LivLive Ep. 0000016 - Brad Novak

In this episode of LivLive, host Dave Pollard reconnects with Brad Novak, a longtime colleague who recently moved into a Senior IT Manager role at HOK in Atlanta, supporting multiple offices across the Southeast. Brad shares what it looks like to run technology inside a global architecture firm — from supporting teams day-to-day to scaling systems across regions and offices.A major thread of the conversation is the often-overlooked backbone of great project delivery: standards. Dave and Brad dig into why file naming, folder structure, layer standards, and consistent templates aren’t just “admin” work — they create clarity, enable automation, reduce errors, and make onboarding dramatically easier. They reflect on the systems they built together earlier in their careers (including AutoCAD automation and later Revit implementation) and why those habits matter even more as firms grow and collaborate across teams, offices, and consultants.The episode also touches on how shared language and process (internal acronyms and “how we do things here”) becomes part of a firm’s culture — reinforcing consistency and reducing friction across design and production teams.Listeners will learn:What Brad does as a Senior IT Manager at HOK, including supporting multiple offices across a regionWhy standardization (not just software) is a major driver of efficiency in architecture and production environmentsHow file naming and folder structure create clarity, reduce mistakes, and make work easier to automateWhy naming conventions extend beyond files to groups, servers, and even physical stations in a networked environmentHow strong standards become “invisible” over time — and why that’s the goalHow AutoCAD automation (e.g., routines that depend on layer names) only works when standards are enforcedThe Revit-side equivalent: why naming families, components, and standards matters—especially when consultants are involvedHow process language (internal acronyms like IFP / PPR) reinforces culture and consistent deliveryWhy mentorship and onboarding improve when teams can rely on a consistent system