By Trish Stansbury, Technology Consultant, Project Management Information Systems, Procon Consulting
Sometimes the best way to understand the impact of your work is to meet the people using it. Recently, that meant traveling more than 7,000 miles to Guam.
I made the trip with Andrea Boyd, PMIS Specialist / Professional II with Hana Engineers & Consultants, to lead several days of Kahua training for our partners at Andersen Air Force Base. Over three days, we worked with approximately 30 to 35 people in person, along with about 20 virtual participants joining from Kadena Air Base in Japan.
The sessions were highly interactive, with attendees working directly in Kahua, completing hands-on activities and asking plenty of questions. We also worked through user access issues and other challenges that come with a large technology rollout.
Being there in person gave us something even more valuable: the opportunity to hear directly from the people using the technology. Their questions and ideas gave us a list of feedback and follow-up items to bring back to the larger team.
On our final day, we trained the administrators who will support their colleagues moving forward. Seeing their enthusiasm for the platform was a great way to end the week.
A Little Time to Explore
When work takes you all the way to Guam, you make time to experience it.
After a 30-plus-hour travel day and about 12 hours on the island, Andrea and I kicked things off with a local 5K that ended on the beach.
Over the course of the trip, we explored the island, visited Two Lovers Point, experienced a serious tropical downpour, tried as many local food recommendations as we could and visited beaches where we found coral and even a purple starfish.
We also learned more than we expected to know about Guam’s infamous brown tree snakes and the efforts to control the invasive species. Despite seeing plenty of snake traps, our total snake sightings remained at a very welcome zero.
Where the Work Takes You
The trip was a reminder of something I value about working at Procon: you never quite know where the next project might take you.
Sometimes it means working directly with users and seeing firsthand how technology affects their day-to-day jobs. Sometimes it means bringing their ideas home and helping make the solution better.
And sometimes it means traveling halfway around the world with a great partner, sharing what you know, learning from the people you’re there to support and finding a little time to explore an incredible place along the way.
We came home with new ideas, new perspectives and plenty of photos. Not a bad week at work.
