The Ghost of AutoCAD Past - old tools need to be reviewed and changed with latest software releases, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, December 2006

Easy Migration Through CAD Standards - keep CAD standards information on the server accessible to all users to ease the upgrades, Beth's CAD Blog, December 18, 2006

Benchmarking Processes and Savings - using benchmarking techniques to justify cost-saving ideas on hardware, software, training, and more, Robert Green, Cadalyst, December 1, 2006

It's All in the Approach - guidelines to transform principles into practicality, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, December 6, 2006

AU 2006 - Day Three - work with an updated software release to reach destination CAD, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, November 30, 2006

Survival Guide Chapter 04: Developing a CAD Strategy - turning a strategy into a plan and then implementing it, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, November 24, 2006

CAD Manager Survey 2006 - average salary increase slightly to $54.4K, more authority to CAD managers for managing resources and budget, Robert Green, Cadalyst, November 1, 2006

CAD Housekeeping Tips - Part 2 - benefits of archiving and combining it up with cleaning process, Robert Green, Cadalyst, November 9, 2006

Who Needs CAD Standards? - standards needed for unified output, automated routine efforts, reducing stress levels, saving future projects, more, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, November 2006 (requires free registration)

CAD Housekeeping Tips - delete junk files, document problems, enforce standards, more, Robert Green, Cadalyst, October 25, 2006

CAD Management by Walking Around - inspecting the shop floor and interacting with CAD users give important feedback about management processes, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, October 25, 2006

Upgrades - Moving Too Fast or Too Slow - what to do if upgrades are not soon enough and if they are too soon, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, October 2006

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 8 - Managing the Team - evaluate yourself and your team and best utilize resources, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, October 18, 2006

Better - Not Perfect - software that is easy to implement and more productive is better than perfect software too complex for users to understand, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, October 14, 2006

Outsourcing: The Finale - tips to analyze the pros and cons of outsourcing and making a wise decision, Robert Green, Cadalyst, October 12, 2006

Missing in Action - finding out the best ways to improve production through experimentation, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, October 13, 2006

Online Approaches to Archiving - defining archives and archiving options, Robert Green, Cadalyst, October 1, 2006

Maximize Your ROI by Implementing Standards - build your standards starting with a DWT file containing all predefined elements, Pete Kelsey, The Dirt, October 10, 2006

Outsourcing, Part 4: Looking at the Bigger Picture - outsourcing may give cost benefit or negative impression to your business, Robert Green, Cadalyst, September 28, 2006

Moving Backwards and Forwards - tips to keep pace with slow and fast users in an organization, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, September 25, 2006

Outsourcing, Part 3 - performing a sample analysis to calculate ROI when considering outsourcing, Robert Green, Cadalyst, September 14, 2006

CAD Mgmt Toolbox: Two Essential Skills - learn to negotiate and facilitate, Scott Durkee, September 16, 2006

How CAD Managers See Their Future - the survey shows relatively stable growth pattern for the title and position of a CAD manager, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, September 2006 (requires free registration)

Managing the 2D/3D MultiCAD Office - manage 2D/3D software tools and develop multi-CAD standards for your organization, Robert Green, Cadalyst, September 1, 2006

CAD Standards - The Process is as Valuable as the Product - involving management and users while developing CAD standards arises a sense of ownership, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, September 2006

CAD Leadership - Part 9 - Traits of a CAD Leader - leaders are keen learners and serve their followers, CAD manager, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, September 2006

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 7 - Budgets - guidelines and an example to prepare a better and effective budget, Nigel Davies & Dave Moyes, Eat Your CAD, September 1, 2006

Boxes of CAD Standards - points to be considered when reviewing your CAD standards, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, August 31, 2006

Outsourcing, Part 2 - considering the faster/cheaper principle in outsourcing, Robert Green, Cadalyst, August 24, 2006

Mad at CAD - CAD still plagued by plotter problems, software failures, tools that need improvement and software upgrades that force hardware upgrades, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, August 2006 (requires free registration)

Data Management: Miracle or Mirage? - product data management solutions must get consensus from vendors, manufacturers and users before it gets into mainstream, MCAD Online, August 7, 2006

CAD Leadership - Part 8 - Traits of a CAD Leader - leaders should have the ability to inspire others and motivate people to follow, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, August 2006

Does CAD/CAM Technology Diminish Quality of Life and Quality in General? - CAD/CAM technology demands sufficient time initially to bring out its best, MCADCafe.com, August 15, 2006

Outsourcing, Part 1 - understanding all aspects of outsourcing and how it can affect a company's business, Robert Green, Cadalyst, August 10, 2006

When Should You Upgrade to 3D? - analyze the interface points, needs and cost of appropriate 3D software, high-end hardware, lost productivity time, Robert Green, Cadalyst, August 1, 2006

CAD Management Finances, Part 4 - quick return on cost-saving ideas brings advance technology concepts acceptable to senior management, Robert Green, Cadalyst, July 27, 2006

CAD Manager Job Description - brief overview of a CAD manager's duties, Mark W. Kiker, CADDManager.com Blog, July 2006

CAD Manager - When Things Go Wrong, Who do You Think About First? - think about the clients first, then comes the company and users, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, July 2006

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 6 - R&D - guidelines for successful R&D for continuous progression of technology in the organization, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, July 21, 2006

Seven Deadly Sins of AutoCAD Users, Part 2 - standardize plotting methods, explode only for genuine reasons, save your work at regular intervals, keep OSNAPing all objects, more, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, July 2006 (requires free registration)

CAD Management Finances, Part 3 - analyze and make a cost estimate of your cost-saving ideas, Robert Green, Cadalyst, July 13, 2006

Exchanging Files with Subs - CAD standards and guidelines for firms sharing files, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, July 13, 2006

Time Flies - organize things, prioritize works related to your job description, break big job into small pieces, keep analyzing yourself, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, July 11, 2006

CAD Management Finances, Part 2 - list, analyze and prioritize your cost-saving ideas, Robert Green, Cadalyst, June 22, 2006

Migrate Expectations - migrate legacy CAD data in phases, prioritize the steps and justify ROI and other benefits, Stan Ochs of ITI TranscenData, MCAD Online, June 15, 2006

Training the Trainer: Corporate Training, Part 5 - implement training plan to power users first before others and follow-up after training, Matt Murphy, AUGI, June 2006 (may require free registration)

AutoCAD Training - Doing the Wrong Thing Better - give users a thorough understanding of concepts in a training program, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com Blog, June 22, 2006

Seven Deadly Sins of AutoCAD Users - not reading CAD-related information, not developing standards, not fixing bad CAD files, and not using upgraded software to its maximum potential create complexities in work flow, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, June 2006 (requires free registration)

Calculating Return on Effort - spending time on small updates can bring you good returns, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, June 15, 2006

CAD Manager - Your Pain, Everyone's Gain - share the solution, prioritize the problems, keep track, and discuss with CAD users about their problems, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, June 15, 2006

When to Give Up and Move On - sometimes ignoring unusual behavior of software works, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, June 15, 2006

Deliver Your Own In-House Training - good training material, effective training sessions and follow up help a student learn, Robert Green, Cadalyst, June 1, 2006

Layer Standard Concepts - general guidelines for creating layer standards, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, June 9, 2006

CAD Management Finances, Part 1 - instead of explaining technical capabilities, CAD managers should justify equipment based on cost and ROI, Robert Green, Cadalyst, June 8, 2006

CAD Management Trends, Part 2 - CAD managers manage 2D and 3D hybrid CAD environment but have little role in hardware budgeting, Robert Green, Cadalyst, May 25, 2006

Hire the Good and Avoid the Bad - strategies to improve interviewing and hiring processes to get well qualified employees, Robert Green, Cadalyst, May 1, 2006

Refreshing a Long Term CAD Manager - keep learning new technologies and brushing up your drafting skills, testing beta software, more, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, May 2006

Seven Ways to Solidify a New CAD Manager Position - listening, developing managerial skills, acting to achieve goals, removing non-productivity factors, more, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, May 2006

CAD Management Trends, Part 1 - straw polls reveal civil engineering is hot, AEC stable but manufacturing is precarious, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, May 11, 2006

Your Worst User - identifying worst users and ideas to work with them, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, May 4, 2006

Your Best User - encourage best users to participate in project-related tasks, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, May 3, 2006

Setting Policy - The Best User Verses the Worst User - create CAD standards based your worst user but base your training on the best user, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager.com, May 2, 2006

AutoCAD 2007 for CAD Managers, Part 3 - changes in system variables and their options, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, April 27, 2006

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 5 - Training - perform an analysis first to find out training needs, its contents and time required, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, April 24, 2006

Involuntary CAD Slaughter - CAD standards negligence and using CAD files from external sources to meet deadlines produces bad CAD, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, April 2006 (may require free registration)

Justifying CAD Expenditures with ROI Metrics - using return on investment with metrics, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, April 1, 2006

Corporate Training, Part 4 - effectiveness of corporate training should be measured before delivery, Matt Murphy, AUGI, April 2006 (may require free registration)

AutoCAD 2007 for CAD Managers, Part 2 - new 3D features, plus management considerations such as file format changes and hardware requirements, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, April 13, 2006

Traits of a Good CAD User - a good CAD user follows standards to create a good CAD file, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, April 2006

Disclaiming the Claim - disclaimers for the accuracy of CAD data, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, April 7, 2006

Leveraging Data - implementing engineering data management (EDM) system to achieve higher ROI, Jerry Waxler, Desktop Engineering, March 2006

Corporate Training, Part 3 - training users to improve personal or company/departmental productivity depends on time and money, Matt Murphy, AUGI, March 2006 (may require free registration)

AutoCAD 2007 for CAD Managers, Part 1 - after getting familiar with new features and hardware requirements, a CAD manager should prepare for training, budgeting and implementation of AutoCAD 2007, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, March 23, 2006

Forgotten Habits of AutoCAD Users, Part 3 - look into help files, purge and audit your files, save files in a timely manner, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, March 2006 (may require free registration)

Narrowing Your Job Focus - ten important areas for a CAD manager to focus to impact the organization fruitfully, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, March 2006

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 4 - Supporting Business Strategy - a company should set goals and CAD standards, provide training to employees, and follow a technology strategy, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, March 16, 2006

Battling Burnout - tips to assess your burnout level and then changing and implementing the solution ideas, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, March 1, 2006

CAD Manager Job Description - a brief list of duties of a CAD manager in an organization, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, March 2006

CAD Manager Productivity Hints, Part 3 - carry a old-fashioned spiral notebook to record ideas, form a power user club, share credit and keep your budget document handy, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, March 9, 2006

CAD Manager Productivity Hints, Part 2 - keep your CAD standards electronically and audit timely for standards adherence, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, February 23, 2006

Open Letter to Management - advising management to understand the potential of CAD managers and draw fully out of it, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, February 1, 2006

Training the Trainer: Corporate Training, Part 2 - analyzing the listening, reviewing, and observing process to implement process-based training successfully, Matt Murphy, AUGI, February 2006 (may require free registration)

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 3 - Layer Standards - knowing CAD layering standards in UK, USA, and Europe, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, February 17, 2006

Forgotten Habits of AutoCAD Users, Part 2 - a long list of available resources on the Web for CAD-related information, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, February 2006 (may require free registration)

As a CAD Manager Who does Some Customization Work Around the Office, Should I Learn Visual Basic? - yes, as Autodesk's new applications use Visual Basic, and are most other CAD vendors, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, February 9, 2006

Destination CAD - develop a "destination" CAD environment in your firm to attract CAD professionals, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, February 2006

CAD Manager Productivity Hints, Part 1 - some organizational and reporting tips to prioritize your CAD management needs, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, February 9, 2006

Training the Trainer - corporate trainer needs to keep management happy (not users) and shouldn't think they'll be able to get everyone up and running with the latest release, Matt Murphy, AUGI, January 2006 (may require free registration)

CAD Manager's Survey Results, Part 2 - frustrated CAD managers face more job production pressure than before, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, January 26, 2006

Questions Every CAD Manager Should be Able to Answer... on the Spot - a CAD manager will be asked about CAD standards, how to use software, about competitive software, etc., and should have answers ready, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, January 2006

Making Data Work - UK design teams use data management solutions to ensure design data accuracy, Colin Watson of Imass Design Solutions, MCAD Online, January 16, 2006

BAD CAD - 10 Steps to Regain Your Corrupted Data - recovering your file by purging, auditing, restoring from backup and more, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, January 2006

CAD Standards - some important CAD standard outlines, a CAD Manager should follow, Beth Powell, Beth's CAD Blog, January 13, 2006

Forgotten Habits of AutoCAD Users - a reminder to read CAD-related information to keep up good CAD management, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, January 2006 (may require free registration)

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 3 - Drawing Standards - some golden drafting standard rules and default standard notes for a drawing in MicroStation, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, January 19, 2006

CAD Management in 2006 - CAD manager's job's complexities increase with time as new CAD software and hardware are unveiled in the new year, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, January 1, 2006

BAD CAD - Working with the Users - help CAD users by asking them questions about 'bad CAD' in their projects, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, January 2006

CAD Manager's Survey 2005 Results, Part 1 - CAD managers are increasingly responsible for a hybrid 2D/3D CAD system, and VB is gaining ground, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, January 12, 2006

CAD File Disclaimers - examples of disclaimers used when delivering CAD files to the client, Mark W. Kiker, AUGI, December 2005 (may require free registration)

Backing Up Backups - benefits of having separate hard drive to store backup files, Ralph Grabowski, WorldCAD Access, January 3, 2006

2005

Convince Management with Benchmarks - show benchmarking results to management to calculate yearly savings and more, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, December 1, 2005

BAD CAD Goes Beyond Just the Graphics in a File - some important points to take care to avoid bad CAD, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, December 2005

BAD CAD - What Needs Fixin'? - fix the files related to productivity first, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, December 2005

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills 2 - Systems Management - elaborating the role of CAD manager in systems management, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, December 19, 2005

BAD CAD - Troubles in the Machine - check location of your project files to find the cause of problems, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, December 2005

Autodesk University 2005 From Sea Level - as a technical facilitator, CAD manager's role in improving productivity and economic growth will be influencing the organizations in future, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, December 7, 2005

Network Infrastructure - importance of virus protection and proper data backup while working in a CAD network environment, Robert Jamieson, MCAD Online, November 17, 2005

BAD CAD  Beyond the Standards - some important issues to be taken care of beyond CAD standards, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, November 2005

CSI - CAD Standards Investigator - some sensitive situations where to play the role of CSI (or not), Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, November 2005

CAD Manager Survey 2005 - the average CAD manager makes $54K, is responsible for 36 CAD machines and cannot make final decisions on hiring and firing CAD operators, Robert Green, Cadalyst Management, November 1, 2005

Survival Guide Chapter 02: Defining the Role of a CAD Manager - skills and responsibilities are the criteria of performance for a CAD manager, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, October 1, 2005

BAD CAD - an Overview - characteristics of a bad CAD file and 5 areas to trouble shoot, Mark W. Kiker, CADD Manager Journal, November 2005

Survival Guide Chapter 03: Essential Skills I - Support - elaborating on support role of the CAD manager, Nigel Davies, Eat Your CAD, November 14, 2005