Today is the last full day of AU. Tomorrow the conference will end at noon. That’s just the on site conference. The AU team has continued to out do themselves with many different ways to participate after leaving Vegas.

Yesterday was my longest day here. I had a 15+ hour day. I attended some great classes.

Tuesday I was really disappointed because I had signed up for Matt Dillon’s class on Revit families. This is one area that I really need to see in person or get help with because it is the most important aspect of Revit and I don’t feel that I have a handle on it yet from just reading tutorials and books. I arrived at the class and there was a sign that the class was full, though no one stopped me from going in the door. When I got inside the huge ballroom every seat appeared to be taken and the walls were lined with people. The only spot to stand was right in front of the door. I stood there a few minutes but could see that this wasn’t going to work.

I also didn’t mention that on Tuesday I had volunteered through AUGI to help with the Birds of a Feather lunch. My duty was to encourage everyone table by table to complete the game cards and to collect the completed cards. I didn’t know what I was in for!

My feet were so tired after walking several times all over what I believe was a parking garage converted to our meal area. A real bonus was that I met a user from India that I had corresponded with and helped during my time on the AUGI BOD. I’ll save that story for another blog post. Those are the things that really make a difference.

Last night I attended a reception and heard about the direction of Autodesk into the HVAC fabrication field with EastCoast CAD. I can’t talk about it, but it was very interesting and I met some folks from my own back yard and had some good discussion about their situation. I love learning how different users do different things.

After that I went straight to the AutoCAD usability study. They could not thank me enough times for coming! The day before I had done a web usability study.

If you are wondering what usability study is, it basically is a way to capture how and why you do things to help the direction of whatever the usability study is. So when I did the web study I had someone asking me questions and someone writing down notes as I showed them why I visit the Autodesk website and what I do there.

At the AutoCAD usability study I used the beta product and went through a 68 page book. You didn’t have to complete the whole book and could leave whenever you wanted, but I guess that shows what a geek I really am because not only did I complete the entire book and three surveys online, but I also participated in one on the other side of the room relating to the desktop shortcuts and how you launch the program. I spent an entire 2 hours doing both and ended at 9:00 PM. I was exhausted and hadn’t managed to fit in dinner yet so picked up some take out food from the food court to take to my room and had a quick bite before collapsing into bed.

I believe strongly in beta testing and usability. How else would Autodesk know what to do for us if we don’t participate in these programs?

Today I am leading an unconference topic on the same topic as my class. It dawned on me that I should’ve mentioned that in class too. From talking with some other attendees there was a lot of confusion on how to register for these. I’m hoping this won’t affect the attendance.

Tonight is the 1982 party. I am not a party person and the 80’s were not my time and I never got into any of the music or entertainment of the time. Normally I try to participate in all things at AU, but this time I decided to opt out of this one. I’m sure there will be lots of photos, videos, and coverage in blogs on it to review later. We are going to the Las Vegas Speedway for some laps around the track in an Indy car. That’s my Christmas present to my husband.

Tomorrow I have one long class that will last until noon. It is on Windows Vista, something I need to learn.

If you’re attending AU, I hope you are getting as much out of the experience as I am. If you are not here, I hope you will be able to attend next year.