What Color Is Your Fire Hydrant?

A few years ago, I was visiting my friend Lupe in Southern California and we went for a walk on the pier in Hermosa Beach. We passed by a fire hydrant at the edge of the pier covered in graffiti. It reminded Lupe of a story she’d recently heard from one of her friends. Her friend was the president of his community’s homeowner association. He and the board decided to have all the fire hydrants in the neighborhood painted pink as a show of support for victims of breast cancer.

While a beautiful gesture, it turns out this was not OK. The local fire department had adopted color codes as defined by the National Fire Protection Association. The color of each hydrant represents the flow rate available at that location and conveys it instantly to responding firefighters. This revelation changed my life—I have become obsessed with fire hydrants ever since. It also made me think about effective ways to convey technical information. Engineers are good at analysis, but not always effective at curating that analysis in a manner that gives people a convenient way to act. How can anyone—especially engineers—convey technical information as simply and effectively as looking at a fire hydrant? I suggest focusing on content, format, and delivery.

Content means identifying the right problem to be solved. This sounds straightforward, but it’s not. People think they know what problem they are solving for, but often they are chasing a symptom or projecting a solution as the problem. Let’s say my daughter comes to me and says “daddy, I need a new bike.” I begin researching the best bike deals. I put content together to allow us to make the most economical bike purchase. A quick visit to the garage, however, reveals a flat tire on her bike. The bike didn’t work correctly, so my daughter brought the problem to me to help her solve it. In reality, she brought me a solution disguised as a problem—a solution to the wrong problem. This caused me to generate the wrong content. Conveying information effectively relies on understanding the real problem to solve.

That brings us to format. The key here is choosing appropriately. Imagine I tell you my goal is to visit all 50 states. I provide you an alphabetical list of the states I’ve visited and ask you to plot the most efficient route through the remaining states. I’ve given you the content needed to solve this problem, but is an alphabetical list the best format? Wouldn’t a map of the country be better, with the states I’ve visited shaded in or color-coded? Picking the right format is a function of the content to convey, the audience it's being conveyed to, and the desired outcome. Since technical information is usually being presented because action needs to be taken, the content and format should be delivered in a way that gives the decision maker a convenient way to act.

First responders are good at giving people a convenient way to act. In 2014, my brother was on duty as a police officer and responded to a gruesome scene where three people had been shot. This was the message he relayed over the radio to the dispatcher:

“Frank 31, code 33. We have three down at the corner of Segovia and Del Norte. I need three ambulances here.”

In 21 words the dispatcher knows what’s happening, where it’s happening, and—most importantly—what action needs to take place: get three ambulances to the scene. It’s also worth noting that my brother didn’t tell the dispatcher how to get the ambulances to the scene. He trusted the training and experience of the dispatcher and the ambulance drivers to do their part, but he made it convenient for them to decide what their part was.

As engineers we convey information so that decisions can be made. We don’t want decision makers wasting time trying to understand what the problem is or what the options are. Our job is to curate the information so that, like an arriving firefighter or a police dispatcher, decision makers can immediately act. When creating your next presentation or preparing for your next meeting, take a minute to consider the content, format, and delivery of the message. And as you walk or drive through your neighborhood, take a look at the fire hydrants. You’ll never see them the same way again.

For more examples of content, format, and delivery, check out this video.