OK, Time to share with you the survey results. But before I start. Thank you all for participating. We had about 90 responses and I am quite sure that it was not the same person responding 90 times. We have had around 4000 page views and average around 75 page views per day. (A good start but I hope to do better.)
So without further delay these are the questions and responses:
Q1
Q2
This one is about the info you want when we highlight a product. I am still going through the answers and will provide more info soon (I hope).
Q3
Q4
Q5 - Please list some of your favorite add-ins for Revit.
For me this is the big one. You listed all the products you used. If it was clear that they were add-ins I tabulated them and then I found links to the products on the web so you can go and find each one of these products. I did the best that I could with the links but for some I was not very successful. I will continue to highlight the products below and many more that I have on a regular bases. BTW - Given the small number of responses I would not recommend you assess the popularity of add-ins based on the number of responses.
|
Product Name and Link |
Number of Users |
|
7 |
|
|
In-House/Custom Solutions |
7 |
|
6 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
RDB link |
3 |
|
Google earth |
3 |
|
3 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
Solar Radiation Tool |
2 |
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
Revit Lookup |
2 |
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
space naming |
2 |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Freeze Window |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
Bentley Synch |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Filter-It |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Energy Analysis (Project Vasari) |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
visibility ref plane |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
door properties |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
I am very interested in your thoughts on the results. Is there anything that you find surprising? Are there any other questions you want us to ask?
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A study on price/benefit would be interesting. Its surprising that some of the "free" plug-ins are not higher in the list - like Worksharing Monitor.
Some Plug-ins are very expensive and may not be used very often, even though they would be invaluable on those few occasions - unfortunately the development costs force the price up to a prohibitive level for most users to purchase (there is one in the list with only 2 votes that is something many users have been screaming for in core Revit for 10 years - every architect would buy it if affordable).
Interesting that Family Browser is right up there - it obviously fills a vital need (probably gets used every single day by those that have it). It is very affordable too. Now I need to make time to download a trial version . . .
One of the issues with plug-ins is that they require a lot of management in a large office - the BIM managers have to ensure that all users have the right version, synchronise with Revit releases, adequate support and troubleshooting etc. This only becomes worthwhile if they perform a very distinct function with a clear benefit. Sometimes they are just not worth the hassle, even if useful. This is one of the reasons why users want some of these Apps to be incorporated into core Revit.
Posted by: Tim Waldock | February 24, 2011 at 05:07 PM
Tim - You bring up some good points. The correlation between usage and cost would be an interesting data point but we would need around 3000 replies. I hope to run the survey again in about a year and I should have 3000 responses by then ;0
The point about add-in cost is an interesting point. We have a developer in Japan that develops a product called Building Shadow Calculation http://www.gsa-network.com/products/bsc/image.html . It sells for $3000 and does well. People believe it delivers value to them.
I have agreed before in responses that some capabilities should be part of Revit. I will just say remember AutoCAD and leave it at that.
As for the issues of dealing with the installation, use and management of add-ins, I think it is worth a post so I will add it to my list.
Posted by: Emile Kfouri | February 24, 2011 at 07:43 PM