Learning Your Software

Remember when you bought that flashy new irrigation or landscape design software? And how you promised yourself that you were going to sit down and read the guidebook from cover to cover? About four pages into it you had to stop and ask yourself: What is all of this technical stuff about anyway?

Well, training can help to guide you to the shortcuts and tricks that make the software easy to integrate into your design office routines. Many people overlook training when developing the budget to move to an automated design system. You may consider the purchase of a new computer, a new printer and the cost of the software – but what if you get these tools and you are unable to figure them out or get the efficiencies of these new design tools? Training should be an integral part of the budgeting process at the purchase of the new system as well as ongoing training in order to take advantage of the maximum benefit. I have to agree that it may not be something that you are used to having someone train you on new procedures and methods of utilizing the software but the advantages far out weigh the costs.  As an example I have had a number of students say in my class, “If I only would have known this earlier, I can’t imagine the money and time I would have saved.” This is typically for just one task. By the end of the class, the notepad is filled with new timesavers.

Training Options
There are a number of opportunities and methods for training.  Attend your trade organization’s trade shows as more and more are sponsoring educational seminars for their members that include discussion on software, procedures and tricks for better production. These presentations are typically focused for the general audience, and you may not find the specific answer that you are in search of.

For a more focused level of training on the specific software that you have selected for your operation you may want to attend a regional training session that may be in a city near you.  These types of classes typically have up to 10 students in them and can range from two to three days long. These days are typically filled with product-specific tips and tricks as well as an opportunity for you to ask specific questions on problems that you may have experienced. This is also a good opportunity to share your ideas or experiences with the software that you may have encountered. I typically find that the students bring many good ideas to share as well as challenges for the instructor to solve.

You may also want to consider an on-site training service. This training option provides a very focused approach to the specific problems and questions that you are experiencing with the design software. I also find that this is a good opportunity for the instructor to identify any hardware problems or configuration issue that can help the designer maximize the use of the software. I find this also works well for the instructor to see your design process and recognize areas where the design software can be integrated. This is also a great opportunity for the instructor to see the level of output that you have been providing by hand and then customize the design software to match your current graphical standards such as title pages, plant legends, font styles and your company logo.  You can expect to have fees for the instructor that include service time as well as travel expenses.

With high-speed Internet connections such as DSL and Cable modems, the ability to train live over the Internet has become a very cost-effective option. With the use of special software, an instructor can take control of your computer and then have the audio portion utilizing a speakerphone or headset phone and conduct training without any travel costs. You can also have employees at different locations tune into the class and reduce travel costs for them as well. A number of my clients have utilized this service and have used the money they would have spent for travel for more training. The training environment is a little different, and typically training is limited to one or two hours at one sitting – as the training can be intense at times. This type of training is also valuable for refresher training or adding a few of those specific problems that you may be encountering.

As you can see, there are many options for training, and based on budgets and expected results you will need to decide which method is best for you.

The main thing that I cannot stress to you enough is to plan ahead. Just as you dislike walking onto a site and wishing you had been part of the grading layout process for the site or had a say in where to stub out the irrigation supply line, I dislike the situation of walking into a client’s office only to find that he or she has selected a piece of software that may not provide the desired results.

The author is owner of Evergreen Solutions and can be reached at tim.smith@egreensolutions.com. Evergreen Solutions is an independent consulting firm -- located in Dubuque, Iowa -- focusing on the technology needs of the Landscape Architect and Green Industry Professional throughout the United States and Canada.