If we think about it our investments in Civil 3D development and customization generate a bit of a paradox. Out here in Civil 3D Land there’s an intriguing question about Autodesk Civil 3D Templates, Civil 3D Styles, and Civil 3D resource development. Is the customization of Civil 3D worth it?
The Is it Worth it in Civil 3D Paradox demands some consideration.
One side of the Civil 3D development coin says we must all do the complex customization work to create exactly what we need to get our work done and our published work out the door as expeditiously as possible.
The other side of the same coin says a lot of that nuanced customization detail appears to be just a matter of preference. Others certainly seem to have different versions of those preferences.
Is it Worth it in Civil 3D Paradox
Are these Civil 3D customization motivations and/or rationalizations clear?
The nature of paradox means the entire thing is a bit nonsensical, contrary, and can be confusing to the unwary.
For us Civil 3D development folks that means it is easy to feel like Marty McFly in Back to the Future.
You remember the tale.
Let’s recall the advice that the early Doc Brown gave Marty in that famous movie.
“Be very careful to try not to date your mother before you are born.”
Fictional time travel paradoxes can be uncomfortable.
They do make for some uncomfortable comedic fun.
Our development paradox is not as much fun. Some say it is downright painful.
Heads and Tails We Win and Lose
It takes a bit of Civil 3D experience to eventually recognize these apparently opposite choices are two sides of two separate and different coins. Huh? Say what? It’s hardly a toss-up.
In Civil 3D Land we flip both our copper pennies and our silver dollars.
One side of the Civil 3D development coin says we must all do the complex customization work to create exactly what we need to get our work done and our published work out the door as expeditiously as possible.
We must deal with this Civil 3D internal development problem because Autodesk chooses to only provide the absolute minimum level of generic Civil 3D Template, Civil 3D Style, and Civil 3D resources content with their software.
Most folks in Civil 3D Land perceive this minimal level of Template and Style customization and Civil 3D resource support as something personal to them. Well, it is personal.
Customization in Civil 3D is necessary to produce and deliver our project work.
Someone must own and perform this customization work.
That experience produces a ‘We must do this work’ mindset.
Put another way…
We must meet our internal levels of perceived satisfaction to make Civil 3D productive.
However, manufactured products like Jump Kit and Templates Only demonstrate this perspective is at least partially an illusion of our own making.
End users tend to focus on the exceptions.
Product manufacturers and managers tend to remain more mindful of the commonalities.
The important question remains:
Do we want to pay for the customization work in dollars or in pennies?
The other side of the same coin says a lot of that nuanced customization detail appears to be just a matter of preference. Others certainly seem to have different versions of those preferences after all.
Plan Set deliverable production is driven by Industry standards, readability, and consistent and repeatable presentation. These factors do matter in our civil engineering and survey projects.
Our Plan Sets must communicate complex engineering and survey information to a lot of different people. Many of these people have very divergent information needs.
We must learn to be flexible and adaptive.
To put it bluntly - Architects are not Plan Checkers nor are Planning Officials General Contractors.
As human beings we tend to see the preferences of others as arbitrary.
On the flip side we perceive our personal preferences as rational.
We tend to confuse perceived needs of others with their personal preference.
A favorite People Skills training quote comes to mind:
We Know People Think Differently.
Do We Behave as if They Do?
It might be more pertinent to replace the Do in this sentence above with Can.
Manufactured products like Jump Kit and Templates Only demonstrate support for a high level of flexible presentation and surprising levels of adaptability. Hoorah.
It is true. Civil 3D end users tend to focus on the particulars.
Product manufacturers and managers tend to remain to remain mindful of the need for adaptability.
Here’s yet another interesting and paradoxical bit:
The more custom Civil 3D resources we have in hand…
the easier it is to be and become more flexible and adaptive.
The important question remains:
Do we want to pay for that content in dollars or in pennies?
Just sayin’.
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