Field crews assess and inventory trail conditions to estimate costs, prioritize tasks, and schedule maintenance work. However, manual data collection using notebooks and disparate tools made it hard to standardize, analyze, and act on the data.

Additionally, because this information was rarely synced to the central database, data quality became inconsistent across regions, leading to inefficiencies, tedious data entry efforts, and gaps in reporting. Without a streamlined digital solution, decision-makers struggled to access accurate, real-time data to inform resource allocation and long-term planning.

We took a user-first apprpoach, shifting away from the existing top-down method that prioritized high-level reporting requirements over field usability.

We developed our holistic approach through extensive user research, interviewing 24 users across 9 regions, to understand the specific pain points of both field crews and managers. In just three months, we developed a working prototype and conducted A/B field tests to refine usability. After nine months of iterataive design and testing, we delivered a robust soultion that directly supported agency staff, their volunteers and partners, and the general public.

Leveraging ESRI's suite of geospatial tools, we designed a multi-platform system tailored to field operations. This included a mobile app, a web map with dashboards, and a backend data-loading mechanism.

The mobile app streamlined data collection for agency staff, partners, and the public, ensuring efficiency and consistency. The Interactive web maps and dashboards provided real-time spatial insights, enabling informed decision-making by leadership. And our data-loading mechanism seamlessly synced collected data to the central database, maintaining accuracy. By focusing on user needs at each step of implementation, we delivered a system that streamlined workflows, reduced manual effort, and improved data accuracy.

We took a user-first apprpoach, shifting away from the existing top-down method that prioritized high-level reporting requirements over field usability.

We developed our holistic approach through extensive user research, interviewing 24 users across 9 regions, to understand the specific pain points of both field crews and managers. In just three months, we developed a working prototype and conducted A/B field tests to refine usability. After nine months of iterataive design and testing, we delivered a robust soultion that directly supported agency staff, their volunteers and partners, and the general public.

The launch of our solution received overwhelmingly positive feedback from trail crews and regional managers.

Key performance indicators, including a significant increase in data logged compared to previous years, high user satisfaction, and strong adoption rates, highlighted the solution's success and effectiveness.

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