What is the Root Cause?
If everything were perfect, you’d never have to deal with anyone who was angry, irrational, or simply expecting the impossible, right? The reality is that everything is not perfect, so we will all deal with a variety of difficult situations, especially in a CAD manager role. The question really becomes, “How can I best deal with these problems and situations to get the best possible resolution?”
The answer is to be aware of not only the problem, but also the situational circumstances around the problem. In my experience, you can have exactly the same problem, but circumstances dictate different solutions.
Don’t believe me? Read on for real-world examples.
Problem: Standards Violation
You’ve discovered that a few models were delivered to clients that contained a standards violation that has now caused a problem big enough for the client to reject the work. You now face the task of solving the problem. How can you best do so? The answer is, “It depends.”
Here are scenarios that may have caused the standards violation (all are actual scenarios I’ve had to work through):
Case #1. The user knew the standards but ignored them.
Case #2. The user didn’t know the standards.
Case #3. The user was told by a project manager to override the standards at client request.
Case #4. The user was told by someone in management that the project was behind and to cut any corners necessary to send out the models and not using the standards cut time.
As you can see, while the standards violation is the result in all cases, the situations that caused the violation were entirely different. I think we can agree that the response required in each case must then also be different.
Be Aware: Understand the Cause
From each scenario, we can draw a few conclusions right away:
Case #1 is the user’s fault. This is a case that requires intervention with the user directly (and perhaps their supervisor) to assure that willful disregard for standards doesn’t happen again, plus they need to redo the work.
Case #2 is where fault is likely shared between the user, project management, and maybe even the CAD manager. The core response in this case is understanding how a user could work inside the system without knowing there was an applicable standard in place.
Case #3 is often encountered when project management wants to say, “Yes,” to the customer without thinking through the possible downstream consequences. These cases require direct intervention with the project management team and not the poor user who was only doing what they were told.
Case #4 is the most insidious of all because it comes from management on high. When senior management teams undercut their CAD manager like this, it is often a sign of poor project execution at all levels that lead to an unsatisfied customer. This can signal real problems for not just the CAD manager, but for the company in general.
But how do you handle each case? Read more »
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