{"id":9658,"date":"2019-10-20T23:07:19","date_gmt":"2019-10-20T23:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totalsynergy.com\/?p=9658"},"modified":"2022-09-19T12:51:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T02:51:42","slug":"why-you-need-aec-industry-specific-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totalsynergy.com\/why-you-need-aec-industry-specific-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you need AEC industry-specific software"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t
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Built environment design has certain features that define both the industry and the specific way projects within it need to be managed. Firstly, we\u2019re an industry with incredibly complex projects \u2014 the number of people involved, the dependencies, the variations of scope and length, the impact of an ever-fluctuating market, and on and on. Intricacy is built into what we do (pun intended).<\/p>\n

Secondly, we\u2019re a project-centred sector. We rarely do exactly the same thing twice \u2014 even if we\u2019re designing the exact same structures in different places, the location itself will provide new necessities for each project. And projects are not an extension of our normal operations, they\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0our normal operations.<\/p>\n

All this makes it extremely difficult for us architects and built environment designers to use a generalized business and project management software solution. Larissa Leone, co-founder and director of\u00a0Two Birds Consulting<\/a>\u00a0(a consulting practice that focuses on business management for architecture, engineering and construction design (AEC) firms) suggests industry-specificity in your software is key.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is so important to try and get an industry specific system,\u201d Larissa says. \u201cHaving worked with a variety of systems over the years I know that if you choose a \u2018generalized\u2019 system there is a heavy amount of customization that needs to be done to just get the basics of what a project-based organization requires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joel Gregory, co-founder and CEO of\u00a012d Synergy<\/a>\u00a0says, \u201cin the AEC market it\u2019s not just thousands of documents and emails, there’s also gigabytes of geospatial data, CAD drawings, lots of things that are fairly unique to our industry \u2014 most generic systems just don’t look after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the agreement on the necessity for AEC-specific software, how do you work out what you need from it? What functionality is critical? Which features will lay dormant?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive in and take a swim through it:<\/p>\n

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  1. Working out what functionality you need \u2014 the software audit<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Larissa says working out your functionality needs generally starts with the client articulating how they personally want to function in the business and if there is the correct structure in place to support that.<\/p>\n

    \u201cFrom there, we discuss outcomes and what the client wants to know about their business at either a click of a button or in a meeting environment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThis starts to generate and give life to the outcomes be it visual, graphical representation, numbers that need to be articulated by someone else in the company, or an outsourced professional.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe most important element of a management system for project focused businesses is to know how a job is tracking at any point in time and then make informed choices about the business from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

    So, to begin, assess what the most critical business challenges are that you need to solve. Then examine the management software systems you have in place (both business and project) to see how well they support the realization of those outcomes.<\/p>\n

    If you work with a team, the next step is to assess each of their tech requirements in the pursuit of their individual work outcomes.<\/p>\n

    Assessing required functionality can continue into an audit of your team\u2019s software usage. Look at:<\/p>\n