The Department of Defense manages training ranges throughout the country. More recently, they have worked to reduce disruption to neighboring communities and protect environmental or culturally sensitive areas on their training ranges. To do this more efficiently, they asked us to help create an electronic system for filing land management reports, necessary for tracking this effort.
We wanted to understand land management reporting from those who do the work. The client felt range personnel probably wouldn’t want us there or be able to help us very much, but we finally convinced them to let us talk directly to range staff about their needs and how reporting activities fit into their other duties.
We rode around the ranges with them, watched them perform daily land management tasks, asked questions about their work, talked about the reporting tool and what they might need. No script, just a few goals in mind, and plenty of impromptu conversations that started with the question, “What are you doing?” or “What’s that?”
Instead of being annoyed, the staff at every range appreciated our interest and liked having someone ask them about their work and their needs before making another new tool. They were planners, not talkers, so actions made a big impression with them. Range staff don’t typically communicate their concerns up the chain of command, but they trusted our approach and gave us unfiltered feedback. They said every new tool meant more work for them and mostly served as a way for central command to monitor them. Handing down more tools without consulting with range staff showed a lack of trust and respect.