Corporate Memory: Lessons Learned from Innovative Human Factors Researchers

Lessons learned from experienced researchers can provide an invaluable resource for any organization. The purpose of this project was to interview successful researchers from the Armstrong Laboratory (AL/HEA) at Wright-Patterson AFB to learn from some of their successful projects. The ultimate goals of the project were threefold: to provide AL/HEA with an alternative way to capture and describe the successes of their researchers; to identify themes that emerged from these projects regarding researchers' problem-solving, project leadership, and project management skills; and finally, to provide recommendations to the organization which would promote and support ways to increase opportunities for successful projects.

Eleven interviews were conducted. Each of the researchers was interviewed about a project that had provided some concrete benefit to the Air Force. We used a form of the Critical Decision method to elicit 15 accounts. Several themes were identified that characterized the research projects, and recommendations were made to encourage the initiative of laboratory personnel and increase opportunities for successes.