AutoCAD Web vs. Leap vs. Proposal Management and Production System (PMAPS)

AutoCAD 360 has multiple functionalities that adapt to circumstantial conditions. It has a focus on available tools at all times and deserves to be updated to be at the forefront of technological platforms. It is very useful in some aspects of functionality to have access to less dense and capable tools to develop environments and improve visualization.

Incentivized

Leap (formerly JobProgress) helped us automate and simply our processes. We chose it over competitors because we were able to customize it to the different service offerings we provided - other platforms seem to be designed for one type of service or another making them problematic. We were able to reduce the number of software providers we use and integrate others that we were using separately. It is designed well to track [potential] jobs, but it does not work well for tracking business development opportunities.

Incentivized

Do you need consistency of messaging across multiple countries/products/divisions/languages? Do you want to be able to tailor content access per team/division/country? Do you want to be able to report on/track use by user, document, searches, compliance, etc.? If so, PMAPS is the most versatile proposal management tool I've come across so far.

• Allows our entire design team to share and review information graphically in one location (cloud-based).
• Has the capability to fluidly interact with many other Autodesk software products.
• Being able to use AutoCAD 360 on the iPad is a great feature without having to install the software.

Incentivized

• Providing proposal viewing
• Allowing clients to accept proposal terms electronically
• Tracking project progress and payment status

Incentivized

• Searching for boilerplate material--PMAPS allows you to search by keywords, as well as filter by categories (e.g., implementation, training, company information, etc.) I set up all the categories, subcategories, audience types, etc. We used to spend a significant amount of time searching for previously written information, but now we can find it within seconds. I only use it to search for information stored within PMAPS, but you can also set it up to point at other places to search for information as well.
• Manage proposals--PMAPS has a dashboard that lists all of the proposals I'm working on as well as key information that I want to have available for each of them. You can decide what information you want to show on your dashboard (I use mine to show due date, production date, review date, salesperson for proposal, etc.) It is very convenient to have all of that information available at a glance. PMAPS also has a built-in calendar that will show you key dates for all of your proposals.
• Generate custom documents--PMAPS allows you to set up templates that you can use to generate documents. You can set up forms that allow yourself or other users to specify what information should be included in that document, and then PMAPS will generate the document based on how users respond to the questions (e.g., what references to include, what products to list, etc.).
• Word Replacement--PMAPS allows you to set up codes that will automatically be replaced with the correct term when you generate the proposal. For example, in our boilerplate information, any place where I would want the final proposal to say the prospect's name, I use the code <>. Those codes are automatically replaced with the prospect's name for that proposal when either I generate a document or when I simply select the icon that searches for and replaces codes.
• Easily edit boilerplate documents--PMAPS allows you to easily edit boilerplate information. You can select a document one at a time, or you can select a whole bunch of documents at once (simply by doing a search and/or filter to limit the results to the documents you want to edit) and download them onto your computer, edit, and then re-upload.
• Store material--PMAPS allows you to store Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF documents.

• It'd be nice to be able to use AutoCAD 360 to leave comments on peoples files, such as being able to annotate a certain part of it and mark it for review, so then its author can look at the note and make necessary changes.

Incentivized

• Reporting
• Deadlines on updates
• Lists populate differently (e.g., alphabetical vs. order they were created)

Incentivized

• There are times when I'm having a problem and I call the general line and have to leave a message and then wait for someone to call me back. I'd like to be able to speak with a live person every time.
• I'd like to see the program handle Excel documents with the ease that it handles a Word document.

This is so useful so we would like to keep renewing as Autocad 360 does. In fact we are very optimistic about the tools that come in every renewal because we will then have even more features available.

Incentivized

I have been a PMAPS user for over 5 years. I started on their client/server version and renewed/upgraded this past year to their cloud version, WebPro. When you have a good product that delivers all the bells and whistles you need, there is no need to go searching anywhere else. We have a great partnership with the PMAPS staff and find them very resourceful and appreciative of our business

Had to reach out to support several times because interface is not intuitive and help files are sparse

Incentivized

Although there are lots of alternatives to AutoCAD mobile on the Google play store and the app store, many of these alternatives are not professionally developed and are associated with shady developers. So there might be a privacy or security risk with the usage these alternatives. However, DWG FastView is a worthy competing alternative.

Incentivized

We evaluated close to ten other platforms including Dataforma, Job Nimbus, AccuLynx, Propeller, FCS, etc., but chose Leap (formerly JobProgress) because of the flexibility it offered - customize our service offerings and how jobs flow through our process, automation through the process, integration with other vendors, and ease of use for the office and field.

Incentivized

I did the vendor analysis and narrowed my selection to Qvidian (which I had used before) and PMAPS (which I had not). I've never regretted my choice. In ease of use alone, PMAPS wins hands down. We're able to use PMAPS when collecting intelligence from our Subject Matter Experts in ways that weren't possible with other tools.

• ROI is a bit low, because a lot of people are moving to Revit and BIM 360.
• Not all consultants use CAD so it makes it hard for compatibility.

Incentivized

• Multiple staff can access system in office and in the field
• Can measure project profitability
• Track follow up with prospective and current clients

Incentivized

• I don't have any actual ROI numbers readily available but I will say that compared to our last solution (a home-grown document repository), PMAPS has made every aspect of our business more efficient.
• One of our primary goals in procuring a vendor to provide a better solution was our increased need to become more consistent in our messaging, more relevant as things change, and more efficient in getting our user's the answers they need quicker. We accomplished all three.