CAD Software Report

CAD for Principals has published the most comprehensive evaluation of AEC CAD software ever undertaken. The CAD Software Evaluation Report evaluates products from AEC DesignWare, Autodesk, Bentley, Bricsnet, Graphisoft and Revit based on nearly 200 criteria defined by a group of principals from 10 different design firms representing a broad range of practice.

Each vendor submitted an explanation of how their products meet the criteria. A group of AEC industry principals, I.T. managers and consultants developed metrics for scoring the responses. Two to three end users of each product reviewed the vendors’ responses, provided their own comments on the products’ functionality and scored the products’ compliance with the criteria, based on the metrics. Kristine Fallon, who leads CAD for Principals, and Alex Maxim, Design Technologies Manager of NBBJ Seattle and Chair of the CAD for Principals Technical Committee, coordinated the process and ensured that evaluator scores represented consistent interpretations of the criteria and the metrics.

The 285-page report provides a depth of sometimes surprising information about the major products competing for preeminence in the intelligent modeling software category.

Findings include:

CAD for Principals CAD Software Evaluation Report		Authors Press Release Purchase Report Summary Vendor Information
CAD for Principals has published the most comprehensive evaluation of AEC CAD software ever undertaken. The CAD Software Evaluation Report evaluates products from AEC DesignWare, Autodesk, Bentley, Bricsnet, Graphisoft and Revit based on nearly 200 criteria defined by a group of principals from 10 different design firms representing a broad range of practice. Each vendor submitted an explanation of how their products meet the criteria. A group of AEC industry principals, I.T. managers and consultants developed metrics for scoring the responses. Two to three end users of each product reviewed the vendors’ responses, provided their own comments on the products’ functionality and scored the products’ compliance with the criteria, based on the metrics. Kristine Fallon, who leads CAD for Principals, and Alex Maxim, Design Technologies Manager of NBBJ Seattle and Chair of the CAD for Principals Technical Committee, coordinated the process and ensured that evaluator scores represented consistent interpretations of the criteria and the metrics. The 285-page report provides a depth of sometimes surprising information about the major products competing for preeminence in the intelligent modeling software category. Findings include:
•	Powerful software can be easy to use. A steep learning curve has been the major obstacle for firms moving to intelligent modeling. This evaluation shows that products differ vastly in this regard. Revit excelled in ease of use.
•	Even superusers are frustrated by the need to assemble multiple software products, often with different user interfaces and steep learning curves, to accomplish the complete job. Both Autodesk and Bentley evaluators expressed this frustration.
•	Users are demanding a higher level of CAD compatibility. They want to exchange intelligent building models between CAD systems, not just 2D drawings.
The report’s foreword is by John F. Hartray, FAIA, one of the principals who defined the evaluation criteria. Mr. Hartray’s observation, “The most troubling computer problem, however, is the apparent gap between design and drafting programs and the actual work of the profession,” sets the tone of the report. The CAD Software Evaluation Report is available now from PSMJ \| Resources, Inc. Visit PSMJ's Web site or call 800-537-7765.