Scaling Ideate Automation in Your Organization

In the fast-paced world of business, staying ahead requires innovative thinking and efficient processes.

Ideate Automation has emerged as a powerful tool to streamline workflows and boost productivity across an organization.

Ensuring a Successful Implementation at Your Company

Scaling and managing Ideate Automation effectively can be a game changer for your company. In this blog post, we explore key tips to help you navigate the challenges and ensure a successful implementation across your entire organization. 

Tips for Scaling Ideate Automation:

1. Start with a Clear Vision and Strategy: Before diving into Ideate Automation, define your goals and expectations. Understand the specific pain points you aim to address and how Ideate Automation can enhance your workflows. A clear vision will guide your implementation strategy and ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
   
   Example: You have a list of models that need the same task performed, such as Model Health Checks or weekly PDF Exports. You can utilize our “Use File List” to perform the same task on the same list of models. Use Task “AUT-Generate_Revit_File_List” to generate a file list based on selected Revit files. The resulting .txt file can be used by other scripts that use the File List option. This enables you to reuse and update the same .txt list for other tasks.



Example: Some of your Revit models are big, and processing all the data is a time-intensive task for your machine. Keep your Workset naming consistent across your organization. Worksets are important when working in the Revit model as well as when running an Automated Task. What are Worksets? They are a portion of the file that can be opened and closed and managed independently to utilize less of your computer resources when you’re running a task. Run “AUT_Get_File_Data” and define your Workset conditions before running a task. 



Example: You need regular exports to PDF/DWG/NWC, but the Revit Sheet Sets are different every time, and they’re difficult to manage as Revit Sheet Set are static! We have the solution for you! Utilize our Dynamic publishing methods that utilizes Ideate BIMLink to generate a Dynamic Sheet Set via parameter value on the fly without altering your model. 



2. Prioritize Processes for Ideate Automation: Prioritize tasks that are repetitive, time-consuming, and prone to human error. Start with smaller, manageable processes to build confidence and gradually scale up to more complex workflows. While you are prioritizing tasks, review the time it takes to run a task and when it should run given the amount of information that needs to be processed. 

Example: You are running tasks on 100 models. Should these tasks be run at the same time? Keep in mind if task is triggered on these models, they will all get triggered based on their scheduled time. You should give some thought to staggering these tasks to allow your machine to run this effort. We recommend running tasks after hours and on weekends. Please review our Performance Tips that will ensure your Ideate Automation tasks are executed with speed and reliability to support your Revit workflows.
 

3. Identify Ideate Automation Champions: Identify and nurture champions within your organization. These individuals can act as advocates, driving enthusiasm and adoption of Ideate Automation initiatives among their peers. They can also be the ones that build tasks and monitor progress and ensure teams know that some of these tasks are automated for their specific projects and proper setup is in place. Working closely with someone in that project is helpful in setting up these tasks during project setup or when Ideate Automation adoption is taking place for this specific project. 

Example: Letting the team know that their model is being published regularly to BIM 360/ACC that aligns with their BIM execution plan, or that their PDF exports are being uploaded automatically weekly to BIM 360/ACC for submissions.
 

4. Training and Support: Our website contains extensive Help files, getting started guides, product documentation, workflow blogs posts, and educational videos. Empower your team with the skills needed to leverage Ideate Automation tools effectively.

We also have an exceptional technical team that is always available and ready to help and troubleshoot issues that come up on any tasks. Email: [email protected].

Training programs and workshops can help bridge knowledge gaps and ensure that employees feel confident using Ideate Automation tools in their daily tasks. Contact your Ideate Software account manager for questions related to training: [email protected].

How can you share scripts across machines? 

1. Execute a task on a local machine to verify smooth operation, schedule it, and then export the scheduled .xml task and import it for execution on a different machine.

2. You can reconstitute a script task when retrieving the log file. Go to line: “Command Line Input” in the log and copy everything starting from -t until the next timestamp item. Then you’re able to “Import Command” to review the variables within the Ideate Automation UI. Then proceed to running the task ad hoc or schedule it. 

Check out this link on more information on task sharing and reconstitution. 

Successfully scaling and managing Ideate Automation across your organization requires strategic thinking, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous improvement. By starting with a clear vision, involving diverse teams and investing in the right tools and training, you can harness the full potential of Ideate Automation to drive efficiency, innovation, and long-term success. With these specific tips, your journey to organizational efficiency through Ideate Automation becomes not just a goal but a reality with measurable and sustainable outcomes.