Civil XLR8 Extra: Captaining the Enterprise

Managing a Distributed MicroStation/InRoads Enterprise

Software-Inherent Issues   

Special Issues in Managing a Distributed MicroStation/InRoads Enterprise

A large multi-disciplined Enterprise, such as a DOT, leads itself to a complex implementation

Complex Implementations tend toward increasing complexity and without active management often descend into chaos.

Special Issues with the Software

CADD (Computer Aided Drafting and Design) or CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) software is inherently different from mass office products such as Word and Excel.   In the mass office software the axiom that 95% of the people use 5% of the software's capabilities is very true.   A few default templates is all that is required to customize the software for an organization's needs.

The CADD/CAE software produces a detailed data model representing objects that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Segregating the myriad of existing and proposed object and objects types facilitates Quality Control, engineering, long term data management, drafting, construction, and payment.  Some Departments of Transportation have thousands of items in their Paylists and find it useful to have be able to uniquely identify each Paylist Item type in the software.  This opportunity leads to a complexity just not found in typical mass office products.

MicroStation

The complexity of data management in MicroStation (or any other CAD package) is not a trivial endeavor and requires planning, automation and a flexible change management process.

Every graphic in a MicroStation has at least four specifiable attributes: level, color, lineweight, linestyle.  Dimensions and text have dozens more.  There can be hundreds of thousands of elements in file.  Some large implementations have thousands of specific levels for data.  Conforming to Standards can be next to impossible without automated methods of conforming to standards and of checking conformance.  

InRoads

InRoads is a broad robust program that is extremely customizable.  Every graphic it produces can be specified by level, symbology and other setting for text and dimensions.

InRoads has the ability to preset its results to exactly match client standards.

Standards

Spec Creep

Issues due to Geographic Separation

Standards

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This internal information is posted as a courtesy.  Please help maintain its confidentiality.  Thanks, -jeff  [Email Jeff].
Last updated: January 02, 2007.