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Inside AutoCAD 14

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Project Collaboration Over the Internet

by Mark Sage

By its nature, project design is a collaborative process. From concept to final construction or manufacturing, a varying range of disciplines are involved in bringing an idea to reality. Each member of the design team has specific processes to follow and standards to apply. Effective management of the project design process requires timely communication and rapid distribution of design standards.

This chapter discusses how the World Wide Web benefits the design process by facilitating communication and delivering a collaborative environment. The chapter also covers some important Internet collaboration tools for the design and engineering space. Finally, this chapter examines a design firm that has embraced Internet technologies. You will study the business reasons that led them to become a leader in their field through use of the web. The firm's CAD web site is examined here,

with discussion of the problems and issues encountered, how they were overcome, and what the web has meant for their business. The discussion wraps up with a tour of the site itself. Specifically, this chapter covers the following topics:

Coordination and the Iterative Design Process

Constant communication between disparate (possibly distant) parties such as consulting engineering firms, subcontractors, and suppliers is essential to a successful venture. In most cases, many firms, individuals, and sources are involved with the project. During the project design phase, a development team establishes the basic product design. A review and reiterative approval loop, perhaps involving external agencies, follows. Finally, ownership passes to engineering, who may contract with consulting engineering firms. At each step in the process design changes will occur. Coordinating and communicating changes to the design is critical to keeping a project on schedule and costs under control.

Throughout the project life cycle, distribution of design, and structural, construction, or manufacturing standards becomes an issue. By facilitating collaboration through rapid communication of design intent, you eliminate much of the reiteration involved. Coordinating engineering document flow and revision has always been a headache, even for companies with deep pockets. The web, in conjunction with the proper graphical Internet client technologies, brings powerful tools for managing, viewing, accessing, and publishing CAD data for clients and agencies alike. Web servers provide central drawing management control and distribution mechanisms.

Real-Life Coordination Problems

Have you ever experienced the following scenario?

A general contractor contracts with your engineering firm to supply a set of drawings for a specific aspect of a building project. Numerous other portions of the project (including HVAC, electrical, structural, and lighting) are subcontracted to other consulting engineering firms.

You submit completed plans to the general contracting firm, invoice your client, and begin work on another project. Without your knowledge, the structural engineer alters the main load-bearing supports to meet new safety standards. After a few days, a call from the general contractor alerts you to the structural change. He is falling behind schedule and needs updated drawings immediately for your portion of the project. You put your current project on hold and address the issues arising from the structural changes made to the previous building project. A new cycle of engineering work begins while the deadline approaches for your existing project.

In a nearly perfect world, you would submit revised plans and return your focus to the "back-burnered" project. But this is real life, and Murphy's Law seems to always take precedence. Due to the structural modifications, the HVAC ducting has been rerouted, and you have to update your drawings again. By the time you resubmit final, final, final drawings, the number of hours you have spent on the project has nearly tripled. Not only that--your current project is past deadline and the client has had to slip his schedule.

Do you know what this situation sounds like to me? Very expensive! Just try getting another job from the client who had to slip his schedule.

Using the Internet to Facilitate Coordination

How could such a problem be obviated? With better and more timely communication between the disparate parties, all the project delays could have been avoided. Even when you use the telephone, faxes, and e-mail, the communications cycle is still imperfect. Real-time collaboration is the solution. An Internet (or a private intranet) with the visual benefits of the web supports the collaborative design process in ways not addressed by any other technology.

With the web, changes to CAD data can be communicated immediately on a global basis. The use of web technologies as a foundation for design collaboration creates a "follow the sun" engineering environment. Properly implemented, a good CAD project web site delivers worldwide access to relevant drawing data, immediately communicating design changes to affected parties.

Staying on Top of Projects

Examine how the previous scenario plays out when you use web technologies as a central point of communication. The following case is hypothetical, but based on real technologies and experiences.

Day 1--8:30 a.m. A week before the project deadline for engineering drawings, the general contractor and structural engineer simultaneously receive high-level information on their desktops about new structural safety regulations. Servers utilizing Push technologies such as Marimba Castanet, BackWeb, or the Point Cast Network deliver information in real time, based on the client's profile settings. The profile acts as a filter, enabling you to select the kind of information and discussion topics that interest you.

Day 1--8:45 a.m. Detailed data retrieved from the web by using a search engine like Digital's Alta Vista, or Infoseek, indicates that the new earthquake safety regulations will affect the building project.

Day 1--9:15 a.m. The structural engineer fires off an e-mail to the regulatory agency representative, asking about the new rules' impact on the current design.

Day 1--10:00 a.m. The engineer receives a confirmation by e-mail that the safety standards apply to his project.

Day 1--10:30 a.m. Realizing that major structural design changes are necessary, the engineer points his web browser to the project web site, and fills out an online Engineering Change Order (ECO) request form.

Day 1--10:45 a.m. Having received a completed ECO request form, the general contractor's project management system automatically generates a notification of a pending ECO.

Day 1--11:00 a.m. The notice, indicating a potential change to the central drawing database, is sent via e-mail or a "push" server to involved or interested parties.

Day 1--11:30 a.m. A threaded discussion of the design impact begins, using web browser tools and groupware, such as Lotus Notes or Novell GroupWise. Electronic whiteboard software, such as Netscape's CoolTalk and Autodesk View, is used in a collaborative redlining session. The whiteboard session enables the consulting engineers to visualize that potential structural changes will impact the HVAC design.

Day 1--1:00 p.m. The participating engineers agree to implement changes to the structural plans, and approve the ECO. The structural revisions are scheduled for delivery to the project web server by beginning of business tomorrow.

Day 1--1:30 p.m. Having current information, the consultants and contractors e-mail their internal resources, shifting focus to their next scheduled project.

Day 2--9:00 a.m. The design revisions are uploaded to the project's central drawing database server, and are reviewed and approved by the project coordinator. New DWF files of the structural drawings are generated and posted, along with the associated DWG, to the web server. Notification of the new postings, including the appropriate URLs, is e-mailed or pushed to the project participants.

Day 2--10:00 a.m. The consulting engineers download the revised drawings and continue their work. The project work stays on schedule and finishes on time.

In the preceding situation, the web played a crucial role in the design process. Internet technologies were used to facilitate design team collaboration and keep the project on track. From a business perspective, the return on investment for using the World Wide Web as a CAD design collaboration tool is easily justified.

Collaborative Internet Technologies

The web facilitates collaboration in ways never before possible. As a graphical interface to the Internet, the World Wide Web has spurred development of new tools designed to increase business communications and enable people separated by distance to work more closely together. This section discusses some important Internet-based tools and technologies that will help you expand your business into the virtual cyber realm.

Redlining Tools

Now, having viewed DWF and perhaps DWG files with your browser and plug-ins, you want to make some changes to the drawing file.

NOTE: As this is being written, during the early stages of the AutoCAD Release 14 cycle, few applications can handle native Release 14-based drawing files. Until developers deliver support for the Release 14-based DWG files, you will have to use the R13 drawing file format. AutoCAD Release 14 has a SaveAs R13 feature to ease this transition.

With redlining tools, you can mark up a drawing without changing the base file. Redlining data typically is saved to a specific layer or a separate file. The following section highlights a number of different redlining utilities and plug-ins you might want to investigate.

Autodesk View: The Autodesk View Plug-In

Release 1.2 of the Autodesk View plug-in component is free of charge, but requires that a runtime version of Autodesk View Release 1.2 be installed on the computer. Unlike WHIP!, the Autodesk View plug-in supports layer control, paper space views, and xrefs. One shortcoming of View 1.2 is the lack of Release 14 DWG file support. The forthcoming Release 14-compatible release of View will incorporate Autodesk's Whip display list, which is based on Heidi technology.

The combination of Autodesk View (desktop application) and the Autodesk View plug-in creates a powerful redlining tandem. The Netscape plug-in supports DWG and DXF, reading files into your browser for manipulation (see fig. 28.1). Redlining is performed with Autodesk View, but the plug-in enables you to see the redlining information.

SoftSource Vdraft Internet Tools

SoftSource offers two Netscape plug-ins: one for viewing DWG and DXF files, and another that adds support for HTML links and Simple Vector Format (SVF) files, a proprietary format. The SoftSource plug-ins are free for noncommercial purposes, and cost $50 for commercial use. Both versions include navigational controls (zoom, pan, layer visibility) and vector graphics.

Figure 28.1 Redlining an AutoCAD DWG with Autodesk View 1.2 and the View plug-in combination aids in the collaborative design effort.

Whiteboarding

Internet-based whiteboard applications enable multiple sites or users to collaborate on projects in real time. Using one of these applications is just like using the whiteboard at work. "Markers" are used to call out areas of interest or write notes on the board. Most whiteboard applications support simultaneous telecommunications access and mark up of documents. You are able to talk on the phone with your colleagues while visually communicating with them. Whiteboard applications facilitate communication through engineering document collaboration, and "virtual" meetings.

To date, none of the whiteboard applications reads native engineering document formats such as DWG or DWF. At this point, the technology is limited to using screen captures of drawings--which, surprisingly, works quite well. Nevertheless, with the rapid changes occurring in Internet applications, this too will change. Before long, DWF or DWG redlining tools will probably be integrated into whiteboard applications. Following are some of the more popular applications to consider:

Microsoft NetMeeting

NetMeeting is an Internet whiteboard application supplied with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0. The product enables users to work together by sharing applications, exchanging information between shared applications through a shared clipboard, transferring files, collaborating on a shared whiteboard, and communicating with a text-based chat feature. NetMeeting supports Internet telephony (phone communications), application sharing, and data conferencing. The whiteboard program is a drawing program that enables the display and sharing of graphic information with other people during a conference session. The data-conferencing feature enables two or more users to work together and collaborate in real time over the web, using application-sharing whiteboard, and chat functionality. The Internet phone feature delivers point-to-point audio conferencing over the web, so that voice calls can be placed to associates around the world. With the application-sharing feature, your colleagues will be able to see the drawing information on your machine. With NetMeeting, you can "share" your local copy of AutoCAD Release 14 with conference participants. The chat tool is a text-based medium for communicating with conference participants.

Netscape Communicator

The latest iteration of Netscape's web browser--Communicator--includes Collabra group discussion software, and Netscape Conference real-time collaboration software. Also included in Netscape Communicator is support for extranets--features that extend corporate intranets beyond the firewall. With Netscape Communicator, it is possible to communicate and share information over the Internet with partners, suppliers, and customers.

Netscape Conference brings tight integration of collaboration tools--including whiteboard, chat, and file transfer--into the Messenger (e-mail) and Navigator (browser) components. With Conference, "virtual" conferencing sessions increase communication. As shown in figure 28.2, participants can sketch or redline on a collaborative whiteboard, browse documents, and share data anywhere in the world. Also, as with other similar collaborative tools, meeting participants can converse by telephone, using the Internet instead of paying long distance connection charges.

Figure 28.2 Communicator's whiteboard includes sophisticated markup tools.

Netscape Collabra is a tool that facilitates the creation and management of threaded discussions. Like the AutoCAD Forum on CompuServe, a Collabra discussion forum is an electronic "room" where people can discuss key issues, solicit input, and communicate decisions. Collabra's discussion-group management features enable you to specify whether to ignore or watch specified topics, and to conduct advanced searches for information across forums.

PictureTel GroupBoard/GroupShare

GroupBoard supports multiple-site video conferencing, and an electronic whiteboard and flipchart. The whiteboard component of GroupBoard enables collaborative viewing, annotation, highlighting, and editing of files and presentations. More than just a simple whiteboard application for the Internet, the product supports the TWAIN interface, allowing for scanned paper documents to be imported for collaborative mark-up and revision. Additional features include the capability to import many graphics and presentation formats, and the create and save multiple "pages" functions as an electronic flipchart.

GroupBoard brings easy-to-use information-exchange tools to the Internet-based collaborative experience. The tools contained in this product add a familiar element to virtual meetings. Colleagues scattered over great distances can interact more naturally. The result is greater collaboration, improved decision-making, and increased group productivity.

A superset of GroupBoard is the GroupShare product. GroupShare offers full application sharing, not just screen sharing. As with Microsoft's NetMeeting, only one PC needs to be running a particular application, such as Release 14; another meeting participant can work with Release 14 as if it were local. Users swap control of AutoCAD with the click of a mouse. A shared Clipboard enables participants to cut and paste images back and forth. Meeting participants can record notes in GroupShare's Message window. For this technology to work, each member of the conference must have a local copy of GroupBoard and GroupShare installed on his or her local machine.

E-Mail

The life blood of all Internet collaboration and communication is electronic mail. Whether you use AOL or a more sophisticated Internet-based system, e-mail has the distinct advantage of immediacy, compared to overnight package delivery or standard postal services. Typically more exact than telecommunications, the written word provides an opportunity to clearly articulate one's thoughts. Many industry analysts consider e-mail the "killer" application of the Internet.

With today's improved e-mail technologies, one can embed a multiplicity of data types in a document. Electronic mail has evolved from an ASCII format into a rich communications medium. With Netscape's e-mail tool, it is possible to send colleagues HTML pages that contain DWF files. Embedding HTML in e-mail is part of the Internet technological evolution.

Case Study Background: Architekton

Among design firms that have adopted Internet technologies for enhancing collaboration, one company stands out: Architekton. This company has fully embraced the web, deriving immense business benefits from the Internet. What follows in this section is a case study of Architekton: how they came to use the web, the benefits it has brought their clients, how it has helped their business grow, and the tools they have used. Whether you are very interested in using the web or already have set up a corporate site on the Internet, this in-depth study should provide information that helps you to better understand how you can increase design project collaboration by using the Internet.

Company Information

Founded by four architects in 1989, Architekton's practice has expanded in a relatively short time. It is rare for a design firm to rapidly build a portfolio of successful endeavors, especially by tackling a wide variety of projects ranging from civic and public works to fuel-delivery facilities. How did they accomplish this feat? By implementing cutting-edge technologies to address business needs, cultivating a reputation for superior service, and delivering high-quality designs for projects that require highly integrated, technical systems.

Company Philosophy

Architekton views design and service as inextricable components of each project. From Architekton's viewpoint, the marketplace demands both speed and personalized attention. One aspect of the firm's personality is their willingness to go beyond the boundaries of architectural practice. Diversity is the foundation of the Architekton philosophy. To quote the Architekton home page, that philosophy is "to engage all areas of architectural production to respond to clients' needs, and provide superior service by maintaining a leading role in the integration of technology and practice."

Their organizational structure enables lateral, rather than top-down, project management. Many individuals in the firm become involved as they are consulted for their areas of expertise. Architekton believes this management style is effective, and has repeatedly proven its value in numerous projects. It is rare to find such an organizational structure in an architectural office; yet, this environment has been instrumental in meeting the needs of multidisciplinary projects.

Technical expertise is a key element of the company's success; there are no technophobes at Architekton. The company is among the most technically advanced practices in the West. Use of CAD and Internet technology facilitates collaboration at every stage of the design process. Advanced technologies such as 3D modeling are used to accelerate the design process and to enhance communication.

Market Locations and Business Expertise

With offices in the Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle markets, the firm can respond quickly to demands for their expertise. Architekton's corporate headquarters in Tempe, Arizona, offers a full range of services: architecture, planning, fuel services, multimedia, and corporate identity services. A Phoenix office complements the Tempe location, supporting their fuel industry business. The San Francisco office handles Media, Design, and Planning projects for both domestic and international markets. The Seattle area location provides architecture, fuel services, and personal communication system (PCS) design, as well as a full range of Internet and intranet media solutions.

Architekton offers more than just architectural services. Their current business model is divided into the following five major areas:

Architecture

Architekton's architectural practice covers a wide range of projects and is the primary service the company offers. The firm has expertise in civic and public projects, as well as in residential design.

Fuel Delivery Systems

Architekton has developed technical systems expertise associated with retail fuel facility designs, and has actively marketed these skills. Architekton carved a unique niche in the fuel industry design field, clearly differentiating themselves from their competition.

Internet Services

Architekton's investment in the web has paid huge dividends for their clients and for the company itself. The Internet services offered by this case study are based on solutions designed to improve client communication. The firm developed a complete Internet site, from which an assortment of web-based solutions are made available to clients.

Architekton has leveraged their internal Internet and technological expertise into a business unit that provides client services based on Internet technology. The offering of Internet-based document distribution services is rare for an architectural firm. Architekton approaches distribution of engineering documentation over the web in a unique manner, offering solutions to clients whose business depends on timely dissemination of information.

Multimedia

By adopting cutting edge technologies for their marketing and communication materials, Architekton cultivated skills in multimedia authoring and development. Whenever an adopted technology successfully aids collaboration or communication, a business effort grows up around it. Architekton's client base for multimedia projects has expanded beyond architectural services to efforts such as interactive kiosks and other services.

Personal Communication System Design

Architekton entered a new market niche servicing the design and engineering needs of the Personal Communications Services (PCS) industry. Leveraging their technical systems expertise, Architekton can deliver accurate and timely engineering documentation. Keys to success in this market will be determined by their role in facilitating the permitting process.

Basic Business Case

Architekton, because it views the Internet as a revolutionary way to communicate with clients, has developed interactive tools with which consultants and clients can share information.

Why did an architectural design firm get into the business of using Internet technology? By offering World Wide Web-based Internet solutions to their clients, Architekton improves their own work-flow processes. Architekton developed a method for communicating current engineering standards for their client base. By building interactive web sites for their clients, they were able to simplify distribution of standards and changes. These standards are delivered to any consultant with a connection to the Internet in any geographic region.

Architekton principal Joseph Salvatore, AIA, is a chief proponent of Internet use for their clients. "One of our clients has a major presence in the Southwest with numerous convenience stores and gas stations," said Mr. Salvatore. Architekton had been working with this client for some time, developing prototype drawings, prototype buildings, working with existing building types, and placing them on specific sites.

Before becoming a client, the company came to Architekton seeking a solution to a problem distributing documents to consulting engineers throughout the West. According to Mr. Salvatore, "The problem they were having is that the consultants they use were not always using the most current engineering documents. Consultant A would have documents dated one day, while consultant B would have different documents from the previous day."

In this case, drawings were always changing because of new equipment, new technology, or new materials. With a large number of consultants spread throughout the country, keeping up with changes is extremely difficult. Prior to acceptance of the Internet as a business solution, engineering document distribution was tedious and inaccurate. The typical distribution scenario consisted of FedEx packages, bulletin boards, sending floppy disks through the mail, and telephone follow-up.

Giving an example of the severe nature of the problem their clients faced, Mr. Salvatore states, "It's been to the point where our client's engineers go out to their site and they're looking at the buildings. Their superiors come out and look at the site and say, `What happened to the changes we made? Why weren't these incorporated?' That creates a lot of problems for our clients."

Before the engineering industry became automated through the use of computers, project schedules were significantly longer. Such protracted schedules were the norm due to limited communications technologies. It took a greater period of time for engineering data to circulate to members of the design team.

Automation and modern communications technologies compresses the design cycle. Adopters of technological innovations benefit from advances in automation by having the ability to rapidly respond to changes in client criteria.

Building the Support Infrastructure

Laying the infrastructural groundwork for a web site is not a simple task. Researching the various Internet products and platforms alone can consume vast quantities of time. Adding to this effort is the continuously changing Internet product landscape. Every few months great upheavals take place in web technology. It seems that advances in feature sets or technologies are so rapid that we can never keep up.

The facilities Architekton uses for their Internet Media services are based on an exhaustive research effort. They evaluated both Unix and Windows NT as networking platforms, ultimately deciding on Windows NT. Scott Harden, Architekton's Director of Internet Media Solutions, states, "The decision to use NT was based on the direction the industry appears to be performing future development on." In many respects, the choice of NT over Unix was a difficult one. Unix, a tested and proven operating environment for Internet server technology, offers strong reliability. The deciding factor for Architekton's selection of NT was simplified networking. "However, NT offered a simplified networking solution to my limited knowledge in networking," said Mr. Harden.

Windows NT was the platform of choice for sites that were integrating back-end databases to front-end web sites. "With the amount of information we were trying to distribute, the utilization of databases is only a short time away," Mr. Harden concluded.

Architekton finally selected the following equipment and operating environment:

Implementation

This section examines processes and decision points Architekton went through before attaining a satisfactory implementation. First, you will study the machinations Architekton went through as they built their own internal site. Next, you will look at the process Architekton used to go online. Finally, the section explains what Architekton did after the system was up, what changes they made, and why.

Site Planning

Architekton's process for web-enabling (setting up a web site) an established client entails a series of steps before the site gets published on the Internet. According to Mr. Harden, the first and most important step is much like architecture, designing how the information that the site will offer will be presented to the visitor.

Scott Harden explains the firm's first attempt at using the Internet for document distribution: "My process began as solving a document distribution problem between ourselves and our client. The original solution was to utilize the FTP (file transfer protocol) space allocated to us by our local ISP (Internet service provider) as a virtual file directory between offices. This solution, however, was marginal due to the fact that additional communication was essential (via phone or e-mail) to ascertain the exact files required and at what time they would be placed on the FTP site."

The initial use of FTP and a hosted environment actually created another layer of complexity in the current problem. Staying synchronous with the client proved more difficult than relying on existing methods of document acquisition and distribution. Architekton then considered expanding their FTP-based Internet solution to the web. "In search of a more efficient and autonomous solution," Mr. Harden states, "I explored the use of the web as a medium for distributing project documentation between ourselves and clients. The web offered us a method by which we could not only give access to the files available on the FTP site, but also offer visual previews of the information prior to download."

Content Creation

The site framework was developed next. "This is the interface through which the users will interact with the site," Scott explains. After the interface is completed, the process of uploading the working content into the framework takes place. With Architecture/Engineering-related sites, the information being incorporated into the site is usually drawings, specifications, and equipment information. "The amount of effort involved in this step is relative to the amount of information that is to be contained on the site," according to Mr. Harden.

With Architekton's Internet-based business model, one person or one source controls the documents that are uploaded to the project web site. All the building types and drawings are uploaded by Architekton to the hosted site. Architekton is responsible for making all the drawing corrections as they occur, and for updating the site. With a project-oriented web site, consultants all over the country immediately have access to the latest and most current drawings, eliminating the mistakes that can occur when consultants and drawings are out of synch.

"The Internet has enabled creation of a central database for drawing information where everyone can access the most current information," says another principal of Architekton, Arny Bailey, AIA. "The days of `as changes occur they have to make sure they distribute all of the changes to the consulting architects' is gone. That doesn't have to happen anymore," said Mr. Bailey.

Publishing

As Architekton developed their first client site, they published the following four main sections:

Each section was created with links to the actual files as well as previews of the data. "With the limitations of the web (images/file size), we were restricted to low-quality images representing the actual drawing sheets," said Mr. Harden. The use of raster images to preview the contents of engineering drawings has a number of serious drawbacks. To be useful, the raster (GIF or JPG) imagery would have to be fairly large. The use of large images increases the size of the HTML page, which results in painfully slow load times. No wonder they call it the worldwide wait! Also, the visual fidelity of the drawing is seriously compromised with a bitmapped (raster) image.

Autodesk recently addressed the market need for a compact, yet accurate method of publishing CAD data to the web by developing the Drawing Web Format (DWF) file specification. DWF files can be embedded in HTML pages and viewed with the WHIP! browser tool. WHIP! is based on the same technology used to accelerate AutoCAD Release 14 display operations. "When Autodesk offered the beta WHIP! plug-in, I tested its value in displaying drawings, and it eventually became an integral part of the site," claims Scott Harden. "The dynamic ability to preview drawings solved the last major hurdle in creating an efficient method to review and distribute construction data between consultants and clients," he adds.

With the completion of the first phase of the project, Architekton's client was amazed at how simple the process of distributing engineering information had become. During the implementation, Architekton had also been marketing the web site to some of their corporate clients. Based on favorable responses from other customers, Architekton decided to offer Internet Media as a service.

Going Live Online

When a site has been fully developed internally and tested off the web, it is ready to be published online. Architekton offers both site hosting and site development services. One of the services Architekton continues to offer is an ongoing maintenance contract for any modifications or upgrades.

Site Host Issues

The question faced by every company wanting to establish a presence on the web is whether to build and maintain a site yourself, or outsource it. Many models will work--the problem is picking the right one. You can start out with an ISP-hosted page, build it into a site, and then move it internally as your confidence and expertise increase. Perhaps your company is big enough to already have a site on the web, but you want to add CAD collaboration functionality to it. Other firms have started out by self-hosting a web site, and then, recognizing that their own value lies in providing content, gradually turn it over to a third party for maintenance. Or you might find that using a service from an outside vendor provides greater returns on your investment.

The value of a service such as Architekton's lies in the firm's experience. Architekton offers not only experience in the building industry, but also technological experience in the Internet. "We have developed solutions that are based on solving problems for architects and engineers and have applied them to working relationships between ourselves and our clients," notes Scott Harden. The services offered by Architekton can help smaller companies succeed in a competitive environment that is based on rapidly changing technology. These systems are tools to help firms expand their business from a focus on regional markets to one of competing on global projects.

Client Educational Issues

One of the biggest issues that companies such as Architekton face is the client's lack of computer or Internet knowledge. The rapid changes in Internet technology pose additional barriers to client education. Getting clients trained to use these new systems can be a formidable task. According to Mr. Harden, "Several firms that had minimal computer knowledge and resources had to be trained on the Internet and the web." Be sure to budget adequately for training your CAD operators. Given the investment your firm makes when it embraces Internet technologies, maintaining operator productivity is essential to success.

In response to use of the Internet for design collaboration, Architekton has added another client service. Mr. Harden notes, "One of the services we have added, in addition to the Internet Media products, is Change Management Consulting. This way, we offer the ability for implementing the new communication system, and the qualified training to help clients fully utilize the potential."

Maintenance

Maintaining an active web site presents new issues for you to address. Internet technology changes so rapidly that it is difficult to keep systems current. If you are an experienced web surfer, you will notice that many sites regularly change their visual appearance and content. Consider dedicating some time each quarter to maintaining your site.

Staying Fresh

Keeping content fresh and compelling is essential if you want your web site to draw new customers and encourage people to return. To keep a site from going stale, you must make a commitment to updating a site on an ongoing basis. A CAD-oriented web site's focused approach makes it easier to refreshen than some other sites. Target the following areas for regular refreshing:

Adopting and Integrating New Technologies

New design collaborative environments are becoming available for the web daily. You need to develop a process for adding the most valuable of these tools to your site. If you have been through an update or upgrade of your AutoCAD system, you probably already have one in place! All you have to do is modify it appropriately to address the unique aspects of web software. At a minimum, your process should include the following steps:

Taking the Architekton Tour

This section examines Architekton's use of Internet technologies in a real-life situation. A complete exercise follows, in which you navigate to the Architekton web site, study the layout, browse portfolios and personnel resumes, view drawings, and engage in collaborative design.

Navigating the Architekton Site

Before you visit this web site, make certain that you have all the tools necessary to effectively view the site. The Architekton site is optimized for Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you don't have either browser, you should download one of them immediately. Netscape is pervasive and available on a wide variety of platforms. Navigator is available for download at http://www.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/client_download.html. You need two plug-ins also: Autodesk's WHIP! (http://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/whip/whipdwn.htm) and Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which is available from their web site at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.

Type the URL for the Architekton web site, http://www.architekton.com, in the address field of your browser, and press Enter. Add a bookmark to this site because you may return periodically to this page.

Depending on the speed of your connection, the page should load relatively quickly. This is an important point to consider. When a visitor first comes to your site, you want your home page to load quickly. Keeping the size of home pages small not only helps bring customers into the site, but also overcomes bandwidth limitations and connection speeds. Cool, animated GIFs and AVI movies are eye-catching additions to a web site, but consume tremendous amounts of bandwidth.

Studying the Site Layout

The structure of Architekton's site provides insight into the effective presentation of CAD-related services and technologies to the architectural and engineering marketplace. The sequence of pages, links, and content flows logically. It is important to keep site navigation simple and structured. No single page overwhelms you with information, and links to related materials are presented at each level.

Navigational aids and supporting hyperlink text are always present to simplify moving about the site. As you can see in figure 28.3, the Architekton site is structured in a straightforward fashion, which makes it simple to use. You never seem to get so many pages deep that you become disoriented.

Figure 28.3 The relatively flat structure of the Architekton site simplifies site navigation.

Home Page

Amazingly enough, Architekton doesn't present an information-laden home page. Rather, this site starts off in a very understated manner. The folks who put together this site figure that you came there on purpose, and didn't just "surf on in." The home page alerts you to any special plug-ins or tools necessary for visiting the site.

Visually, the site consistently places hyperlinks in the lower-left portion of the HTML page. The home page provides links to help you obtain the prerequisite plug-ins or browsers. In keeping with Architekton's penchant for superior service, this approach is useful. So many sites make no effort to inform you up front of the site's requirements.

To continue to the contents page, select the graphic image or the highlighted hyperlinked text.

Contents Page

The contents page briefly informs you of Architekton's services and directs you to select an area of expertise to obtain additional information (see fig. 28.4). Topics you can select from include the firm's areas of expertise, a firm profile, and personnel information.

Figure 28.4 Site navigation is facilitated through the use of image tile button highlighting.

A vertical row of colored images is presented on the left side of the screen. To the left of each image is highlighted hyperlink text. As the cursor passes over each image, the image comes to life as a jump button. A JavaScript routine embedded in the HTML page handles the slick button highlighting. Another useful feature is the inclusion of a mailto function on the main page itself.

This page might take a while to load, even on a T1 line.

Browsing the Informational Material

Now that you understand the site layout, you will study the messages and informational content the site provides, starting with Architekton's profile information. Select the firm profile image with a single click.

Firm Profile

The profile page provides some data related to the company and its strengths. The content presented here is limited, at best. In keeping with the style of previous pages, hyperlinks are located in the lower left. Each office link takes you to a page containing a brief overview of the Architekton office.

Take a look at what one of these links has to say. To select Architekton's main office, which is located in Tempe, Arizona, click on the Tempe link.

Here you find more detailed information about the client services that Architekton offers from its headquarters. To help you navigate, the service images are on the left side of the page, with links to other office locations in the lower-left quadrant.

As a drill, check out the Architecture section. Select the image button containing the rendering of a building.

Architecture

After the page has loaded, it is almost disappointing. There seems to be a dearth of information about the company's architectural strengths. Rather, the content seems more of a vision statement. In the center of the page is a link titled "portfolio." Follow that link by selecting it.

Several projects are displayed in a horizontal list of scrollable image tiles. Select the leftmost image button.

You see a definitive description of the project, the Tempe Police Substation, along with a series of hyperlinks representing various views of the structure. Select the Floor Plan hot link, as shown in figure 28.5. A DWF file of the AutoCAD drawing is loaded so that you can study the floor plan and layout of the substation.

Use the Pan and Zoom functions of WHIP! to navigate around the drawing. Note that many of the important structural details have been omitted (for security reasons, and to protect the intellectual property of the design firm). Remember that in public sites, you don't want to publish anything that compromises earnings capacity or contractual agreements. Architekton recognizes that the function of a portfolio section is to sell the firm, not to enlighten their competition.

The other view choices on the page are 3D renderings of the police substation. Select the Entrance link to see a sample rendering of the entryway to the finished building. Renderings help the viewer visualize the completed structure. While you are here, you might want to explore other examples in the portfolio section. To do so, use the navigational scroll bar of image tiles to select another project.

Figure 28.5 WHIP! enables you to zoom in quickly and pan around the building's floor plan to study details.

Fuel Services

Next, you will investigate the Fuel Services area of Architekton's web site. Select the image tile of a Texaco Service Station to jump to this page. As mentioned earlier, Architekton is a leading provider of architectural and client services to the petroleum industry. The Fuel Services page contains an in-depth discussion of their expertise in the areas of technical systems, rendering, and permitting. The page also includes links to various petroleum producers.

PCS Services

Going down the vertical navigation bar, select the image of the cellular telecommunications transmission tower. A brief narrative covering Architekton's involvement in the PCS design field is loaded into your browser. By now, you should have noticed that each of the pages provides a handy link to the page on Architekton's personnel. This is smart use of a web page, encouraging visitors to investigate the qualifications of the firm's principals.

Internet Media

Next stop on your site tour is the Internet Media page. To display the page, select the image of office colleagues collaborating on a project. This page contains detailed information about the firm's web services, and numerous links. The wealth of information probably is due to the degree of experience Architekton has in this discipline. As with other pages, a small list of links to useful external sites (including Autodesk's) is included. You will come back to this page later in this chapter and study it in more detail.

Media Services

To reach the Media Services page, select the image tile (the next-to-the-bottom tile) in the navigational bar. After the page has loaded, a description of Architekton's multimedia services is displayed. Note that the page features a brief description of multilingual services. As we become globally connected through the Internet, serving the international market becomes more economically feasible. Architekton is positioned to take advantage of this growing opportunity, and makes it known on their web site.

Personnel

The last portion of the site to browse is the personnel portfolio. Select the image tile located at the bottom of the navigation bar to link to the personnel page. Using an interface similar to that of the architectural portfolio, a horizontal row of scrollable images is displayed. Each image tile consists of a color photograph of an Architekton principal--a very nice touch in what might otherwise be a dry résumé presentation. By selecting a picture, you bring up a brief résumé of that individual.

All design and engineering firms should consider implementing a visual system for the personnel portfolio. Doing so shows dedication to the Internet as a serious business platform, and helps to build prestige while giving visitors a sense of the firm's stability.

Viewing Drawing Data

Now that you have browsed through an external CAD-based web site, it is time to thoroughly evaluate what an intranet-based CAD project web site should look like. Select the Internet Media Services image button to return to that page. The Internet Media contains an image-button hyperlink called "Example," as shown in figure 28.6. Select that link to bring up the sample intranet page you will reviewing in depth.

Architekton uses this site to show prospective clients the type of high-quality Internet services they provide. As you tour this demonstration intranet, please remember that Architekton generates revenue from their expertise in this area and can develop a site for your firm.

Figure 28.6 Architekton's intranet CAD web example differentiates itself from the main site pages with an alternative look and feel.

The design and navigation of this site is different from that of the other Architekton pages. The different look and feel serves to separate the technological demonstration area from the actual site content.

To move deeper into the demo site, from the home page (http://www. architekton.com/internet/demo/home.html) select the services hotlink. The navigational system includes a vertical index frame to the left of the page, a horizontal frame with tabs across the top, and a central document window frame. The following indices are listed in the vertical navigation frame and covered in this section:

Updates

As noted earlier in this chapter, keeping track of the latest changes to current projects is always a difficult task. With a properly managed intranet, an update section can always supply the most current engineering documentation to those in the field. Architekton has chosen to make the update mechanism the most highly visible aspect of this intranet example. The Updates tab is the first navigational entry in the site. Select the Updates tab at the top of the screen, as shown in figure 28.7.

Figure 28.7 A horizontal set of tabs is added to the sample intranet interface to facilitate rapid navigation.

The newly loaded page replaces the vertical categorical selections on the left frame with a date-oriented index. Select the first date entry (11-1-96); the vertical index frame exposes links to categories that contain updated documents. The main portion of the document window reveals a list describing each of the updates. The description frame contains hotlinks to each of the related documents. By selecting the first document, you bring up a page with a GIF image of the updated drawing. Text on the image's right notes the changes that have been incorporated into the drawing. Selecting the image brings up the DWF file for detailed viewing. Sadly, in this demonstration site, there are no links to the drawing details noted on the update page. In a live site, links to the drawing views are essential.

Drawings

For users of engineering documentation, one of the Internet's greatest benefits is that it facilitates creation of a repository for globally retrievable CAD data. With a centralized database of AutoCAD drawings, managing project drawings can be simplified. The embedding of DWF files--derived from project .DWG files--in HTML pages enables the user to view the drawing before opening it for editing.

Select the Drawings tab located at the top of the horizontal frame. The main HTML frame presents the visitor with sample information describing the nuances of previewing and accessing drawing data from the site. The vertical index frame reflects drawings of various building types. As you can see in figure 28.8, selecting the 1000 series building type link displays a series of indexed entries including architect, millwork, structural, and m.e.p (Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing). The main HTML frame displays a rendering of the building, along with descriptive text.

Figure 28.8 Embedding DWF files in HTML pages supports rapid access to AutoCAD drawing data.

From a usability standpoint, this is an excellent system for navigating a company's large volume of architectural production drawings. This style might not work as well for mechanical assemblies or manufacturing drawings.

To study the architectural drawings, clicking on the architect hotlink reveals another set of indexes. This time you see a list of various plan, elevation, and sectional views, as well as index entries for detail drawings. The main HTML frame conveniently contains GIF thumbnail images of each drawing in the index. Select the a3-1 sect. index entry. The main frames jumps you to the appropriate thumbnail image tile. If you prefer, use the main frame to scroll the images.

To view the drawing dynamically, click on the GIF image tile. The main frame is updated to include the DWF file of the raster image. The top of the frame conveniently contains a title of the drawing that you're viewing. Little things count in cases like this, and Architekton's use of the title is handy.

Specs

Construction specification is another aspect of engineering document distribution that benefits from the web. As noted earlier, concurrent dissemination of construction specifications was an arduous, tedious task until the World Wide Web became CAD-enabled.

Click on the SPECS tab, located in the top horizontal frame. The index bar lists construction specification document indexes for two service areas: fuel and building. A live site might have many different entries here, depending on the business model. Because you are interested in the construction specifications for building projects, click on the building link in the vertical index frame.

By selecting the building link, you bring into the vertical frame an index that refers to sections of the construction document displayed in the document window. Clicking on the index reference (see fig. 28.9) causes the desired section of the construction specification document to be displayed in the central frame. The spec-ification text can be scrolled with the vertical bar on the far right of the document window.

Whether on an intranet or an external web site, links to document sections are common. Many long documents are difficult to navigate, however, without excessive use of the Back button. In the case of Architekton's sample CAD site, frames containing the link references simplify navigation. The process of building frame links is automated by most HTML software packages, including Communicator and Front Page. Use of the frame index technique is heartily recommended for posting complex or lengthy documents.

Figure 28.9 Browsing a complex construction specification is simplified by using indexes linked to the document.

Equipment

For many design disciplines, tracking and managing equipment-related information is troublesome. Suppliers continually update their product lines, regularly introducing models and making others obsolete. New vendors also emerge, forcing changes to current documents and standards. As the Architekton sample site demonstrates, a complete CAD intranet should maintain current information about all equipment (and suppliers) used in their construction or engineering documents.

Select the EQUIPMENT tab from the horizontal top frame to display the site's equipment standards section. Again, the vertical index frame changes--this time to reflect references to various equipment manufacturers--while the document viewing frame introduces you to this area. Choose the first equipment vendor from the list--Star--to invoke the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in. As shown in figure 28.10, the Acrobat Reader enables you to view manufacturer-specific product information about the equipment used by the various building projects.

Using Acrobat to view equipment documents is helpful because they contain both text and graphics. Other solutions (such as Hummingbird's Common Ground) exist, but the PDF format from Adobe is well-established. Another solution is to use Autodesk's Design Blocks or Part Spec products from their Data Publishing Division. As you saw in Chapter 27, "Publishing on the Web," PartSpec online even supports drag-and-drop operations of mechanical parts directly into the AutoCAD Release 14 editor across the web.

Figure 28.10 The Acrobat Reader presents documents in their original format, mixing text and graphics for web-based viewing.

Contacts

A nice touch in the CAD intranet example developed by Architekton is a Contacts page. A current contact database, centrally available to all members with access to the intranet, is a great productivity tool. Maintaining contact information is always time consuming and often a redundant operation (because many individuals keep separate databases). Select the CONTACT tab located in the upper horizontal frame to activate this page.

The Contacts sample page index lists consultants and corporate contact options. Selecting the corporate contacts link reveals Architekton as a selection option. Click on Architekton to expose a list of contact information in the document window frame. The vertical index frame enables you to jump from contact to contact. Selecting the name of Scott Harden (Architekton's Director of Internet Media Services) displays his contact information. To send Scott an e-mail telling him how much you enjoy his demonstration intranet CAD site, click on his name in the main document frame, as shown in figure 28.11.

Figure 28.11 Having mailto functions for each contact stream-lines the process of reaching a client or contractor.

EDI

Production of quality construction drawings is what CAD is all about. As you have seen throughout this chapter, maintaining and distributing a set of standards for creating production drawings can be a difficult process. In concert with their clients and consultants, Architekton establishes a complete and exact set of standards for drawing data.

Select the EDI tab from the horizontal navigation frame. The vertical navigation frame displays a lengthy index of entries tied to the online EDI document. The main document window displays the EDI standards text (see fig. 28.12). To scroll through the document, use the vertical bar on the frame's right side. It is much more convenient to use the index frame to move through this section.

Scroll through the index frame, using the vertical bar located just to the right of the index links. Select the Sheet Order link. The main document jumps to the Sheet Order section, which displays information related to this topic. You might want to pick other topics to further study this document.

Providing this degree of detail in an online format helps to ensure a high-quality drawing. As changes to the EDI standard occur, push technology makes updating the page and informing site users of those changes a simple matter.

Figure 28.12 Online access to CAD drafting standards through an intranet increases drawing quality.

Summary

In this chapter, benefits of the web for the design process were detailed. Hopefully, you have gained an understanding of how the Internet facilitates communication and delivers a collaborative environment. Although brief, this look at some important Internet collaboration tools for the design and engineering space should raise your interest.

The case study of Architekton showed how a design firm that has embraced Internet technologies experienced success and growth. The business reasons that led to their becoming a leader in the field through use of the web tools were described. I believe that if implemented correctly, your firm can benefit from use of the Internet as well.

By studying the firm's CAD web site, you learned of issues you will confront and saw a solid structure for a site of your own. The sample CAD Internet site tour covered web navigation and features. In conclusion, here is an important message: the web is now CAD-enabled, AutoCAD Release 14 is web-enabled, and it is time for your design firm to become Internet-enabled!

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