If there's one thing I've learned in a quarter-century-plus of Project Management, it's that communication is a skill to develop and continually improve, and a talent to seek out and nurture in the design team.
I saw a print ad recently, I don't remember for what product, but the tag line was someone saying "... and you will know me by the speed of my replies" or some such, the idea being that emails can now be answered quickly from wherever the recipient happens to be. In this day of smart phones and such, emails can and should be answered promptly. A return phone call should not be put off, good communication means picking up the phone and making the time right away.
I'm often accused of sending long emails and leaving long phone messages. I believe in full disclosure and if my extended reply leaves a tidbit of information that allows the recipient to act right then, rather than after their call/email back, then I've done my job. If the return message means repeating myself, that's not always a bad thing, the reinforcement of communicated data is a valid tool. Verification and validation are not just QA terms, I like to hear important information conveyed 2 or 3 times, in different terms, because that makes for deeper understanding and confidence moving forward.
There are many subtleties in communication, particularly in technical matters, and keeping dialog going, asking questions, and staying engaged is one of the most important Project Management functions.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Team Building
I have a number of current projects where I'm the sole technical resource and there are a good number of people with project input on the non-technical side. It's a bit like juggling sometimes, trying to communicate the technical aspects of the design, materials, and processing as each new suggestion and question comes up.
I enjoy walking these sorts of projects through the steps, as it gives me a fresh perspective on what could become rote project management. As each new step presents itself, there is someone on the team who inevitably questions the logic and suggests an alternative or interjects something out of sequence. This makes me question the status quo and usual practices, and keeps the strange in Strangineering. If a new approach or wild idea bubbles out from under the obvious, that's usually all the better for the project. If it makes us question why we do what we do, and the answer is that it's okay, the feeling of confirmation and reinforcement is satisfying as we move forward.
Either way, participation is lively and the team is engaged in the process, especially if it's a new experience. This makes for a good design team, and being the sole technical resource is fresh and engaging as well.
I enjoy walking these sorts of projects through the steps, as it gives me a fresh perspective on what could become rote project management. As each new step presents itself, there is someone on the team who inevitably questions the logic and suggests an alternative or interjects something out of sequence. This makes me question the status quo and usual practices, and keeps the strange in Strangineering. If a new approach or wild idea bubbles out from under the obvious, that's usually all the better for the project. If it makes us question why we do what we do, and the answer is that it's okay, the feeling of confirmation and reinforcement is satisfying as we move forward.
Either way, participation is lively and the team is engaged in the process, especially if it's a new experience. This makes for a good design team, and being the sole technical resource is fresh and engaging as well.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Computers and Complexity
SolidWorks is a software product, and the makers and sellers want nothing more than to have new bells and whistles to roll out every year. More features equals more sales. That's all well and good for their business, and to a degree, for my business. I like having all the options and features in one elaborate program, and even though it becomes cumbersome as it grows (think Swiss Army Knife), it's a very useful tool, or perhaps toolbox full of tools is a more appropriate analogy.
When the tool gets complex and there are lots of sexy new features, there is a danger of letting the tool dictate the work. If your design becomes an exercise in trying to combine Extrudes, Lofts, Sweeps, Revolves, and Surfaces and a long list of Fillets, you're probably missing the point of the design, and are playing with your software.
If using the computer to design results in an overly complex solution, you've failed the customer. The designer can use something like SolidWorks to design, but the design must always be Simple and Elegant. As Albert Einstein said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Look at the resulting design on the computer screen. Is it simple to make? Would anyone from age 5 to 105 look at at and immediately "get it"? Go back and imagine sketching it with a pencil, visualize the front, top, sides, is it a simple matter to convey the features?
Don't let the computer software drive the design. Complex tools can make complex designs look easy. Any computer-based designer needs to know how to step away from the mouse and understand what's at the heart of the solution for the customer.
When the tool gets complex and there are lots of sexy new features, there is a danger of letting the tool dictate the work. If your design becomes an exercise in trying to combine Extrudes, Lofts, Sweeps, Revolves, and Surfaces and a long list of Fillets, you're probably missing the point of the design, and are playing with your software.
If using the computer to design results in an overly complex solution, you've failed the customer. The designer can use something like SolidWorks to design, but the design must always be Simple and Elegant. As Albert Einstein said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Look at the resulting design on the computer screen. Is it simple to make? Would anyone from age 5 to 105 look at at and immediately "get it"? Go back and imagine sketching it with a pencil, visualize the front, top, sides, is it a simple matter to convey the features?
Don't let the computer software drive the design. Complex tools can make complex designs look easy. Any computer-based designer needs to know how to step away from the mouse and understand what's at the heart of the solution for the customer.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Machine-based Design
I love the fact that Pedrita, the design team from Portugal quoted here on Monday, are young, energetic, leading-edge designers who eschew computer design tools in favor of pencils and sketch pads.
It's not difficult to find older designers who cling to their drafting tables and can whip up any concept with their favorite Faber-Castell in in a flash. It's clearly the most effective way to communicate an idea when heads are together in a room.
It's inspiring to hear young designers say that "... hand drawing is [their] preferential tool when exploring ideas." It means the glamour of spinning 3D models and Photoshopping backgrounds has been seen for what it is, and the real work of making Ideas into Art and Product is front and center. Good Design is about making it happen, and the rapid deployment of one idea after another, side by side on the sketch pad, is the way to go, not just for the heads gathered in a room, but for the lone designer capturing lightning in their own quiet bottle, getting the inspiration of the moment down while it's fresh and can inspire it's brethren and offspring.
I do better sketches in my solitary office than I do in front of clients. Without the need to communicate to others, with the sole target of capturing a good design idea, it's easy to focus and let the flow happen. If you have to wait for the software to boot up, and start a new document, and pull down a menu or two, well more than likely by then the muse has drifted away.
As far as the computer-based solutions becoming overly complex, we'll talk more about that, another important topic.
It's not difficult to find older designers who cling to their drafting tables and can whip up any concept with their favorite Faber-Castell in in a flash. It's clearly the most effective way to communicate an idea when heads are together in a room.
It's inspiring to hear young designers say that "... hand drawing is [their] preferential tool when exploring ideas." It means the glamour of spinning 3D models and Photoshopping backgrounds has been seen for what it is, and the real work of making Ideas into Art and Product is front and center. Good Design is about making it happen, and the rapid deployment of one idea after another, side by side on the sketch pad, is the way to go, not just for the heads gathered in a room, but for the lone designer capturing lightning in their own quiet bottle, getting the inspiration of the moment down while it's fresh and can inspire it's brethren and offspring.
I do better sketches in my solitary office than I do in front of clients. Without the need to communicate to others, with the sole target of capturing a good design idea, it's easy to focus and let the flow happen. If you have to wait for the software to boot up, and start a new document, and pull down a menu or two, well more than likely by then the muse has drifted away.
As far as the computer-based solutions becoming overly complex, we'll talk more about that, another important topic.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
How to do Business.
Before discussing yesterday's quotes, I need to interject a thought or two while they are on my mind.
When I set up this business, my intentions were to make Strangineer Design better than all the other corporate situations I'd been through, a better business model than all the cubicle-world ideas put together, and a business that I'd want to do business with. It boiled down to having three driving aspects which would be absolutely, no-compromise, never anything than the best I can do.
1. The Quality of My Work.
2. Honesty.
3. Professionalism.
These three things are always going to be priorities over anything else in my business. There's a related corollary. Any client that I work for has to regard these three principles very highly, and demonstrate it. I don't expect them to have the religious regard that I am striving for, but there are minimum standards that should be respected and always maintained, and just make for good business relationships.
This triumvirate forms the positive basis for all my business relationships, and will always establish a foundation for mutual success.
When I set up this business, my intentions were to make Strangineer Design better than all the other corporate situations I'd been through, a better business model than all the cubicle-world ideas put together, and a business that I'd want to do business with. It boiled down to having three driving aspects which would be absolutely, no-compromise, never anything than the best I can do.
1. The Quality of My Work.
2. Honesty.
3. Professionalism.
These three things are always going to be priorities over anything else in my business. There's a related corollary. Any client that I work for has to regard these three principles very highly, and demonstrate it. I don't expect them to have the religious regard that I am striving for, but there are minimum standards that should be respected and always maintained, and just make for good business relationships.
This triumvirate forms the positive basis for all my business relationships, and will always establish a foundation for mutual success.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Quotes for the Week.
This from Azure, October 2007 - In an interview with Portuguese design partners Rita Joao and Pedro Ferreira of Pedrita, these two particular quotes jumped out at me, and I think I'll comment on them this week.
Pedro: "I'm worried about the superficiality of some of the [computer-assisted] design tools that today easily distract from reality and push projects to complicated solutions. You can go so much further if you use your own hands to materialize ideas and thoughts."
Rita: "There's been a lot of thinking on what things should look like, the environment and sustainability, art versus design, and global versus local. But I guess what matters is looking around and trying to find what we could do to be part of this world and have fun -- without breaking the boundaries of our conscience and good sense. So the best option for now is to invest time developing projects that we believe in and that please us."
Pedro: "I'm worried about the superficiality of some of the [computer-assisted] design tools that today easily distract from reality and push projects to complicated solutions. You can go so much further if you use your own hands to materialize ideas and thoughts."
Rita: "There's been a lot of thinking on what things should look like, the environment and sustainability, art versus design, and global versus local. But I guess what matters is looking around and trying to find what we could do to be part of this world and have fun -- without breaking the boundaries of our conscience and good sense. So the best option for now is to invest time developing projects that we believe in and that please us."
Friday, November 9, 2007
Project Management
One of the first questions asked by new clients is about my workload, and how I manage it. One of the great benefits of a home-based business is that the hours are extremely flexible, and I never have to figure in another commute time to go back to work.
My hours do fall into some usual blocks of time, and the extra hours I need to squeeze in a smallish project or hit a deadline are also sort of standard blocks of time that I can use or not. Having this setup is easiest on my family and very manageable should I see my regularly scheduled hours taken up with phone calls, client visits, or trips to see subcontractors.
I usually have five or six very active projects, maybe that many that are in various states of idle for a variety of reasons, and several new ones that are in the discussion phase. The discussion phase is the most important element for managing my time. I find out up front, by getting to know the client and their expectations, how much of my time and energy will be consumed, and I can plan my coming month or so accurately.
A critical element of a contract design business is meeting customer's needs, and planning to do it is just as important as executing.
My hours do fall into some usual blocks of time, and the extra hours I need to squeeze in a smallish project or hit a deadline are also sort of standard blocks of time that I can use or not. Having this setup is easiest on my family and very manageable should I see my regularly scheduled hours taken up with phone calls, client visits, or trips to see subcontractors.
I usually have five or six very active projects, maybe that many that are in various states of idle for a variety of reasons, and several new ones that are in the discussion phase. The discussion phase is the most important element for managing my time. I find out up front, by getting to know the client and their expectations, how much of my time and energy will be consumed, and I can plan my coming month or so accurately.
A critical element of a contract design business is meeting customer's needs, and planning to do it is just as important as executing.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Contract
This ubiquitous piece of paperwork is the heart of my business, I can't function without it, but I wish there were an easier way to get started with a client.
It's a sad state of affairs, but business law has evolved, or devolved, to the point where a simple document is just not possible. Try as I might to avoid it, the nature of what I do plus the range of clients and their eventual consumers equals a lot of clauses and terms and conditions. I admit to everyone that it is an intimidating 5-page document I'm about to send, primarily designed to keep me out of trouble with big companies and isolated from litigation hunters.
The gist of a contract should be (and mine is once you've sorted through it) what work is to be done, when it's to be done, and who pays for what. I have two versions of my contract. The primary one is filled in and signed for each project undertaken. For clients with many projects and ongoing work, I have a version that is open-ended, which can be continually referred back to in new dealings and invoices.
The time & money spent making the document as user-friendly as possible, and usable in any and all contract situations, was time & money well spent. It's now been working for a lot of clients, and being tried-and-true makes for the easiest possible project start-up, even if it is five pages.
It's a sad state of affairs, but business law has evolved, or devolved, to the point where a simple document is just not possible. Try as I might to avoid it, the nature of what I do plus the range of clients and their eventual consumers equals a lot of clauses and terms and conditions. I admit to everyone that it is an intimidating 5-page document I'm about to send, primarily designed to keep me out of trouble with big companies and isolated from litigation hunters.
The gist of a contract should be (and mine is once you've sorted through it) what work is to be done, when it's to be done, and who pays for what. I have two versions of my contract. The primary one is filled in and signed for each project undertaken. For clients with many projects and ongoing work, I have a version that is open-ended, which can be continually referred back to in new dealings and invoices.
The time & money spent making the document as user-friendly as possible, and usable in any and all contract situations, was time & money well spent. It's now been working for a lot of clients, and being tried-and-true makes for the easiest possible project start-up, even if it is five pages.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
SolidWorks Animator
I've been working on a large project that required a lot of show-and-tell animations to demonstrate the moving parts and operation. The Animator module in SolidWorks is a joy to work with, and anyone wishing to show off their invention would do well to have their friendly neighborhood designer/engineer do a short animation of the product to show it off.
Animator lets you play with camera angles, the display state of various components, and values within mates. These variables let you move parts relative to one another, and show parts moving inside the assembly as well. The Animator Wizard is handy to show the exploded view you create within SolidWorks, both exploding and collapsing, as well as rotational animations using any or all of 3 axes.
By combining the wizard-generated stuff with your own manipulation of mate values, such as distance and angle, very interesting stuff can be happening on the screen such as having parts moving while the assembly is rotating or exploding. You can even have individual parts slowly fade from view to see underneath, and then fade back in, so your customer gets a complete idea of what's going on inside the finished product.
Animator is a great tool for selling your new product, and can convey a lot of functionality without spending the bank on a large assembly.
Animator lets you play with camera angles, the display state of various components, and values within mates. These variables let you move parts relative to one another, and show parts moving inside the assembly as well. The Animator Wizard is handy to show the exploded view you create within SolidWorks, both exploding and collapsing, as well as rotational animations using any or all of 3 axes.
By combining the wizard-generated stuff with your own manipulation of mate values, such as distance and angle, very interesting stuff can be happening on the screen such as having parts moving while the assembly is rotating or exploding. You can even have individual parts slowly fade from view to see underneath, and then fade back in, so your customer gets a complete idea of what's going on inside the finished product.
Animator is a great tool for selling your new product, and can convey a lot of functionality without spending the bank on a large assembly.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Design shows
Currently, Denver is hosting an event titled Substance: Diverse Practices From the Periphery. It runs through November 9th at the Center for Visual Art, an "interdisciplinary event, this show highlights over 30 contemporary industrial, graphic, architectural, environmental and media designers working to improve the quality of daily life for communities".
And in New Haven, Connecticut, at the Yale School of Architecture, Ecology.Design.Synergy. "The sustainable designs of German-based firms Behnisch Architekten and Transsolar ClimateEngineering take centre stage."
And in Sarasota, Florida, hosts Design for Life : Sarasota International Design Summit. "Our 2007 Summit theme, Designing for Life, will showcase visionary thinkers and practitioners who are using the power of design to solve lifestyle issues and global challenges."
Wherever you are in this country, seek out and attend a design show, they are great sources of inspiration.
And in New Haven, Connecticut, at the Yale School of Architecture, Ecology.Design.Synergy. "The sustainable designs of German-based firms Behnisch Architekten and Transsolar ClimateEngineering take centre stage."
And in Sarasota, Florida, hosts Design for Life : Sarasota International Design Summit. "Our 2007 Summit theme, Designing for Life, will showcase visionary thinkers and practitioners who are using the power of design to solve lifestyle issues and global challenges."
Wherever you are in this country, seek out and attend a design show, they are great sources of inspiration.
Friday, November 2, 2007
The value of CAD.
It's tough to see your baby leave the nest. If you're an inventor, you know how much of yourself you've poured into the details, how much of your time and energy were consumed to enable the fledgling to grow and develop. So when do you actually let go?
Well, there's no need to ever, really. If you think turning it over to a designer is relinquishing control or the end of the development, it ain't necessarily so. The value of CAD is that it is just a tool, and another step in the road. Getting the geometry in a spinning 3D model does not cast any dimension or feature in stone. The opportunity to see it shaded, to measure the faces, to get it's mass, all these things are just great input to keeping the development going. Your baby just gets better as CAD gives it shape and form.
And once you're happy with the CAD, that's not the end of it either. The other value of CAD is that, within reason, your idea can take a major turn in direction and the data is still valuable. A manufacturer can take all the models and drawings and have a great starting point to developing a companion product or totally new version, and you can launch a whole product line. CAD is parametric, and parameters can change at a whim, so get your idea in CAD and take that next step. It's still your baby.
Well, there's no need to ever, really. If you think turning it over to a designer is relinquishing control or the end of the development, it ain't necessarily so. The value of CAD is that it is just a tool, and another step in the road. Getting the geometry in a spinning 3D model does not cast any dimension or feature in stone. The opportunity to see it shaded, to measure the faces, to get it's mass, all these things are just great input to keeping the development going. Your baby just gets better as CAD gives it shape and form.
And once you're happy with the CAD, that's not the end of it either. The other value of CAD is that, within reason, your idea can take a major turn in direction and the data is still valuable. A manufacturer can take all the models and drawings and have a great starting point to developing a companion product or totally new version, and you can launch a whole product line. CAD is parametric, and parameters can change at a whim, so get your idea in CAD and take that next step. It's still your baby.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
It's just good business.
I often find myself with a very interesting project on the table, and sitting across from me, an inventor with limited funds looking for a break. When it happens, there are always a lot of variables that I have to consider before making a decision about how to move forward with the project.
There's the fact that this is how I make my living, and if I don't charge what I'm worth for the hours, the bills won't get paid. At the same time, I know that the client's bills are in jeopardy, and they may have mortgaged their home to finance the start up. A piece of the action is always an option. Very often, stakes in the future business become an offer to move the program ahead. Just as often, deferred payment or extended terms become part of the plan to proceed.
As a businessman, I'm a great engineer. It's certainly not my forte to negotiate complex terms for my design time, and I'd much rather be designing parts than massaging contract language. But, I've been in business long enough, and been a part of the business side of engineering throughout my career, so I know there are ways and means to make a new idea happen on limited funds.
Don't let the lack of rich backers stop your invention, that's the message here. Good ideas are not all from corporate board rooms, with buckets of funding behind them. Good ideas are just as likely from folks with limited resources, and Strangineer Design is about making those dreams a reality in some way or another.
There's the fact that this is how I make my living, and if I don't charge what I'm worth for the hours, the bills won't get paid. At the same time, I know that the client's bills are in jeopardy, and they may have mortgaged their home to finance the start up. A piece of the action is always an option. Very often, stakes in the future business become an offer to move the program ahead. Just as often, deferred payment or extended terms become part of the plan to proceed.
As a businessman, I'm a great engineer. It's certainly not my forte to negotiate complex terms for my design time, and I'd much rather be designing parts than massaging contract language. But, I've been in business long enough, and been a part of the business side of engineering throughout my career, so I know there are ways and means to make a new idea happen on limited funds.
Don't let the lack of rich backers stop your invention, that's the message here. Good ideas are not all from corporate board rooms, with buckets of funding behind them. Good ideas are just as likely from folks with limited resources, and Strangineer Design is about making those dreams a reality in some way or another.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
