Choosing the best CAD/BIM tool for the job

Choosing the best CAD/BIM tool for the job is an infinite endeavor...

All over the world, in all spheres and industries we find a few universal or burning questions that repeatedly comes up exactly the same, decade after decade, year after year. 

I recently stumbled across a video on YouTube trying to answer one such question that keeps burning up the minds, screens and internet lines of Architects and Engineers in the AEC Industry.

"Revit vs ArchiCAD - Which is Better?!?"

This YouTube video was posted July 2018 and to date has 270+ comments (the number of views are not really important). The fact that the video fails to even attempt to answer the question was disappointing. 

What is important and valuable to me in this conversation though, is the common thread in what people are saying in these comments. ​

No matter in what field of the AEC Industry we work or where our products or services fits into a project lifecycle. We all have to find the answer to this key question: "which software will be the best CAD/BIM tool for the job I have to do"

But is this the correct question to ask? Well let's see if we can find some answers that would make some real sense.

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The video topic aims to do 2 things: 1. compare Revit & ArchiCAD and 2. answer the question "Which is Better?"
My short answer is:

1. Revit & ArchiCAD are similar but also very different software. But their differences actually make it impossible to compare "apples-to-apples" (if we are honest with ourselves). They are not made to be or do the same.
2. Better at what? Both Revit & ArchiCAD are better at some things and not so good at other things. They were made to be different for reasons guided by their makers. Software is a "take-it-or-leave-it" kind of deal. Unless you want to hack into it (which would be illegal) or develop your own legal AIP. [again: choices]...

Life, work, play, is about choices: 
Even in choosing software, we have to honestly consider both the objective (facts only) perspective and the subjective (personal opinion / emotional) perspective.

Both Autodesk Revit and GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD are well capable software with functionality to design, document, specify, visualize, schedule & manage data and collaborate with on projects of all sizes and complexity. Choosing one that suits your specific requirements is still something you must do, so due effort will be required. But that is not the end all.
​
The nature of any software (not only BIM capable software) is that 1. it is created / designed to deliver SPECIFIC functionality to whoever uses it, in a SPECIFIC way and 2. it is bound to evolve and change. We can not really change the way it was designed in the first place (unless we hack into it, which would be illegal). For the general user (beginner, intermediate or advanced) the software offers an interface to the functionality and we have to learn to understand how it works so that we can get the most from it. It's a matter of "take-it-or-leave-it", the choice is open to each individual or company. Most professional software vendors even offer "API" Application programming interface for those to build their own custom functionality on top of the standard software. ​

Maybe choosing software is not all that important as we think.
Choosing software is only the beginning. 

Software is just tools, so is our knowledge of and practical skills in a field, our time and other resources available to us.

So I say each of us have to choose what works best for what we have to do today / tomorrow. There is no correct or wrong answers here. Whatever you choose for whatever reason or purpose, that would be the correct choice, FOR YOU (or your company or project). 

If for some reason you made an error in judgement at that time or new software versions brought changes to how you must work, you could simply adjust along the way. Again you would have a choice in this instance and you will learn valuable lessons along the way. You will improve by experience and your choices will deliver better, more efficient results for your desired outcome. 

In my view there is a MUCH MORE IMPORTANT question/s we should be asking ourselves: 

• what is the best I can do / offer with the software / tools I currently have? and
• what or how should I, my tools or offering change to become better and offer more value?

To me, this will contribute more to the value I create in a field and this (among other aspects) means that I will continually aim and grow to become a master of any tool my job / project requires for it's best outcome.

Being a BIM Consultants with practical project expertise & insight on the implementation of both Revit and ARCHICAD (+other BIM/CAD tools), I have seen what a challenge it could be for most users to make sense of the wide variety of info to consider in their decisions about moving their businesses forward. ​

For AEC Professionals and the future of Buildings, ONE THING is certain...
moving from a 2D CAD to a 3D BIM workflow is a no-brainer.

In the end it always comes back to each individual / company taking the bold step and make a decision on how, when and where to start and JUST GO FOR IT. Make your best possible choice and live with the consequence.
It will be ok. Especially if you have help or are willing to ask for help. You do not need to do this all by yourself. There are people you can trust to give you honest answers that is in your best interest and not in their's.

It is important to remember that this is a journey for all of us, not a destination. One specific tool will never solve all our future problems or satisfy our or our client's needs. The only thing that is certain is that things will keep changing and we will have to adapt to all the changes and the challenges we face in work and life. ​

In your own evolution in BIM, you will end up working with both Revit and ARCHICAD + others
and by that time you will mature to working in OpenBIM with IFC as deliverable.

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Let me clarify the statement I make above: 
If you participate in a BIM Project, you will definitely work with (not necessarily in) both Revit and ARCHICAD.

click to enlarge

A BIM Project is a collaborative process and has gone past the point of the very first concept design 2D drawings or 3D Model for the project by the Architect. Once the collaborative process on a BIM Project has started, all design professionals will by necessity interact with each other's different files integration, software formats and workflows. (Be sure to understand that there is more to a "BIM Project" than a project designed using a "3D Model". (refer to https://bimdictionary.com)

By this time all project 3D and meta data will be shared among the team in an OpenBIM workflow with IFC as the common language. Your Revit or ARCHICAD then just takes on the role of an authoring tool with which to achieve the end goal of the final product form of IFC.

.	Conceptual Design	Visualization	Detail Design & Documentation	Co-ordination & Clash Detection	Take-off & Cost​	​Tender & Construction	FM Handover
ARCHICAD	YES	​YES	​YES	​YES	YES	YES	YES
​Revit Architecture	​YES	​YES	YES	​YES	YES	​YES	​YES

Note: For the purpose of this article, the table above is:

• merely show that both Revit & ARCHICAD provides functionality to participate in all typical project phases, 
• an extreme simplification and no reflection of exact what these both two software are capable of, 
• also does not consider how each software enables different roles of people taking part in the process of a BIM Project.
• and that both Revit & ARCHICAD must be properly considered in the full ecosystems they are or will be part of.

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For people that are serious about finding answers about moving from 2D to BIM and to choose between Revit or ARCHICAD, at least there are enough feedback from active users of both Revit and ARCHICAD readily accessible. From all that you can get a good overview of what working with these are like in an active workflow. That is if you are willing to spend the time listening, watching, reading and sifting through it all. Most people do not have the time or patience to actually do that. 

To make the decision about "Revit or ARCHICAD?" or "2D CAD or 3D BIM?" we all have 2 routes we could take to get to answers on these matters:
1. low level research:

• go by our gut feel, 
• just run a trail and get started or 
• ask a buddy

2. consider all the factors that could affect your business:

• cost (long & short term)
• software functionality
• hardware requirements (impacts on startup and future cost)
• usability & performance
• initial training and continued learning
• setup, templates and office standards
• collaboration & co-ordination of project drawings & data
• access to effective local and high level tech support (in-house, consultancy & vendor)
• possible client / project specific requirements
• future business growth objectives
• needed changes to the business / workflows and resources to address the new technologies

(the business and work of being an AEC Professional has changed a lot in the past 10-15 years!)

In closing I want to leave you with this: No matter what you choose, the faster you can start the journey to switch to full BIM workflow, the faster you can learn from the process and adjust to reach your objective for success.

We would love to also help you to navigate BIM to the best benefit of your design practice and projects.