How do you use SolidWorks? SolidWorks wants to know.

SolidWorks Corporation is continually looking at ways that they can improve the SolidWorks software, accompanying software, and your experience with using their software.  There are a variety of methods that SolidWorks uses to get this information from you, the user.

User Survey
Periodically SolidWorks will ask users to participate in, and answer questions via surveys.  Many of these surveys are directed towards particular areas of the software that are under review for potential change.  These surveys generally ask about your experiences in using the software, and for opinions on what improvements you would like to see in the software.  The results of this type of survey will help identify the areas of SolidWorks that people are interested in seeing improvements.

Customer Visit
The customer visit consists of a SolidWorks Product Specialist coming to your office to sit down with representative(s) from your company.  These visits last for a few hours and are directed at SolidWorks learning about your product development process, engineering processes, testing processes, approval processes, and so on.  The results of this type of meeting will help identify areas where SolidWorks may need to develop solutions that will help other areas of your engineering department.

Usability Studies
The purpose of these studies is to see how the user interacts with SolidWorks and understand the user’s thoughts while they are completing a series of tasks.  These studies also reveal user’s responses to various feedback that the software presents to the user.  During these studies, users sit down in front of a computer, and are directed to complete some relatively simple tasks.  While completing these tasks, users are asked to verbalize what they are doing and thinking.  During this study, there is someone from SolidWorks overseeing what you are doing, and how you are using SolidWorks.  If you are having trouble, they can guide you thru completing the task.  These sessions are recorded and are evaluated back at SolidWorks.  You will typically see the results of these studies in the next major release of SolidWorks. 

Consulting Visits
These visits are more in depth, and can last 1 to 5 days.  During these visits, SolidWorks personnel come to your workplace, sit down with you and see how you use the software.  These visits are beneficial for both SolidWorks and the customer because SolidWorks gains insight on how you use the software and any issues you are having, and your employees have an opportunity identify problems they are experiencing, or improvements they would like to see.  These visits also offer the opportunity for your users to learn about some features that they have not had the opportunity to learn otherwise. 

SolidWorks is very serious about understanding the needs of their customers and providing functionality that makes their job easier. To that end, SolidWorks personnel complete dozens of customer visits each year.  The support for this program goes all the way to the top of the company.  Jeff Ray, CEO, has also participated in some of these customer visits.

A Recent Customer Visit
Right before posting this blog, the company I work for was visited by Sal Lama of the Product Definition Group at SolidWorks Corporation.  This was a 3 day customer visit where Sal spent a half day with each of our 3 engineering groups.  Our marketing director also took advantage of this visit by talking with Sal and learning about additional SolidWorks products they could obtain that allow them to use SolidWorks documents for Sales and Marketing purposes.  On the third day, after a couple more discussions with other people in our engineering department, we held an “Open Discussion” and lunch where Sal demonstrated some of the SolidWorks features that could help improve our productivity.

As a CAD Administrator and PDM Administrator, I took some time to show Sal some of the issues I have faced as an experienced SolidWorks user, how I provide tips and tricks to other users, macros I have created to simplify tasks, and experiences and suggestions I have after a recent integration of PDMWorks Enterprise (now Enterprise PDM).

Near the end of this visit, I noticed that Sal had quite a lot of data to bring back to SolidWorks.  I also know that I, and fellow employees, have learned some good tips on using SolidWorks.  This visit has already had immediate benefit for SolidWorks and our company.  Once SolidWorks has reviewed this data, along with data from many more companies, the benefits will continue in current and future development of SolidWorks and its accompanying software.

You Can Participate!
1. If you get an email about a SolidWorks Survey, or see a web link or a blog mentioning a SolidWorks survey, please take the time to fill out the survey and provide feedback to SolidWorks.
2. At SolidWorks World, when you have some spare time (about 1 hour) find the usability study booth (usually in the Vendor Pavilion) and ask how you can participate.  I recommend setting up an appointment early because the schedule can fill up quickly.
3. Again, at SolidWorks World, if someone asks you to participate in a customer survey, please take the time (about 1 hour) to talk with them.
4. At any SolidWorks sponsored event, if you hear a SolidWorks representative talking about customer visits, please give them one of your business cards with the words “Customer Visit” written on the back.  SolidWorks will then contact you to set up a visit.

Each of these situations provides you the opportunity to provide feedback to SolidWorks that could have an impact in current and future product development at SolidWorks Corporation.

Comments

[Brian]

Hey Lenny, great post. I had a Customer Visit a couple of years ago at my previous employer (we are scheduled to have one at my current employer next week!), and I think that we benefited from it...maybe even more than SolidWorks!

I would say that if there is anyone out there whose company is having any issues with SolidWorks making them bend to use the software, that they should request a Customer Visit. Let your voice be heard!

[Lenny Kikstra]

One of the advantaves of the customer visit is there are opportunities both SolidWorks and the customer to see an immediate benefit from the visit. In the future, both SolidWorks and the customer will see additional benefits as features are added or improved within SolidWorks and accompanying software.

[Steve_calvert]

Great write up, Lenny. I had a customer visit at the end of August this year and it was very informative. They didn't care that I was still using SW2006. I got to ask questions but mostly they wanted to see how I interface with my Engineers and how I do my job. It was kind funny that one of the first questions out of their mounths was about Seimens new syncronous technology. What I thought of it and how would it make it's way in to mainstream modeling efforts

Steve

[Doug]

Is it in their best interest right now with all the problems with 2009?

[Lenny Kikstra]

These visits are not limited to those companies that are currently using SolidWorks 2009. The company I work for is still using SolidWorks 2008, and I have heard of a recent visit to a customer who was still using SolidWorks 2007.

These visits are geared toward seeing how each company uses SolidWorks in a production environment and for product development. SolidWorks is also interested in seeing where oter SolidWorks tools may be in use, and how. They can also help identify what SolidWorks tools (that you may already own) may be helpful to how you do your work.

SolidWorks is not only looking at improving products that thay are already develop, but to also "discover" what other tools companies may benefit from if SolidWorks were to develop or invest in.

I would refer to these visits as multi-level exploration and discovery of various engineering environments and processes while looking for opertunities to provide better tools to enhance the productivity SolidWorks products and these engineering departments.