Jeff's Blog

I've Moved!

My blog has moved. Please go to www.jeffmirisola.com for all my latest news and posts! If you've subscribed to this blog, please be sure to subscribe to my new one. Also, due to spam problems, I've closed comments on this blog. All the posts here are available on my new blog.

Thanks!

Jeremy Luchini – Mr. Certification

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Jeremy Luchini on Tuesday, Day two of SolidWorks World. Jeremy is in charge of certification for SolidWorks. Whether you're going for your CSWP, CSWA, CSWI or any other CSW*, Jeremy has had a hand in it. A quick note here: I'm not the world's best interviewer. Couple that with the fact that I've known Jeremy for a while, and how down to earth he is, and it was more like a couple of friends talking over a beer. I do hope, though, that some questions you may have about certification get answered here.

Jeff: Would that be an apt description?

Jeremy: That's right.

Jeff: What, exactly, is your title?

Jeremy: Certification Program Manager for SolidWorks.

Jeff: How long have you been with SolidWorks?

Jeremy: I'm just finishing up my eighth year.

Jeff: Have you always been involved with certification?

Jeremy: No, actually I started in the training group. They hired me to write the API training manual for engineers, so that's where I started; teaching guys how to automate SolidWorks and we developed an API instructor exam based on that, so I got to learn about certification and become a CSWP myself, then took over the program six years ago. So six out of my eight years has been as certification manager.

Jeff: Do you like it?

Jeremy: I love it; I think it's the best job in the company.

Jeff: That's funny. I was talking to Bill Doll yesterday and he said he had to best job in the company running SolidWorks Labs.

Jeremy: Ok, yup, he probably has the coolest job in the company. I deal with the coolest people in the community.

Jeff: That, I would agree with.

Jeremy: Ok, there we go. I do see the stressful side when we're testing people. You have to be able to handle that in a professional way and realize we're trying to do good for everybody here and design exams that just identify proficiencies. Testing is a stressful thing but the celebration of the skills that it takes to become certified, that's where the real paycheck is for me.

Jeff: Alright, let's get into this. A lot of guys like me, who passed the eight hour exam, have seen or taken the new exam say you've dumbed it down, that you've cheapened it. What do you think about that?

Jeremy: I think, ah, you're speaking on behalf of all the guys that took the eight hour exam and the four hour exam?

Jeff: Yeah, the people I've talked to.

Jeremy: Are we comparing the two?

Jeff: Comparing the two, they think it's been cheapened; it's lessened the credibility of becoming a CSWP.

Jeremy: Ok, I think what these guys should realize is we're not trying to create an elite club for a small group of people. Certification is about identifying who's proficient in SolidWorks. When the original exam, the eight hour exam, was created, the first one, y'know you gotta realize how difficult it was for us to even manage that. Somebody's spending eight hours, on a Saturday, at a reseller taking an exam and we were actually noticing, Jeff, that it was taking people around five hours actually. People that that knew what they were doing could pass the CSWP in around four or five hours and we started looking at, obviously, updating the exam for the online environment that we have today. When I looked at it, I thought that we could break out some of the advanced parts of the old exam into specialty exams. That's the reason we went from eight to four, was simply to say "hey, core SolidWorks knowledge is about part modeling, it's about assembly modeling." The hook on the new exam was, well, we wouldn't do bottom up assembly, which the old exam did. We would do a top-down engine block assembly where we would really prove that this guy knew what he was doing with SolidWorks. Back when you took it, it was an option. If you weren't good with assemblies, you could still become a CSWP, which concerned me and a lot of people. So, we decided to make that mandatory and pull out some of the other things, like sheet metal or surfacing which not everybody's doing, and let those be an option for CSWPs in the future. So the guys that thing we're watering down or making it easier, I can tell you that the pass rates involved these days, it's dropping. Basically all the really high skilled guys took the old exam, now we have a lot more people taking the exam just trying it. The pass rates are low, it's very hard to pass. That's why we invented the CSWA product, to get people started in the certification program and eventually take the CSWP exam. Eventually, as that program grows and more people can claim they're proficient in core SolidWorks, start specializing. One day we're going to have so many professional exams, this crew that you're talking about, who's upset about the old exam, they're actually…what I want to see these guys do is take the advanced exams, really advanced exams like surfacing and sheet metal, and we're going to have a brand new market for these guys called 'Elite Professional'. Ok? That's where we're at and that's why we did the things we're doing.

Jeff: Fair enough. People have been wondering. How many people took the exam this weekend?

Jeremy: I think we had close to one-hundred and fifty to two-hundred on Sunday.

Jeff: How many passed?

Jeremy: Well, it was a mixture of CSWP and CSWA and I think it was around forty or fifty total passed.

Jeff: Now, last year it seems to me you had a much higher pass rate.

Jeremy: No, it was only a few dozen passed out of the few hundred that took it. That's why I, when you say that a lot of people think that the new exam is easier than the old one, I would say there's different pressures on someone today than when you took it. They have a time limit, which they complain about, and we have to adjust. We're dealing with people that are going to be measured by how quickly and accurately they can model in SolidWorks.

Jeff: Don't you think you have more people taking it now that it's offered for free?

Jeremy: Well that's definitely part of it for sure.

Jeff: I mean, when I took it it was $500.

Jeremy: Yup, which prevented a lot of people from taking it. When we designed this system to not have to have people sitting in a training room all day at a reseller, but be able to sit online and take it when they could, obviously the participation went up just from going online, and then reducing the price. We didn't have the overhead charge.

Jeff: That's true. So, it's free.

Jeremy: It's not free. It's free if you're on subscription service. We're trying to build this into the value of continuing to stay on maintenance. You get the free support, you get…

Jeff: Yeah, don't get me started on maintenance.

Jeremy: Ok, I won't start you on maintenance.

Jeff: That's a whole other ball of wax.

Jeremy: (laughing) Alright, you gonna take that up with my boss?

Jeff: I'm going to. If you fail it, do you get to take it again for free?

Jeremy: Well, the program we have now, if you're on subscription service you get one free try pass or fail at the exam. At that point, the system recognizes that you took it and will refer you to the web store where you can buy it for $99.

Jeff: Oh, it's only one-hundred bucks now?

Jeremy: Yeah.

Jeff: Oh, that's not bad. Alright, so I went through your AE testing last year, 'cause you test AE's.

Jeremy: That's right, instructor exam. I remember it. I remember you teaching.

Jeff: My Patriots jersey.

Jeremy: That's right.

Jeff: And me telling you to be quiet in my class.

Jeremy: (laughs)

Jeff: I know you said, then, what you were looking for, but what are you looking for?

Jeremy: In my words, I tell every instructor that has to teach in front of me, "Look, clearly the curriculum we have for customers is top-notch. The training manuals are printed in color, they're step-by-step. I could sit down and learn SolidWorks just by reading those books. What I'm looking for from our instructors is what are they bringing to the table beyond what the books are telling us?" People pay a lot of money for training and they deserve value; they deserve someone who can present well, is fired up and excited about using SolidWorks. That's the person I want to be learning anything from. CAM, CAD, whatever. So I look for passion in the instructors. I look for them to understand a difficult situation when it comes up in the training room. If they can't answer a question, how are they skilled at finding the right answer? Do they know people? Do they get into SolidWorks trying to answer the question for themselves? I love guys that try things. You don't have to be an expert to be a Certified SolidWorks Instructor. What I mean by that is, I don't expect someone to understand 100% of the code. What I expect them to do is be highly proficient, much more proficient that just a casual user, so that they can approach new customers and handle the questions that come up in the classroom. There's some strange questions that get asked and I'm looking at how you respond to them. Remember when I asked you some crazy things? Things you would never think about because you're just following the lesson. Trying to get the information clear and I'm looking to throw some curve balls at you and seeing if you're really ready to handle that. That's what we're looking for. I'm a paying customer. Am I going to leave on Friday ready to go when I'm back at my job versus reading a book.

Jeff: Fair enough. That answers the next question I was going to ask, too. So you said in the future, with the CSWP stuff, that you guys are going to break it out further. You already have the sheet metal going, right?

Jeremy: Yeah, and we launched surfacing this week.

Jeff: Oh, and surfacing, too? What else, are you going to do COSMOS?

Jeremy: We have simulation, too, but the participation rate is down a little so we're going to see what we can do about that. It's a pretty advanced exam.

Jeff: Well, I heard from a source…

Jeremy: Oh, you and your sources.

Jeff: Oh yeah. I heard you guys were going to be doing DriveWorks certification, too.

Jeremy: Well, you know that DriveWorks is installed in SolidWorks now; you get a free copy of it…

Jeff: DriveWorksXpress

Jeremy: …DriveWorksXpress. What we have to deal with is different installs of SolidWorks around the world, so on a global program we have to be careful how we include add-in applications on an exam. It's not really fair for us to include add-ins that not everybody may have access to.

Jeff: You gotta answer this, the bloggers are really gonna want to know that answer. Why'd you hire Mike?

Jeremy: Honestly, I wasn't planning on hiring Mike. He and I have been friends for a while and he told me he was looking for work because things weren't working out where he was. I tried to introduce him to the company I highlighted at the CSWP event, Megabrands, because they were looking for somebody of his caliber. Mike said that he saw I had an opening in my group and I said we did. We try not to draw from the customers or our resellers unless we're asked about our jobs, and Mike did ask. He knows some of the fun things we do and he, clearly, has a voice in the community. I really enjoy Mike's passion and what he brings to the table for my team. We're almost like self-marketing guys. We have to build the exams and then communicate what we've done. I think Mike's real asset to the team is going to be sharing what we're doing and why we're doing it; kind of like this interview. Getting some things cleared up with people so they're not frustrated with us. So they're nodding their heads 'yes' and understanding. That's a long answer to why I hired Mike, but why wouldn't I hire him? He's got SolidWorks running through his veins, like the rest of us, so it was an easy decision. He came in, interviewed and hit a homerun. When are you coming in?

Jeff: (laughing) I'd love to. Can I work from Seattle?

Jeremy: Anything is possible.

There you have it, my loyal reader.

SolidWorks World – The Final Day

Wow, I can't believe it's day 3. It's amazing how slowly SolidWorks World comes, compared with how quickly it ends. Now we have to wait almost one more year until SolidWorks World 2010 in Anaheim, California. That's right, we're heading back to California. There were a lot of us betting on Las Vegas, especially where we were in San Diego last year. Goes to show you what we know.

As usual, today's general session was awesome. The guys from Discovery Channel's Prototype This were here to talk about their show, their designs and how they utilize SolidWorks in their design process. Their jobs are right up there in cool factor with The Myth Busters and Dirty Jobs.

Next up was the Top Ten List, presented by SWUG Presidents, and here they are:

10 – Excel behavior in tables
9 – Abort any running commands by pressing escape
8 – Add lock points for model rebuild
7 – Dual Monitor Support
6 – On the fly equation creation and editing
5 – Faster rebuilds of complex models
4 – Ability to rename configurations while referencing
3 – SolidWorks backward compatibility (big cheer from the audience on this one!)
2 – Clear memory when a file is closed
1 – Increase program stability.

While we may see, hopefully, some of these enhancements in SolidWorks 2010, we'll have to wait and see. SolidWorks has a pretty good track record of getting the top enhancements into future releases, so we'll have to keep our fingers crossed.

Richard Doyle then introduced the SWUGN committee. It was time for the SWUGN awards.
User Group of the Year: Central Massachusetts/Northern Connecticut User Group
User Group Leader of the Year: Rob Jensen
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gerald Davis and Dan Bertschi

That was the first half of today's session. More to come soon, including my interviews with Jeremy Luchini and Kerri Dunne.

SolidWorks World – The real Day 1

I don't know that I've ever said this, but I truly love being a blogger for SolidWorks. It's provided me with some wonderful opportunities, both professionally and personally. Take today, for instance. As a blogger, I wasn't subjected to the cattle-callish nature of trying to get a good seat that so many others are. It's reminiscent of the days when rock concerts had general admission and people would push and shove to get the best seats. None of that for the members of the press, we have reserved seating up front. Truly a wonderful thing.

Today's general session started as one would expect with Jeff Ray coming out and talking about this year's SolidWorks World, the attendance compared with last year's, and the fun we could expect. He then talked about how he'd promised changes last year and told us how he felt that SolidWorks had done over the course of the year. When all was said and done, he gave their progress a B-, admitting that there were still areas that needed work. I agree with that statement, though I wonder if a B- wasn't a bit generous.

Next up was Jeff's interview with Sir Richard Branson. Not the normal keynote speaker time, but a one-on-one interview ala "The Tonight Show". I gotta say, Sir Richard is a pretty affable guy. Funny, engaging and he came off as being pretty down to Earth. It was most apparent in his nervousness. Apparently, he doesn't like to talk in public like that. Kudos to him for doing it. You're probably thinking he got paid a ton of money for it. Well, you're wrong. His speaker fee was donated to his charity. Everyone I've spoken to truly enjoyed listening to Sir Richard (do you have to keep calling him 'Sir Richard', I don't want to break protocol here…). He had a couple of funny stories. In one, he talked about when he was just starting up Virgin Air and called Boeing to buy a used 747. In the end he was asked, given the name of the airline, were they going to go all the way. Naturally, that cracked me, and everyone else, up. He also spoke of a time when British Airways was having a publicity event. (At this point, I missed a bit because of the people in front of me who were talking). Whatever it was that BA was trying to raise wouldn't go up. Sir Richard, upon hearing this, "scrambled" one of his airships and had it fly over the site with "BA can't get it up" in lights.

I spent a fair amount of time in the vendor pavilion today and lined up some new products to review for all of you. Among them will be the new offerings from SolidProfessor, Vuuch, Zygote Ergonomics and solidThinking. TactonWorks will be coming in the near future as well. The product that I'm going to test out first is Xpresso. Imagine having an add-in that will greatly lessen the number of times you need to use your mouse while aggravating your coworkers at the same time (my spin on it, not theirs). In a nutshell, Xpresso is voice command software for SolidWorks. If it works as well as the demo I was shown, it could very well do away with my beloved 'S' key. Stay tuned for that one coming out soon.

SolidWorks World 2009

It's Sunday and SolidWorks World has has almost started. There are a ton of people here, with more arriving by the minute. I've been here since Thursday night and I'm glad things are starting to kick into high gear.

I've done a bit of wandering around and the layout doesn't seem too bad, maybe just a little spred out. I'm really looking forward to the Welcome Reception that starts at 5:30. It'll be our first chance to see what partners are here, what they've brought and their new offerings. For me, it's when things really start. It's when I start lining up products to review.

Last night I went to my first ever "Tweetup". There were a good number of fellow "Tweeterers" there and fun was had by all. I would like to offer a public apology to the girl in the Mickey Mouse hat. I meant no offense. I suspect, though, that she doesn't read this but I just wanted to put it out there. Should I run into her before I leave, I'll be sure to personally apologize.

As I'm writing this, Alex Ruiz is to my left and Ricky Jordan to my right. Both are posting to their blogs as well.

Thought I'd post a picture of my badge, too, just because.

What a week!

It's only Tuesday, and I'm already having a great week. I received a job offer yesterday that is going to simply rock. I'll be working at http://www.ultimatesurvival.com/, doing a multitude of things: designing, redesigning, 2D to 3D conversion, line improvement, lean manufacturing, trouble making. The best part of all of it is I'll be working for a former boss, one whom I greatly respect and consider to be the best manager I've ever had. Actually, the best part of it is I'll only be 15 minutes from home versus the 230 miles away that I am now. Couple all that with the fact that I fly to Orlando on Friday for SolidWorks World, and you've got the ingredients for a great week!

I'll be posting as much as possible from SWW. I have a couple of interviews lined up, plus I hope to line up some more product reviews. With all the vendors that'll be there, that shouldn't be too hard to do. It's good to have such great things to look forward to during these tough times.

Remember, too, only 11 more days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training!

Yakima SWUG

Last night I had the honor of presenting at the first meeting of the Yakima SolidWorks User Group. Jeff, John and George did a great job putting it together and they had a great turnout for their first meeting. 22 people showed up to be awed by my 'Tips & Tricks' presentation, followed by a Q & A session. Ok, so "awed" may be a tad strong, but I did get at least one "ooh!" and an "ahh!". The group was very engaged, an excellent thing. Good questions, enthusiasm and camaraderie. I can see YSWUG being a very successful group. Hopefully, the local VARs will step up in their support.

Their next meeting will be in April. If you live in the area, keep an eye on www.yakima1.com/yswug. They're going to be loading up the page with info, including an impressive list of online resources the Jeff has gathered over the years.

On a separate note, I can't wait to get on a plane next Friday and head down to Orlando. SWW, here I come!

Design for the Future

My good friend and Geek-in-Charge at The SolidWorks Geek, Alex Ruiz, is throwing his weight (notice I'm leaving out the obvious cheap-shot) behind Design For The Future, a charity drive for under-privledged kids at the Orangewood Children's Home in Orange, California. Why is he doing this? Because Alex lived there as a teen and now he wants to give back. Please head over to Alex's site and read more and give what you can.

SolidWorks Certification exams for free...ugh.

So SolidWorks has extended their "get certified for free" deal until, effectively, the end of 2009. Ugh. I don't know why this bugs me, but it does. Maybe it's because when I originally took the CSWP exam, it was ~$500 and an 8 hour exam. Granted, my VAR at the time gave me a discount on the price, but not on the exam length. Somehow, this whole "free" thing, along with the shortened time, seems to lessen the certification process. When I retook the exam, as an AE, I noticed that the exam was easier. Yes, I'm sure the intervening years helped with my knowledge of SolidWorks, but there seemed to be less pressure, less angst, even though I had to get at least 90%.

I considered passing the CSWP (both times) a major milestone for me. It meant a lot to me to be able to say I was a CSWP. Not only did it show that I was quite proficient with SolidWorks, but it showed a dedication to it both in money and time.  Now it's free, easier and 1/3 the time.

I don't know, maybe I'm just grumpy. Maybe it's the TES (twitchy eyelid syndrome) I've been dealing with for a week. Maybe I'm just sleep deprived. Maybe I've been so swamped at work that I haven't been able to come up with a better blog post. Ugh.

SW 2009 - First Impressions

As I mentioned in a post last week, I finally have SolidWorks 2009 on my desktop. Unfortunately, the project I've been working on all these months just got shelved, so I was only able to mess around with the files a little before we archived. However, they're firing up another project and, it would appear, they're going to keep me around. This will provide me the opportunity to create a similar project, mostly from scratch, in 2009.

My first impression of 2009? Not too bad, but it's a first impression with limited use. The install went smoothly, I haven't had any template issues and nothing seems too amiss. I am developing a love/hate relationship with the dynamic sketch dimensioning. First, it didn't appear to work. Then I realized you had to tick the 'Keep Dimensions' box. Ok, no worries there, though not overly intuitive. However, between the dimensions and auto-relations, I keep getting sketches that are over-defined. I'm hoping it's just because I'm being an idiot and not one of those new features that are only half done. Time will tell.

Creating a sheet metal part from a solid is pretty slick. I created a semi-complex part and SolidWorks gave me a sheet metal part in no time. I've always been a proponent creating sheet metal parts as sheet metal from the get-go. With this new functionality, I could definitely see myself changing my stance. Again, time will tell.

While I opened up the "old" project's drawings in '09, and they did open faster, I really haven't gotten into any of the new functionality available. That will come in a few weeks when we start producing the drawings for the new project.

Currently, I'd give SolidWorks 2009 a 'B-'. I haven't experienced any of the issues I've seen reported elsewhere but, aside from the sheet metal improvement, I haven't seen anything Earth shaking either. The sad thing is I'll be at SolidWorks World in just a few weeks and on the last day we'll see a preview of SolidWorks 2010 which will only wet my appetite for all the new functionality.

Time will tell.