Likelihood to Recommend Revit is well suited for creating collaborative projects that are fully integrated into the design and construction document process. We work a lot with engineering firms who also use Revit and the program allows us to fully integrate and coordinate our models together to make sure that everything is correct. I can see where my electrical engineer has placed lighting into the model and same with my mechanical engineer and their HVAC equipment
Read full review WorkflowMax is very well suited for a business that wants to track time billed by project, to have an easy way to generate invoices for those projects, and to keep track of overall productivity and invoice status. I imagine it can also be adapted to different types of businesses that deal in goods rather than services and time. I am not sure for which scenarios or businesses the program is not appropriate.
Read full review Pros 3D Models - It's kind of a no brainer, but the key benefit of Revit is its ability to model in 3D. It's a somewhat complex modeling environment, however, it's not impossible to learn and I have seen users from a range of abilities to effectively model content in Revit. Schedules - 3D is great, but the ability to quantify your geometry is contains valuable data if modeled correctly. If you model how you will build it, Revit has the ability to give very accurate schedules which includes quantities, and any data you would like to incorporate into your model. Industry Standard - Revit is the industry standard. With that being said, it really help to use software that is compatible with other agencies for collaborative model review. Read full review You can customize the notifications and this has helped us enormously to schedule dates that we overlooked. Also the templates are customizable which gives the company its own branding on its reports. It is integrated with the Xero platform which makes it very useful to streamline the processes of billing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, petty cash flow and all the accounting and administrative area. It also has a very complete mobile version, where we can be present and monitor the progress of projects in real time, no matter where we are. Inés Prieto R&D / Product Development Engineer - Quality
Read full review Cons There are often several ways to draw certain things, but the object will have different capabilities based on the way it is drawn. This can be confusing when trying to use the object. The way objects are drawn is not always user-friendly. This program would be difficult for someone to figure out on their own without having any Autodesk background. There should be a better way to track changes in the model. Often times the architect will not share a model during construction to avoid sending changes that aren't finalized or complete. Read full review Currently the timesheet function allows staff to input time for overlapping periods which can cause some headaches when it comes to payroll and invoicing. We understand this is being addressed. The amount of flexibility in the product can create some challenges when setting up the jobs database at the onset. It is a daunting challenge but worthwhile when completed correctly and rolled out across the firm. Adding new jobs is much easier. No search function to find a specific job, you have to scroll through all jobs allocated to you. Read full review Likelihood to Renew We will almost certainly be renewing all of our current seats of Revit and will likely be adding seats as we look to get more and more of our staff trained and using Revit. The software is starting to become the standard for our projects as we move forward as more and more of our clients are requesting or accepting use of it
Read full review Because we can't imagine being without it!
Read full review Usability It is a professional environment, but far from easy and overly complex in many places. The system is often too deep in settings and overrides (see Visibility/Graphics in combination with linked files, filters, color overrides and view templates). I don't really like the dialog-in-dialog interface and its spartan looks. But it works well overall if you know what you are doing.
Read full review It's easy to use and provides me with instant online access to the management of my business whether I am at my desk or overseas
Read full review Reliability and Availability Revit seems to always be available when I need it. I have not experiences an outage. There are occasions where we need our internal IT department to trouble shoot a file on our Revit dedicated server and that sometimes causes a delay however that is not a software access issue
Read full review Performance Revit is a fairly graphics heavy piece of software. It is powerful in its capabilities but as a result it takes a lot of the graphics card, the memory, etc. For all that it can do and the specs of my computer I find it pretty good from a performance standpoint
Read full review Support Rating Autodesk has always had a good support system in place. There is a massive user base for Revit, and there are thousands of forum threads and other discussions online about any and every problem that you could ever run into. For being such a large program with so many different options, there aren't many roadblocks or pitfalls that users can fall into.
Read full review The support team are excellent. The only downside is that you can't phone them!
Read full review In-Person Training The training was Revit Essentials and it was very beneficial. I would say that it is best to get the training right before you know you will be using Revit as learning the basis then applying what you learned immediately is the most effective and best value for your money.
Read full review Online Training The online training is hit or miss. I feel that its better to be live to be able to pace and ask questions to a live person as you are learning hwo to do things. Its not natural to learn Revit especially if you know AutoCAD so my suggestion is the live training
Read full review Implementation Rating Implementing Revit as your main drafting software (i.e. moving to BIM from CAD) may be a tough decision if you have learned drafting. It is a different way to approach and think about developing a project. However, if you are able to adapt to a new way of thinking and get used to it by working through a few projects than it is as efficient as CAD in most areas in general and will also be both better/worse in some areas
Read full review Decide how to breakdown your ongoing jobs - are they monthly recurring or annual broken into chunks? What are you going to give clients i.e. how will your proposals and invoices look?
Read full review Alternatives Considered Revit like
AutoCAD can produce both a 3d model & 2 dimensional drawings such as plans, elevations & sections which are required for any design project to be communicated on paper for construction. But unlike
AutoCAD , Revit's focus is to build a 3d model that contain smart information for construction. So for Revit the 2 dimensional drawings becomes a byproduct. In addition to the required drawings needed on paper to communicate the design, Revit offers so much more information in the model for all engineering disciplines.
Read full review WorkflowMax is much much easier than Streamtime, much more affordable and easier to try out and see if it meets your needs. Streamtime is a great comprehensive product but we lost a year's subscription in investment because we couldn't get answers to the support questions we needed and they had a no refund policy!
Read full review Scalability While I am not directly involved with the deployment of Revit, it seems that our internal IT department has appreciated the ability to increase or decrease the number of seats. I have never had an issue with the deployment if and when needed, especially regarding the availability of a set
Read full review Return on Investment It's positive. It saves quite a bit of field time when used correctly, and lets us make sure we have proper room for all equipment and ductwork. Helping minimize field 'thinking' time is an immediate add to the bottom line. 1 guy designing on the front side saves down time of 5-10 guys waiting in the field. Cost savings on labor is apparent. Coordination time is also cut down, saving on office time. It's easy to spell out what your plan of attack is. All these savings directly add to bottom line profit by not expending labor. Read full review Max enables Loan Assistant to invoice very quickly and easily and integration with Xero for card payments brings our cashflow forward. Max enables the Loan Assistant team to manage their workflow in an efficient and productive way. The team all work from home. It is the centre of our Loan Assistant universe. Read full review ScreenShots