Dear IT:
It’s me, Robert Green, the CAD manager. I’m the guy who’s always asking you about plotters, network permissions, cloud accounts, OneDrive/Dropbox accounts, and such. And, yes, I’m the guy who deals with all those 40MB scanned aerial images and point clouds that bring our wide area network (WAN) and VPN connections to a crawl. When I’m not dealing with these issues, I’m responding to user training requests, schedule changes, and senior management pressure to get everything done faster. I say this not to complain, but just so you know the pressure I’m under and why I’m sometimes stressed when I have to come to you for help.
In an effort for forge a better relationship with you, bother you less, and make everything run more smoothly for everyone, I’d like to explain how you could help me to help you.
About Privileges and Security
My position in the company is not as a general employee, as I am in charge of the entire CAD team. Because of this, my login privileges should reflect that reality. If I’m not given adequate privileges to solve common daily problems, then I have no choice but to bother you every time I need to fix something.
What I need. I’m expected to support users and make things work right away. Project schedules and deliverables depend on my being able to make things happen. Project managers yell at me when things don’t work and they don’t like hearing that I can’t fix problems because my login doesn’t allow me to. Therefore, please set my permissions as such:
- Administrative level permissions to overwrite/delete files, install drivers, uninstall/reinstall software, apply software service packs, etc., without having to contact IT.
- Access all network drives at all offices.
- Manage printer/plotter file queues and drivers.
- Add peripherals (portable drives, scanners, etc.) to user computers without having to contact IT.
The long and short of it is that any problem I can fix without having to contact you means one less problem for IT and one happier CAD user and/or project manager. Conversely, any problem that you don’t allow me to fix will result in an angry call and an unhappy user. I promise I won’t abuse the privilege; I just want to get things done.
Building Trust
Hand in hand with security comes trust. If I don’t have the privileges mentioned above, then it must mean you don’t trust me to perform these tasks. If that’s the case, please consider the following:
- Management trusts me to get all our CAD work done.
- Management trusts me to interact with clients and vendors to complete projects on time.
- Management trusts me to set budgets, purchase software and perform training.
- Users trust me to help them complete their CAD projects.
If management and users alike trust me to manage huge projects with all sorts of client and financial liability, why can’t you trust me to manage the common daily IT challenges that impact CAD? If you need me to complete some training, I’m happy to do so, to help build trust with you.
Please, Don’t Just Change Stuff
While it may seem like a printer change or adding a new server would be transparent, the reality is that each change causes disruption in our workflow. What do I mean by this? Consider the following:
You know how that “simple printer switch to a new system PDF driver” change last week was supposed to be transparent to the users? It wasn’t. All my custom plotting routines continued to use the old driver parameters, so nothing worked correctly after the switch.
Keep reading to find out how to ask your IT department to work with you to keep your CAD team working smoothly, and how you can help IT. Read more»
For Mold Designers! Cadalyst has an area of our site focused on technologies and resources specific to the mold design professional. Sponsored by Siemens NX. Visit the Equipped Mold Designer here!
For Architects! Cadalyst has an area of our site focused on technologies and resources specific to the building design professional. Sponsored by HP. Visit the Equipped Architect here!
