Between the Lines

Agile Customer Feedback Loop

Even though today is officially a day off for me, I am working to get all things ready for Autodesk University 2009 next week in Las Vegas.  I am at my downtown Salt Lake City office space at http://betaloftslc.com/ today.  There are a number of creative and smart people working here which makes it a fresh and intellectually stimulating environment. 

I was talking with a process and Agile software method expert Jeff Patton (http://www.agileproductdesign.com/)  who was sitting near me.  We had a great discussion on the topic of  User Experience “UX” and product design.  I have always wanted to know how Agile can be applied to product design, product development, and the user experience.

Having run Autodesk Beta programs for many years, the discussion steered into my favorite subject matter of customer involvement in the software development process.

My opinion is the customer should be involved from the concept and every point in between to the completion and shipping of the product which and then start over again to improve the next release of a product.  According to Jeff, I have always been an Agile process person without even being aware of it.

People that know me should be familiar with my quirky habit to come up with analogies. Sometimes the analogies are good ones, sometimes not so good.

 <Warning Shaan analogy coming…>
Think of the customer or end user being considered as a thread and must be involved consistently when sewing fabric along the entire length at regular intervals or the seam will not be strong or completed. The more threads in the stitch, the stronger and more successful the outcome (common sense required).  Requirements in a PRD & MRD can and will change between research and delivery to maintain the focus on  end user experience and the ever changing industries and market.

Never cut back on the required number of stitches, but you can adjust the fabric length. The key is to maintain and assure a quality product delivery with customers involved in the process so they get what they want and needed.

The same analogy can altered to be about laces on a shoe or football being vital to the quality of the product.

Bottom Line
Listen to & aim to delight the customers at every point of the process.

I like being a needle!
Shaan

The Aztec / Mayan Calendar in DWG & 2012

  I am not one of those who believe the world is going to end in December 21, 2012. Some base their predictions of a doomsday event on the ancient Aztec and Mayan calendar sun stone such as the new movie 2010, and some on the web such as http://www.viewzone.com/endtime.html & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon. Personally  I think it will be another non-event like the Y2k worries and I am comforted to know NASA feels the same about the topic.

The only event I can predict currently will be that Autodesk University 2009 will begin next week in Las Vegas.

Recently I had to get some stress and energy out on a Saturday night and decided to create a DWG of the calendar using Autodesk AutoCAD 2010. Originally I was using it as a good way to show how performance of AutoCAD 2010 hatching was improved. I stated with some rough geometry available on the web and then I developed the AutoCAD 2010 DWG file.

 

I am providing the AutoCAD 2010 DWG of the Sun Stone for those who want a copy for fun. I also posted the DWF on Autodesk Freewheel so you can view without installing AutoCAD or a DWF file viewer. View Here

Download AutoCAD 2010 DWG of the Aztec/Mayan Sun Stone 2149K 

I provided the simple version of my DWG with only two colors. If you come up with a great color scheme or 3D version for the Sun Stone email me an image. shaan@autodesk.com

Cheers,
Shaan

Lost a Great Four Legged Friend

On Friday my family was faced with one of the most difficult decisions with a pet. We had to decide to let our longtime companion Pokee go. He was going through diabetic shock with a blood sugar level of 4 times normal and then and kidney failure.  Pokee was a short haired Jack Russell terrier. We got Pokee from an Autodesk coworker many years ago after the Pokee’s original owner had passed away. Pokee had survived many things in his life including a battle with the deadly parvo, but survived. He was an extremely intelligent, mischievous, and quirky little guy with more energy than most puppies. Many will never forget the obsession Pokee had with a bone shaped pillow or playing hardcore soccer with a basketball.

I was really amazed and cheered up with all of the wishes on Facebook, email, and by phone after Pokee passed away Friday afternoon.

Heaven received another four legged angel.

Farewell my friend,
Shaan

Free Sandstone Wave Desktop Wallpaper

I wanted to share one of my photos for desktop backgrounds after seeing how nice it looks on both my PC and Mac laptops. This photo was taken on a hike into the North Coyote Butte on the Utah Arizona border about a 3 hour drive from Las Vegas but you do need a permit to hike into this fragile environment ads well as being prepared. You can see why I live where I do, with all the beautiful desert and mountains of the Southwest United States.

Now I can get back to all my Autodesk University 2009 planning and class materials.  I will be in Las Vegas in only 6 days…

Cheers,
Shaan

Autodesk University Premiere Virtual Pass Giveaway

Gregory Arkin is offering to give some premier passes to the Autodesk University Virtual event. We are gathering donations to the Susan G Komen foundation for the cure for breast cancer. I offered to shave my head at AU for all the effort in fundraising, and will. I hope we can meet the goal of $2000 in donations!

I want to sincerely thank Gregory for all of his efforts and to those that have donated so far. Even the famous Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture made a donation to the cause and word has it may show up at Autodesk University.

See the generous offering from Gregory: Autodesk University Premiere Virtual Pass Giveaway

• You Generated a Buzz
• Shave my Head at Autodesk University 2009 for a Good Cause

http://www.info-komen.org/goto/revit3d

Autodesk University – Only Two weeks Away

A large random list of personal suggestions to consider in preparation for Autodesk University 2009.

General

• Location of Autodesk University 2009
  Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino Las Vegas 
  (http://www.mandalaybay.com/)  702-632-7777
  3950 Las Vegas Blvd South
  Las Vegas 89119, Nevada, United States
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandalay_Bay_Resort_and_Casino
  Link to Mandalay Bay Casino Floor Map
  My AU 2009 Map
• 
  View AU 2009 Map in a larger map
  
• Print your AU schedule and place a digital copy on your mobile device before you go.
• Make a list of contacts with cell phone numbers so you can find people at AU. You can also arrange a common place to meetup at like the Shark Reef display.
• Grab a shuttle or cab from the airport to the Mandalay Bay, or the hotel you are staying. Cab should be around $20 or a shuttle should be less than $10.
• Autodesk University 2009 expected weather: Be prepared for chilly nights and a full moon to howl at with lows in the 40's and highs in the 50's.  There are palm trees and tropical plants but don't let that fool you into thinking this is tropical weather in Las Vegas in the winter. This is not pool and sunbathing weather unless you are a polar bear, so be prepared.
• There was snow in Las Vegas last year right after Autodesk University.
• For first time visitors to the United States, Vegas is not representative of the United States in general. I always get a few shocked foreign attendees that have never been to the US, and their first stop is Vegas. They come away speechless and thinking all Americans do is smoke, drink, gamble and hand picture cards out on the strip. please try to get away from Las Vegas and visit more normal cities while visiting the US to get the full picture.
• Refer to Las Vegas as “Vegas”.
• There is the Mandalay Bay Tram that runs from Mandalay Bay past the Luxor, to the Excalibur for free. The Las Vegas Monorail runs from the MGM Grand down the strip to the Sahara which is near the Venetian and costs $5.
• Carry a laptop, netbook, smart phone, or paper and pen to take notes during the class sessions. Keep a close eye on all your belongings and do not just set them down as they could walk away fast. Remember that many of the presentations will be online as well as notes there so you do not need to write every word down from a session just your top items.
• Take good notes so you can share your newly gained wisdom with coworkers, friends, family, user groups, or pets who were not lucky enough to attend AU. What happens in Vegas, does not have to stay in Vegas.
• If you want to be the smartest person in the group, place the Autodesk product documentation/manuals/guides on your iPhone or other mobile device for fast viewing and searching.  The PDFs of the product documentation are included on many Autodesk product DVDs.
• Run antivirus and  firewall on your computer if using the free wireless. I know it goes without saying, but a few years back some were upset that they got a virus from the free wireless cloud because they did not have antivirus software.
• Take  a good amount of business cards to give out. When you receive a card write a note on the back about the discussion or topic so you can remember who was who and the topic for follow up after AU. There is a cool iphone app that can take pictures of business cards and convert them to contacts. See Robin’s Autodesk University Prep 1.05 – Snap, Business Cards to iPhone
• Meet and network with new people! This is a prime opportunity to expand your network of peers and friends.
• Don't bring only jeans and tennis shoes and expect to get into some of the local clubs or events. Many of the clubs have a policy of “No hats, no tennis shoes, no baggy or torn jeans”. A pair of casual dress pans like Dockers, button up shirt, and casual dress shoes will be perfect. They will not accept the tee-shirt with the image of a tuxedo. ;-)
• You DO NOT have to drink, smoke, or gamble when in Vegas.

Health

• Bring antihistamines, eye drops, and nose spray as the air is really dry and you may end up with dry eyes and sinus problems. The smoke in some areas of the casinos does not help the situation either. Another suggestion for the dry air is lip balm and some skin lotion.
• Carry a bottle of water with you so you don't shrivel like a prune from the dry air.
• Consider aspirin, ibuprofen etc for any unplanned headaches or hangovers. Buying small items like aspirin in the hotel can be much pricier than bringing your own.
• Bring comfortable shoes as there is plenty of walking you will be doing between events, hotels, and classes.
• Know the location of the closest coffee shop to be wide awake for all the great classes and sessions. I have the free Starbucks iPhone app to guide me.
• Don't forget to take a shower and change clothes every day as you can get smelly with all the exercise between classes, extreme brain exercise, and copious socializing.
• Bring some breath mints. You will be speaking with a lot of people and the last thing you want is to leave a stinky breath as their lasting memory of you. If you find yourself speaking with a stinky breath attendee, offer them a mint.
• Every casino is designed using human psychology in mind to keep you unaware of the time and logic, so carry a watch or phone to keep track of time and hotel map to know where you are. The carpets, walls, signs, and just about everything is designed to confuse your senses and draw you into gambling areas even the carpets in many locations have designs that if you follow them you will end up spinning circles around slot machines.

Social Media

• Autodesk University Blog http://au.autodesk.com/
• AUGI Blog http://augi.typepad.com/
• AU Blog Network: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=blaug_network
• My Blog http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/
• Always tag content such as blog posts, Tweets, photos, etc from AU with #AU2009. This way you can follow the aggregated stream of the event from everyone on Twitter or from the web using a site like Twitterfall for #AU2009, or just the Twitter results http://twitter.com/search?q=AU2009 
• Follow AU on Twitter:
  • Me @mrcadman 
  • @lynn_allen
  • @au_online
  • @AUGIatAU
• Public Google Wave for AU 2009 (you must have a Google Wave preview account to participate). I am still on the fence about the value of Google Wave as it still feels like information overload and more like a free form Google document online.
  • Autodesk University 2009 Wave
• I am planning some fun Social Media events at AU like a TweetMob and a TweetCaching experiment giving away goodies to my Twitter followers.

Photos

• If you want a photo of the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign located near to the Mandalay Bay, please be careful crossing the road as there is fast and heavy traffic that will not stop for a pedestrian.
  
• I have created a public Flickr group for AU2009 for sharing photos.(http://www.flickr.com/groups/au2009/) just like the previous public groups for AU 2008 and  AU 2007. Flickr is free. Anyone is welcome to add AU2009 photos to the Flickr group as long as they are AU 2009 related and G rated only. You can get a free Flickr account if you wish to share photos with others or even keep them private if you prefer. It is even better if you can geotag your photos with their locations which Flickr allows you to do or if you have a GPS software to do this.
• My Flickr Photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/btl/
• My Autodesk University 2008 Shutterbug event is full.

Misc

• Every year there is the unofficial AU lounge hangout for conversations, meeting people, swapping stories, and general laid back gathering place. We have done this for years back to the first AU in Vegas like the Betty Boop in the MGM Grand. This year at the Mandalay Bay I think a nice casual lounge with no cover charge would be the Eyecandy Sound Lounge. I just spoke with the concierge and they said the Eyecandy is a great location especially for computer geeks and the dress code is not strictly enforced. There is also the Orchid. As for the hot spot clubs in the Mandalay Bay there is an AU favorite of the Rum Jungle, and the new Mix Lounge atop THEhotel.
• Attending Autodesk University and a reptile lover? There is a reptile show in Las Vegas the weekend following http://www.lasvegasreptileshow.com/. I think after a week in Las Vegas with little sleep and the dry air we may all look reptilian by the end of the week.
• If you got this far you either have great concentration skills, are bored, or had your Ritalin.
• Remember to put your seat in the upright position and your tray tables up before takeoff and landing.

Finally have a great time at Autodesk University as there will be thousands of the industry top people in attendance.

Hope to see you at AU,

Shaan

AutoCAD 2010 on my MacBook Pro

OK so it is not a native Mac version of AutoCAD, but pretty close.

The new version of Parallels Desktop 5 for the Mac OSX has a new crystal view mode. This crystal view mode blurs the lines between Windows and Mac on your desktop as it shows none of the Windows OS UI. Parallels 5 also feels much faster than previous versions in my unscientific testing. Apple Bootcamp is still faster performance overall because it is running Windows natively, but you also must boot to Windows on your Mac with Bootcamp.

The sweet spot with Parallels Desktop is that I can run AutoCAD 2010 and other Windows applications on my Macbook Pro and still use my Finder or other Mac applications at the same time. In my case I had installed Parallels 5 on my Macbook Pro running OSX Snow Leopard and then installed AutoCAD 2010 on Microsoft Windows 7 running in the Parallels virtualized environment.

 

Autodesk now supports some of the 2010 products running on Parallels Desktop on a Mac. Having Windows 7 applications on my Mac desktop at the same time is fantastic.  AutoCAD and Other Autodesk Software Supported on Parallels.

For more information on Mac support by Autodesk see http://www.autodesk.com/mac

Cheers,
Shaan

AutoCAD Product Design Team Invitation for Test Drives

The AutoCAD Product Design Team would like to invite you to a series of special events during Autodesk University this year!

On Tuesday, December 1st and Wednesday, December 2nd, the AutoCAD Product Design Team will be hosting special customer Discussion Forum sessions, as well as traditional annual “What is New in AutoCAD?- AutoCAD Sneak Peek & Test Drive” event. Please see below for more information and the sign up link. We hope you will be able to join us for one of them if you are planning to attend AU this year!

Discussion Forum: “Synergies and Advancements in Drafting and Modeling for AutoCAD"

• In this focus group, participants will get a chance to talk about their needs for existing and new 2D drafting features and 3D modeling tools.
• Designers will show some potential directions and share their ideas on new and advanced tools (e.g. Join/Fillets/ blend enhancements), new 2D geometry object types (e.g. “uber” unified 2D curve objects - Spline/Line/Pline/Arc - all in one), as well as 3D modeling tools (e.g. Space deformation tools/Bend/Twist etc).
• Participants will get a chance to preview and provide feedback on 2D drafting and modeling tools including direct manipulation and modeling techniques.
  
• Who Should Participate?
  AutoCAD users who currently work in 2D and are interested in advanced drafting; designers who are looking into moving to 3D modeling, and users of 3D features in AutoCAD and other applications – including surface modeling in Rhino, 3DS Max, and Maya.

Event: “What is New in AutoCAD? - AutoCAD Sneak Peek & Test Drive”
Description:

• In this session, participants will work individually on computers to "test drive" the new and exciting features in the upcoming AutoCAD release. This is an opportunity to learn about and provide feedback on the newest features, components, and user interface enhancements.
  Product designers and usability specialists will be available to answer your questions and discuss the features.
  
• Who Should Participate?
  Intermediate or advanced AutoCAD users who use AutoCAD at least 20 hours a week for drafting, design, or modeling work.

All events will take place in the conference area in the Mandalay Bay hotel. Participants will receive a gift for their time.

How Do I Sign Up?
To sign up, fill out this brief survey:
Please indicate which sessions you are available to attend. You will be confirmed for at most one discussion forum and one test drive. The confirmation will include specific location, and an NDA will be required for all who attend.
In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, email to:
melissa.dawe@autodesk.com or elena.fadeeva@autodesk.com

Space is limited so sign up today! Please fill out the survey by Monday, November 16.
We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!

-The AutoCAD Product Design Team

You Generated a Buzz

 I will shave my head at AU  Buzzzzzzzzzz 

It was started with a small comment and discussion that grew and grew until I challenged people to donate to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and I would shave my head.  I had the target on my twitter followers as a safety net to make the effort last longer and drive more awareness. This was not a stunt but a good hearted effort  to do something good as well as fun.  A nice amount has been donated thanks to everyone that responded including tenlinks.com and especially Gregory Arkin.

Please keep the donations coming even though  have agreed to shave the head.

http://www.info-komen.org/goto/revit3d

I will let people know when and where during Autodesk University my head shaving will occur.  I don't have too much hair, but I think we may need to make this a parking lot event. I do not have an ideal head shape and face for sporting a shaved head style, so the plan is to hopefully re-grow the hair after the event. I might wear a hat afterwards as my head will reflect and amplify light and potentially blind or scare people and I would not want that on my conscience.

All I ask is that people keep thinking about charitable causes throughout the year not just the month selected. Shine a light on them be it diabetes, autism, cancer research, alzheimers, leukemia, muscular dystrophy, Red Cross, habitat for humanity and many other charitable causes.

There has been a great effort and much awareness created about breast cancer which was the entire inspiration.

Thank you everyone,
Shaan

AutoCAD Tip - Plot in Black and White ala Monochrome

So you want to take you multi-colored drawing and plot it in just black and white, but how?  This post is a direct result of a question I received from an attendee on the See the Difference with AutoCAD 2010 Tour in October.

In AutoCAD when you go to the Plot command and enter the Plot dialog expand the Plot dialog.

 

Select the Monochrome plot style (ctb or stb). Now select Apply to the Layout and preview or Plot and you should should be good to go.

 

Cheers,
Shaan

Help Shape the future of Autodesk Products at Autodesk University 2009

The Autodesk Platform Product Design & Usability group will be holding a series of 60-minute sessions with Autodesk product users at Autodesk University and are looking for candidates. The team is looking to get feedback on possible products and concepts. All sessions will be held in the Mandalay Bay property near the exhibit hall. A non-disclosure agreement may be required participate which means you are sworn to secrecy on what you see or discuss at the special event.

Sign up, space is limited
Sign up and help shape the future of Autodesk products at AU!

Hope to see you at AU in 20 days (only 461 hours 42minutes 13seconds away)
Shaan

Glimpse at Alias Sketch for AutoCAD 2010

Here is a interesting project in the works in the labs, Alias Sketch for AutoCAD 2010. This is an AutoCAD add-on application for sketching and experimenting with creative concepts in AutoCAD. You may be aware of the great Autodesk SketchBook Pro product for both Mac and PC as well as the new SketchBook Mobile for the iPhone. which I have and love.

Now there is some work on an add-on to AutoCAD to add some of the Sketch features currently named “Alias Sketch for AutoCAD 2010”.

Illustrate with Alias Sketch

Use intuitive pen-based painting and drawing tools such as pencils, markers, and brushes to create and adapt raster images in AutoCAD paper space.

The Alias Sketch Workspace

The Alias Sketch workspace is comprised of a single tabs on the AutoCAD ribbon. Marking menus, tool palettes, color editors, and browsers provide access to all the features you need to create illustrations in paper space.

Use intuitive pen-based painting and drawing tools such as pencils, markers, and brushes to create and adapt raster images in AutoCAD paper space.

Layer and transformation features extend your power to explore and fine-tune your ideas. Display 3D objects as layers in an Alias Sketch raster image to trace or to provide rich composition possibilities.

• Draw Freehand Illustrations
• Create Concept Variations
• Create Compositions with 3D Models
• Trace 3D Models
• Create Concept Walls
• Annotate

Just a glimpse of the possible future with AutoCAD. If you are into Industrial Design, then I would recommend the Autodesk University 2009 90 minute class ID218-1   Taking 2D Beyond Documentation
Description: Will explores creative methods that utilize Alias® Illustration functionality with AutoCAD® to extend documentation beyond technical drawings.
Speaker: Paul Lebovitz  Product Architect Autodesk

So if you use Photoshop® with AutoCAD®, this is the class for you!

Cheers,
Shaan

Can’t make it to Las Vegas for Autodesk University 2009?

Find a local AU event. http://www.autodesk.com/auextension

Shave my Head at Autodesk University 2009 for a Good Cause

If you heard the rumors of my shaving my head for charity offer on Twitter, it is true. I figured why not carry on the October events for awareness for breast cancer but keep it going. Now granted I do not have the most complete thick head of hair to start with but I offered to shave my head if $2000 in donations are given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation AND I get over 2000 Twitter followers.  Did I think some would jump on the opportunity to shave my head, sure but I did not expect a rally started by Gregory Arkin of the popular Revit and BIM blog http://bimboom.blogspot.com/ 

Urgent Request. Need you all to follow @MrCadman on Twitter and donate $5 to the Susan G Komen Cure for Cancer Fund so Shaan Hurley will shave his head at AU2009

Greg even setup a donation page from a blog posting. Gregory made the first donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation at http://www.info-komen.org/goto/revit3d. He also offered to give one dollar for every new follower to his blog http://bimboom.blogspot.com/ .

Greg, If the goal is reached you can personally shave my head…

It is all for a great cause and to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.
Shaan

The Best of AutoCAD 2010 eLearning, Sometimes the Best Things are Free, Learning Courses Available on AutoCAD Exchange

The AutoCAD Exchange  is a community of AutoCAD and AutoCAD based product users. I have had the privilege of filling in for Gabrielle and running the site while she is off and hopefully enjoying her sabbatical.

We have been adding many new features and content to the AutoCAD Exchange. Some of the new content includes new funny Roger Penwill Misunderstood CAD Manager cartoons, Lynn Allen’s hilarious Top Ten Reasons to attend AU videos, AutoCAD Help online, AU courses, weekly Ask the Expert to ask questions to. Donnie Gladfelter is this weeks resident AutoCAD Expert.

Now we just published free AutoCAD 2010  “The Best of AutoCAD 2010” learning content.

http://autocad.autodesk.com/?nd=m_acad_elearning

Membership is free, so join the community of AutoCAD based product users including AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Architecture,and AutoCAD Plant 3D.

Cheers,
Shaan