Modern Land Management
The current and future state of our industry demands us to “do more with less.” The facts are that budgets are shrinking, the demand for throughput is
A wise teacher once told me to, “Start with what you know and go from there.” I have utilized this approach many times over in my career. Start small and look for low hanging fruit, such as repeated manual data entry tasks. Review and document the process with your team, define the challenge, understand the stakeholders, and elevate solutions. For example, there may be a way to aggregate data into a tool that uploads into the software every night. By documenting the man hours it takes to complete the manual data entry tasks on an annual basis and the automation that will eliminate those man hours, the business case is created and often garnishes the support of management in order to execute the automation opportunity. Leveraging resources, both internally and externally, can be a challenge. One of the best methods I’ve found to manage work is to define and organize it. Measuring throughput, establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and creating visibility are critical in resource allocation. One of the most effective, proven ways to accomplish this is to implement the Kan Ban methodology. Kan Ban creates visibility by naming all of the work that must be accomplished, then organizing it into categories, examples listed below: • Backlog: Name and define all of the known work that needs to be accomplished • Planned work: Work with deadlines that help prioritize • Work in Progress (WIP): Work that is expected to be completed • Parking Lot: Work that cannot be completed due to a roadblock
increasing, and information silos and role separation are becoming extinct. With great challenges, great opportunities lie ahead for land professionals to have more well-rounded and fulfilling careers. Leveraging technology, processes and resources to produce more, be more efficient, and gain a higher return on investment for your company or team doesn’t always take the expected path. Each of these tools have the ability to create the desired results, but not well, if wielded alone. Technology and software are excellent tools when used in conjunction with good data and the bigger picture. In this case, technology is defined as a collection of modern software and reporting platforms that create palatable data and effective quality control measures that are the platform for creating visibility and innovative tools to make our jobs easier. Evaluating whether a software solution can integrate with other systems or data warehouses is just as important as evaluating the user interface. When assessing software, be mindful of existing workflows, the development time for customization, the implementation of software updates, the server size needed for processing power, and last, but not least, the data import and export process. It’s important to understand how malleable the reporting process is and what it takes to customize or create reports generated from the software system and the format in which the data can be exported. Process improvement is something that I believe we’ve heard ad nauseum over the past few years. It can be overwhelming and a challenge but is absolutely necessary to success in this modern era.
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G rowth T hrough E ducat i on - J anuary / F ebruary / M arch 2023
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