Interview: A Dozen Question's with Autodesk's Karen Mason ...
Kung Fu Drafter
It sure has been a long time since we've had a Dozen Questions post here at Kung Fu Drafter. When we realized this, we thought that we should remedy it in short order. So it was off to our rolodex of very important CAD personalities to decide on whom to contact. We realized that what we really wanted to do was really get down into the heart of AutoCAD.
When you've been using AutoCAD as long as we have, you undoubtedly develop an appreciation for the interface. In some ways, it seems that the interface hasn't changed since the days of R10. Still, the interface remains at the forefront of design and interface. So ... who is doing all that interface design and how? With those questions under our belt, we contacted our Karen Mason, Kung Fu Friend and Interaction Designer for AutoCAD.
Kung Fu Drafter: How long have you been a Product Designer and exactly what you do?
Karen Mason: We recently changed our titles to Interaction Designer. I’ve been designing AutoCAD for 5 years. I review new feature requirements created by Product Management and figure out a design solution. My goal is to make the user's interaction as simple and efficient as possible. My favorite designs are ones that people don’t even recognize as being new- they just think it always worked that way.
KFD: What sort of background and education does someone need to become a Product Designer?
KM: I’m a “domain expert”. That means that I have experience using AutoCAD in the field vs. an education in Human Computer Interaction or Computer Science. My education is in design (graphic/interior). Prior to joining Autodesk in 1996, I used to do interior design at architectural firms for offices, medical facilities, banks, restaurants, etc. The first version of AutoCAD that I used was release 2.6. And at Autodesk, prior to designing AutoCAD, I tested AutoCAD (Releases R14 – 2007).
KFD: Do you create elements or code from scratch? Or do they come from other departments?
KM: I don’t write any code. I mock-up the interface, generally using Photoshop, and write design documents that explain the interaction. Software development writes the code.
KFD: At what stage of a product’s design cycle do you participate in?
KM: All stages from planning the next release (before we’ve shipped the current release) to conceptual design, design development, implementation and final stages of system testing. There’s always something to design or re-design (even decisions to be made about bug fixes).
KFD: What Autodesk products have you been a part of?
KM: I’ve mainly worked on the AutoCAD team (R14 to 2012). I’ve also worked on AutoCAD LT, some vertical products, and some products that don’t exist anymore.
KFD: What are some of the normal tasks and obstacles that you face each week?
KM: Really depends on what stage the project is in. Early stages- defining or clarifying the user requirements and determining feature scope. Later stages- when development can’t build it as designed and we need to change the design.
KFD: Does being a Product Designer require more of an artist or a code geek?
KM: I would say neither (or maybe a little of both). ;-) It helps to have a good knowledge of AutoCAD and its design patterns.
KFD: What is your reaction to end-users who complain that Autodesk products are “buggy” and/or “unfinished”?
KM: I think AutoCAD is much more stable than when I used it (R2.6- R13). We put a lot of time and effort into making sure we don’t ship a “buggy” product. And with the internet, if there is a problem, it’s a lot easier and faster to get fixes to the customers.
KFD: Do you think that an annual release cycle is a benefit to end users?
KM: That’s a loaded question. If you like/need the new features, then I think it would be absolutely great to get a new release annually (instead of having to wait 2 or 3 years like the old days). Many times the most helpful features are very small improvements. I can’t believe whenever I go back to older releases and don’t have simple things like command line AutoComplete or multi-functional grips.
KFD: How has the mobile computing craze affected your work?
KM: I think the mobile stuff is really cool, and we now coordinate with the AutoCAD WS & AutoCAD WS Mobile team.
KFD: What do you think the future of CAD will be like?
KM: I can imagine that one day we won’t download AutoCAD software and we just use an online service. I still remember when we used to have to install email or banking programs, and now it’s mainly online.
KFD: If you were a Smurf and you couldn’t be blue, what color would you be and why?
KM: Do I have to be a smurf? Can I be Oblio instead (from the Land of Point), because sometimes it’s good to not conform to society.
Hey, here at Kung Fu Drafter we are all about the non-conformity. That being said we think that we are going to pass on having walking around with a traffic cone on the head. But that whole running around with no pants isn't so terrible an idea ...
- KFD -
Image credits: James Sawyer and Autodesk
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