Case Study: United States Geological Survey achieves major time savings and improved collaboration with ThoughtFarmer

United States Geological Survey - Customer Case Study

The United States Geological Survey’s Water Sciences group in Nevada — a state where water data is vital for public safety and resource management — needed a more usable, updatable intranet to support scientists, technicians and administrators across four offices. Their old Dreamweaver-built site was static, hard to maintain (taking nearly one full-time equivalent to manage), and hindered information sharing, scheduling and cross-office collaboration.

In June 2009 they deployed ThoughtFarmer for its customizability and familiar look, enabling any employee to create and edit content, set up calendars and streamline workflows (e.g., an online boat-booking app). The new intranet produced rapid adoption — about 1,900 pages added — cut administrative workload, eliminated paper processes, boosted productivity and centralized information access; cross-office collaboration is improving and view-only access was enabled for other USGS offices, with staff reporting high satisfaction.

United States Geological Survey

Shannon Watermolen

IT Specialist