AUTODESK CIVIL 3D CAD MANAGER’S GUIDE
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Chapter 7: Deployment Strategies for
Civil 3D 2007
As you approach the deployment of Autodesk Civil 3D software into your production
environment, consider whether you want to do it yourself or bring in professional help.
Many firms think nothing of installing a new AutoCAD software package, with all the
changes in customization, drivers, hardware requirements, and so forth, but would never
dream of installing new asset management software without outside help. Even if you are
comfortable moving from one version of Autodesk Land Desktop to the next, the change
from Land Desktop to Civil 3D is dramatic enough at the user and support level that you
should carefully consider your approach to this upgrade. This chapter focuses on a
process that organizations can use during the deployment, and then on the two main
options for outside help: ICE resellers and professional consultants.
Deployment Considerations
Autodesk recommends a deployment process that consists of these four phases:
• Assess
• Plan
• Solve
• Confirm
The following sections cover the decisions you will need to consider in each phases.
Assess
By understanding pain points in the design process, you can better address them with
new software. Reviewing your firm’s current workflow and infrastructure is the first step.
This assessment should include project data storage strategies, libraries of blocks and
other common data sources, backup plans, and bottlenecks in the design process.
In addition, a crucial review of in-place standards gives you a better feel for how long it
takes to create the templates and styles that give Civil 3D its power. If you do not have a
full CAD standard in place, the implementation of Civil 3D can help you make order from
chaos.
Finally, comprehensive inventory of software and hardware in the organization helps you
understand whether your firm is ready to begin installing an advanced engineering
application. Many workstations that work well for Land Desktop production use are not
adequate for the Civil 3D model-based approach.
Plan
After completing an assessment of your current situation, plan for where you want to be
with a successful Civil 3D implementation. By considering all the issues, you will be ready
to address questions as they arise from users or executives regarding your
implementation.
Installation issues have been addressed in a previous section of this primer, but based on
the review of in-place hardware and software, you should plan for how coordination within
the IT infrastructure will take place. Work closely with your firm’s IT or IS department to
