model.
The Project is a Sandbox
There is a Structure and a Process to do the tweaking work. More importantly, there is a Structure and Process for USERS to employ and access the resources. This is all PROJECT centric because that is the real world. That is the way Civil 3D is designed to function. That is the way smart organizations perform the work.
Binocular Vision Required
Separately you must also focus on producing the specialized Publish on Demand resources you need to produce what you need from the production data model(s). That process employs EXACTLY the SAME Project Structure and Process employed in the live projects. But has a DIFFERENT and distinct PURPOSE.
The “best” Civil 3D users should get good at the skills and processes required to do this work of their own accord. It's part of the creative outgrowth and output of properly managed projects.
We do have MANAGE how they do this. If we don’t, we get a mess.
Of Art and Mixed Paint
The ART and primary management task is to NEVER mix the DIFFERENT colors of paint.
As you’ve probably personally discovered, that gets ugly really fast.
It’s painful to fix too. Got my old paint covered tee shirts to prove it.