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Assignment Ioanna Singh
Visualization Tool
Challenge In the large organization I currently work, my role is to act as a facilitator between the different departments, with the main ones being Sales, Quality and Production but also Accounting, Shipping etc. Since I arrived in this organization, we have had several issues of non-quality reported by our clients but each one of the teams was blaming another department and as a result a tension has been growing between the teams. As I was trying to map the AS-IS (existing) situation of the current process, I noticed that there wasn’t a clear process with each team’s actions and responsibilities, in order to be able to identify quickly and clearly which step of the process was responsible for the non-quality. After a discussion with the top management, we decided to have a workshop with the managers of each department in order to address the problem. Selection I knew that the workshop would be a challenge as the situation was unclear for quite a long time and after having discussed with all the Managers in advance in order to have their feedback on the situation, I realized that they had a very similar way of seeing the process but each one of them expressed the responsibility of each action in a very different way and it was probably the reason why the tension was growing. Given the situation, I chose to use the Visualization tool, which I believed would help clear out the situation and draw a process where every manager would agree on, with clear objectives for each department in terms of performance. Application I asked each one of the managers, as pre-workshop assignment to take pictures or prepare diagrams of each step of his/her team’s actions as he/she was seeing it integrated in the whole business workflow and assigned to each department a color frame to put around the pictures. The day of the workshop I drew on a big whiteboard the whole process of the company (beginning from production, to quality controls and through all the process to packaging & shipping) without assigning a responsible department to each step of the process. Throughout the day we positioned the pictures each one of the managers had brought on the process line. It was clear to see the area of action of each department thanks to the color frame. There weren’t any conflicts on the actions part of the process but the fact that we had it drawn up, it was easier to identify where each team’s responsibility was over. With the help of the top management, we marked a performance objective for each one of the critical steps in the process where non-quality could appear and agreed on a measurement procedure. At the end of the day we had a clear process with clear performance objectives for each one of the departments. Insight This workshop and the application of the Visualization tool showed me that often people express themselves differently and this can cause lack of comprehension and tensions. It also showed to the managers of the company how important communication is, especially in times of crisis. The feedbacks I got were also very encouraging as they said they would definitely use the Visualization tool when facing a challenge in their respective teams.
Approach In a similar situation where I need to bring people under a consensus, I will definitely use again the Visualization tool, which is in my opinion, the best way to share with a large group of people who have different ways of seeing things by using more than just words.
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Assignment [NAME_STUDENT]
Visualization Tool
Challenge In the large organization I currently work, my role is to act as a facilitator between the different departments, with the main ones being Sales, Quality and Production but also Accounting, Shipping etc. Since I arrived in this organization, we have had several issues of non-quality reported by our clients but each one of the teams was blaming another department and as a result a tension has been growing between the teams. As I was trying to map the AS-IS (existing) situation of the current process, I noticed that there wasn’t a clear process with each team’s actions and responsibilities, in order to be able to identify quickly and clearly which step of the process was responsible for the non-quality. After a discussion with the top management, we decided to have a workshop with the managers of each department in order to address the problem. Selection I knew that the workshop would be a challenge as the situation was unclear for quite a long time and after having discussed with all the Managers in advance in order to have their feedback on the situation, I realized that they had a very similar way of seeing the process but each one of them expressed the responsibility of each action in a very different way and it was probably the reason why the tension was growing. Given the situation, I chose to use the Visualization tool, which I believed would help clear out the situation and draw a process where every manager would agree on, with clear objectives for each department in terms of performance. Application I asked each one of the managers, as pre-workshop assignment to take pictures or prepare diagrams of each step of his/her team’s actions as he/she was seeing it integrated in the whole business workflow and assigned to each department a color frame to put around the pictures. The day of the workshop I drew on a big whiteboard the whole process of the company (beginning from production, to quality controls and through all the process to packaging & shipping) without assigning a responsible department to each step of the process. Throughout the day we positioned the pictures each one of the managers had brought on the process line. It was clear to see the area of action of each department thanks to the color frame. There weren’t any conflicts on the actions part of the process but the fact that we had it drawn up, it was easier to identify where each team’s responsibility was over. With the help of the top management, we marked a performance objective for each one of the critical steps in the process where non-quality could appear and agreed on a measurement procedure. At the end of the day we had a clear process with clear performance objectives for each one of the departments. Insight This workshop and the application of the Visualization tool showed me that often people express themselves differently and this can cause lack of comprehension and tensions. It also showed to the managers of the company how important communication is, especially in times of crisis. The feedbacks I got were also very encouraging as they said they would definitely use the Visualization tool when facing a challenge in their respective teams.
Approach In a similar situation where I need to bring people under a consensus, I will definitely use again the Visualization tool, which is in my opinion, the best way to share with a large group of people who have different ways of seeing things by using more than just words.
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Reflection - Visualization
Challenge & Selection
As a curriculum designer assigned projects to create training materials and programs for call centers for a large corporation, sometimes our training requests are very vague. It is up to the designer to work with the client to determine the actual needs and goals of the client. In order to create an effective training program, the materials have to improve or meet the client metrics or goals. If those goals and needs are not determined at the beginning of the project, the training is a waste of time for the participants and a waste of money for the client.
Application
I often use the Visualization method when interacting with clients to determine their training needs and goals. “Visualization is the transformation of information into images that you see, either literally with your eyes or figuratively with your mind’s eye.” Elizabeth Ahmed and Richard Brown Designing for Growth – a design thinking tool kit for managers. A visualization method I use frequently with clients is a method created by Cathy Moore called Action Mapping. “Action mapping is a streamlined process to design training in the business world. Its goal is to help designers:
Commit to measurably improving the performance of the business
Identify the best solution to the performance problem
When training is necessary, create challenging simulations, not information presentations”
To implement the method, I set up a conference call with the client and set expectations to discuss the client training needs and. The client is to bring examples of why the training is needed along with the expected outcome of the training. For example, which metric or goal should the training achieve? The meeting starts with a whiteboard and in the middle is the client training request. From there, the client links out various topics or ideas that should be addressed, or could possibly be impacted by the training. The loosely drawn map shows all of the various topics or ideas that come from brainstorming the training request and needs of the client. Not all of the ideas or topics will be used, but by visualizing how the training can impact the client’s business, it gives them the opportunity to decide if the training is truly needed or should the request be revisited to determine if a different approach to the request should be considered.
Insight & Approach
The visualization method and action mapping methods helps avert unnecessary training and the expenses that go with the time and effort being put into a project that will fail to meet the client needs or request. This method is just one of many methods different designers may use when discussing a training request with a client. The Journey Mapping method can be modified to be used with the client during the analysis phase of creating training materials. “Journey mapping is the representation, in flowchart or other graphic format, of the customer’s experience as he or she interacts with your company in receiving its product or service.” Elizabeth Ahmed and Richard Brown Designing for Growth – a design thinking tool kit for managers. When discussing the training request with the client, the designer can request the client walk them through how the company’s customers interact with the customer service agent. What are the customer expectations and what are the company’s expectations of the customer service agent during this interaction? By having an understanding of the customer service agent’s job and how it impacts the company’s customers, the designer can create a better training product to help enhance and meet those expectations.
I have in my design tool box various methods to help me understand my client’s training request. By using by the visualization/action mapping and journey mapping methods, I can improve the process and create a product that fulfills the clients request and helps them improve their metrics and reach their goals.
2/18/2019 – Alma Munoz
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Reflection - Visualization
Challenge & Selection
As a curriculum designer assigned projects to create training materials and programs for call centers for a large corporation, sometimes our training requests are very vague. It is up to the designer to work with the client to determine the actual needs and goals of the client. In order to create an effective training program, the materials have to improve or meet the client metrics or goals. If those goals and needs are not determined at the beginning of the project, the training is a waste of time for the participants and a waste of money for the client.
Application
I often use the Visualization method when interacting with clients to determine their training needs and goals. “Visualization is the transformation of information into images that you see, either literally with your eyes or figuratively with your mind’s eye.” Elizabeth Ahmed and Richard Brown Designing for Growth – a design thinking tool kit for managers. A visualization method I use frequently with clients is a method created by Cathy Moore called Action Mapping. “Action mapping is a streamlined process to design training in the business world. Its goal is to help designers:
Commit to measurably improving the performance of the business
Identify the best solution to the performance problem
When training is necessary, create challenging simulations, not information presentations”
To implement the method, I set up a conference call with the client and set expectations to discuss the client training needs and. The client is to bring examples of why the training is needed along with the expected outcome of the training. For example, which metric or goal should the training achieve? The meeting starts with a whiteboard and in the middle is the client training request. From there, the client links out various topics or ideas that should be addressed, or could possibly be impacted by the training. The loosely drawn map shows all of the various topics or ideas that come from brainstorming the training request and needs of the client. Not all of the ideas or topics will be used, but by visualizing how the training can impact the client’s business, it gives them the opportunity to decide if the training is truly needed or should the request be revisited to determine if a different approach to the request should be considered.
Insight & Approach
The visualization method and action mapping methods helps avert unnecessary training and the expenses that go with the time and effort being put into a project that will fail to meet the client needs or request. This method is just one of many methods different designers may use when discussing a training request with a client. The Journey Mapping method can be modified to be used with the client during the analysis phase of creating training materials. “Journey mapping is the representation, in flowchart or other graphic format, of the customer’s experience as he or she interacts with your company in receiving its product or service.” Elizabeth Ahmed and Richard Brown Designing for Growth – a design thinking tool kit for managers. When discussing the training request with the client, the designer can request the client walk them through how the company’s customers interact with the customer service agent. What are the customer expectations and what are the company’s expectations of the customer service agent during this interaction? By having an understanding of the customer service agent’s job and how it impacts the company’s customers, the designer can create a better training product to help enhance and meet those expectations.
I have in my design tool box various methods to help me understand my client’s training request. By using by the visualization/action mapping and journey mapping methods, I can improve the process and create a product that fulfills the clients request and helps them improve their metrics and reach their goals.
2/18/2019 – [NAME_STUDENT]
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Reflection Assignment, submitted by Jose Lopez
Visualization Tool
Challenge
After more than 20 years working for large corporations, I have decided to take on the challenge and the opportunity to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur. Luckily, a few weeks after I left my previous job I met a college professor who was looking to build a startup but had not had the time to develop it into a working business. I offered to help and we got started on our early stage startup (code name: “The Box”).
It has been an exhilarating time, doing research on problems we both have encountered and are eager to solve. We have very different backgrounds, so we needed to create common ground so we could communicate effectively and efficiently in order to build trust and commitment to our newly found mission together.
Selection
Previously, I understood visualization as a creative exercise that consists of creating a realistic mental image of the future one desires in order to facilitate its realization. However, the Visualization tool for Design Thinking is quite different as it consists of using visual artifacts to express concepts, ideas and relationships in order to bring them forward in a way that words cannot.
My cofounder and I quickly learned that we were having trouble understanding each other because we would use terms that mean different things depending on the context. We soon figured out that by making sketches and drawings we could reach mutual understanding much faster whenever we got stuck. Thus, we intuitively adopted the Visualization tool and made good use of it for our purposes.
Application
We started working on “The Box” as an ecommerce marketplace for subscription-based shopping, as we both knew many young entrepreneurs who are having trouble retaining their current customers and thought it would be a solution to their problem. We drew up many boxes and circles to represent all of the kinds of sellers we were thinking about, and by collecting them into a Venn Diagram we were able to make a preliminary segmentation in order to pick customers for ethnographic interviews: we selected lifestyle products with high purchase frequency.
Once we had a better grip of the pain points and jobs to be done that our customers are facing, we used drawings to generate ideas of services, marketplaces and platforms that could help solve the problem. At the moment, we are in conversations with a UX designer to build a
working model of our service (not yet a prototype), based on these hand-drawn figures that describe the high-level steps for sellers and buyers:
We also got a bit ahead of ourselves and went ahead and drew lots of flywheels and virtuous cycles to represent potential growth models we should consider in order to accelerate growth. Visualization is our favorite innovation tool!
Insight
I learned that in many cases verbal communication (face to face speech or written messages) falls short when one is trying to simplify a concept that is complex or based on intricate relationships between basic ideas. On the other hand, using simple visualizations can help to transmit and receive messages in a more direct and clear way, even if the drawings are of very low quality from and aesthetic sense.
A key factor that makes visualization so helpful is that it makes metaphors like the “flywheel,” “cycles” and “platforms” easier to process intellectually because the relationship is evident at a glance. This may sound trivial but in the high-speed high-pressure world of startups it creates great efficiency and focus.
Additionally, sharing drawings and sketches helps to build teamwork as it allows one to peek into each other’s mind. It is fun to use it that way.
Approach
Next time I begin any kind of business project I will make sure to apply visualization as soon and as often as possible. To improve the quality of my visual communication skills I plan to read Dan Roam’s books on the subject.
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Reflection Assignment, submitted by [NAME_STUDENT]
Visualization Tool
Challenge
After more than 20 years working for large corporations, I have decided to take on the challenge and the opportunity to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur. Luckily, a few weeks after I left my previous job I met a college professor who was looking to build a startup but had not had the time to develop it into a working business. I offered to help and we got started on our early stage startup (code name: “The Box”).
It has been an exhilarating time, doing research on problems we both have encountered and are eager to solve. We have very different backgrounds, so we needed to create common ground so we could communicate effectively and efficiently in order to build trust and commitment to our newly found mission together.
Selection
Previously, I understood visualization as a creative exercise that consists of creating a realistic mental image of the future one desires in order to facilitate its realization. However, the Visualization tool for Design Thinking is quite different as it consists of using visual artifacts to express concepts, ideas and relationships in order to bring them forward in a way that words cannot.
My cofounder and I quickly learned that we were having trouble understanding each other because we would use terms that mean different things depending on the context. We soon figured out that by making sketches and drawings we could reach mutual understanding much faster whenever we got stuck. Thus, we intuitively adopted the Visualization tool and made good use of it for our purposes.
Application
We started working on “The Box” as an ecommerce marketplace for subscription-based shopping, as we both knew many young entrepreneurs who are having trouble retaining their current customers and thought it would be a solution to their problem. We drew up many boxes and circles to represent all of the kinds of sellers we were thinking about, and by collecting them into a Venn Diagram we were able to make a preliminary segmentation in order to pick customers for ethnographic interviews: we selected lifestyle products with high purchase frequency.
Once we had a better grip of the pain points and jobs to be done that our customers are facing, we used drawings to generate ideas of services, marketplaces and platforms that could help solve the problem. At the moment, we are in conversations with a UX designer to build a
working model of our service (not yet a prototype), based on these hand-drawn figures that describe the high-level steps for sellers and buyers:
We also got a bit ahead of ourselves and went ahead and drew lots of flywheels and virtuous cycles to represent potential growth models we should consider in order to accelerate growth. Visualization is our favorite innovation tool!
Insight
I learned that in many cases verbal communication (face to face speech or written messages) falls short when one is trying to simplify a concept that is complex or based on intricate relationships between basic ideas. On the other hand, using simple visualizations can help to transmit and receive messages in a more direct and clear way, even if the drawings are of very low quality from and aesthetic sense.
A key factor that makes visualization so helpful is that it makes metaphors like the “flywheel,” “cycles” and “platforms” easier to process intellectually because the relationship is evident at a glance. This may sound trivial but in the high-speed high-pressure world of startups it creates great efficiency and focus.
Additionally, sharing drawings and sketches helps to build teamwork as it allows one to peek into each other’s mind. It is fun to use it that way.
Approach
Next time I begin any kind of business project I will make sure to apply visualization as soon and as often as possible. To improve the quality of my visual communication skills I plan to read Dan Roam’s books on the subject.
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Jose Jackson – Design Thinking for Innovation
Reflection – Visualization
Challenge
My challenge that I have selected is setting up my own company! After many years of being a CEO of an Economic Development organization I have decided that I will open my own company.
Selection
I have selected the Visualization tool, to achieve an understanding of the opportunity and problems for myself as well as a reference group to identify and define viable solutions to the opportunity. I also have selected this so I can use a diagram to visually see all the components in the process of defining the scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying pain points and opportunities.
Application
I used this approach with myself first to start the process by creating a straw man graphic (like a mind map) to do a brain dump of all the components of the opportunity. To develop the straw man graphic, I will draw from any existing material and experiences that I may have available to understand the environment.
There is supporting material to assist in this process such as Jack Canfield ‘visualization techniques to manifest your desired outcomes’ to assist in the process. The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Collaborators and a column on the right to identify Threats such as competitors, Industrial relations constraints etc. After I complete this I will then undertake the same type of process with my reference group.
After the group looks over the whole idea I will then look to break up the group to work on the independent idea ‘clusters’ that have developed for a deeper dive into the areas that have been articulated. I will ask each group to use questions such as 1) What key elements are missing? And, 2) What would you change? Then I have each group report out on their answers and explain why for the rest of the group to understand the logic. This feedback and different ways of looking at the opportunity would create a process and map that is ‘market tested’.
Jose Jackson – Design Thinking for Innovation
Insight & Approach
I think it is very important for the group to be in an environment that is non-threatening and very open to different ideas and perspectives. It is also important for each of the stakeholders and groups to have a chance to express their opinions and receive positive feedback and suggestions in a group environment.
This approach that is very visual as well gives a plan that can be updated and changed with additional information and ideas. This can occur throughout and at the end of the process and also gives way to open ideas being expressed.
This approach I feel would be helpful at any stage of a project to ‘market test’ and ground truth the projects direction. I would definitely think that the open nature and ease of this process is very inclusive and is valuable to all businesses as a tool that adds a lot of value and buy-in!
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[NAME_STUDENT] – Design Thinking for Innovation
Reflection – Visualization
Challenge
My challenge that I have selected is setting up my own company! After many years of being a CEO of an Economic Development organization I have decided that I will open my own company.
Selection
I have selected the Visualization tool, to achieve an understanding of the opportunity and problems for myself as well as a reference group to identify and define viable solutions to the opportunity. I also have selected this so I can use a diagram to visually see all the components in the process of defining the scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying pain points and opportunities.
Application
I used this approach with myself first to start the process by creating a straw man graphic (like a mind map) to do a brain dump of all the components of the opportunity. To develop the straw man graphic, I will draw from any existing material and experiences that I may have available to understand the environment.
There is supporting material to assist in this process such as Jack Canfield ‘visualization techniques to manifest your desired outcomes’ to assist in the process. The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Collaborators and a column on the right to identify Threats such as competitors, Industrial relations constraints etc. After I complete this I will then undertake the same type of process with my reference group.
After the group looks over the whole idea I will then look to break up the group to work on the independent idea ‘clusters’ that have developed for a deeper dive into the areas that have been articulated. I will ask each group to use questions such as 1) What key elements are missing? And, 2) What would you change? Then I have each group report out on their answers and explain why for the rest of the group to understand the logic. This feedback and different ways of looking at the opportunity would create a process and map that is ‘market tested’.
[NAME_STUDENT] – Design Thinking for Innovation
Insight & Approach
I think it is very important for the group to be in an environment that is non-threatening and very open to different ideas and perspectives. It is also important for each of the stakeholders and groups to have a chance to express their opinions and receive positive feedback and suggestions in a group environment.
This approach that is very visual as well gives a plan that can be updated and changed with additional information and ideas. This can occur throughout and at the end of the process and also gives way to open ideas being expressed.
This approach I feel would be helpful at any stage of a project to ‘market test’ and ground truth the projects direction. I would definitely think that the open nature and ease of this process is very inclusive and is valuable to all businesses as a tool that adds a lot of value and buy-in!
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Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
It’s really wonderful to see how someone else’s experience can change the way other person change. One such way of making a person understand is storytelling. I have been in Non Banking Financial Segment for quite some time. We feel blessed that we facilitate someone achieve their dreams when we disburse loans, in the same way we feel quite the opposite when we have to recover the pending dues from a client who genuinely is facing an issue and has defaulted. I feel my life has been influenced by the stories I have heard from the people around and books I have read. The customer, who we meet while he taking a loan, may be carried away due to the want of a particular item he wants. It might not be a need. The installment he is most likely to pay be a substantial amount of his earnings. I try to help them visualize the use of product he uses and how he is going to repay the amount. I also tell them stories of customers who have had good experience and also bad. It is for them to decide what’s best after listen to the stories. I believe being ethical is very important & not always look at monetary aspect of business.
Application
In everyday life both professional and personal, I have some instance or the other have been using storytelling to convey messages, which if told directly may not have greater impact on the other party. One such instance of storytelling happened in the recent past. It was village in Southern India, it’s a well irrigated country side with lush green paddy fields. We had financed a lot of tractors in that village. The place so located that it was 65 kilometers from the nearest branches and it came in border of two branch boundaries. The area was neglected by the executives who collected EMI, due to neglect. All the accounts in that village went into over due , subsequently they customers taught no one is going to ask them. There resided a customer who always paid his dues on time and had availed loans multiple times. As no one had visited in past few months he had not paid the installments. He came to office and expressed his regret. He had also applied for loan with us again & he filed had rejected because of his default. We somehow convinced him and too approval from seniors to get his credit approved. We also promised him that we would ensure collection agent would visit on due days to collect the installments. We went back to the village with him. He narrated what happened with him in the office. Both good and bad. How defaulting had resulted in his bad credit rating and how we helped understand. He also told them benefits of paying on time. This influenced the other customers in the village, we in the due course of time made payments coming to the office
directly even if the executive didn’t arrive for collections.
Insight & Approach
The storytelling is a very important tool, it gives us insight into some other persons world witjout we having to experience it. That is the best part. Visualization plays a critical role here. It depends on who is telling the story and the emotions attached with it. It’s not the story but the message it conveys and moral to be learnt is important.
The story is told effectively can enhance the way we look at things, bring broader view to our limited taught.
I have used story telling the past, but it was not structured , this course has helped to refine the way I use it with definitive purpose.
Being in the financial domain I feel it is going to be a great asset having been through this course
A Reflection on the course by
Abdul Vassallo
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Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
It’s really wonderful to see how someone else’s experience can change the way other person change. One such way of making a person understand is storytelling. I have been in Non Banking Financial Segment for quite some time. We feel blessed that we facilitate someone achieve their dreams when we disburse loans, in the same way we feel quite the opposite when we have to recover the pending dues from a client who genuinely is facing an issue and has defaulted. I feel my life has been influenced by the stories I have heard from the people around and books I have read. The customer, who we meet while he taking a loan, may be carried away due to the want of a particular item he wants. It might not be a need. The installment he is most likely to pay be a substantial amount of his earnings. I try to help them visualize the use of product he uses and how he is going to repay the amount. I also tell them stories of customers who have had good experience and also bad. It is for them to decide what’s best after listen to the stories. I believe being ethical is very important & not always look at monetary aspect of business.
Application
In everyday life both professional and personal, I have some instance or the other have been using storytelling to convey messages, which if told directly may not have greater impact on the other party. One such instance of storytelling happened in the recent past. It was village in Southern India, it’s a well irrigated country side with lush green paddy fields. We had financed a lot of tractors in that village. The place so located that it was 65 kilometers from the nearest branches and it came in border of two branch boundaries. The area was neglected by the executives who collected EMI, due to neglect. All the accounts in that village went into over due , subsequently they customers taught no one is going to ask them. There resided a customer who always paid his dues on time and had availed loans multiple times. As no one had visited in past few months he had not paid the installments. He came to office and expressed his regret. He had also applied for loan with us again & he filed had rejected because of his default. We somehow convinced him and too approval from seniors to get his credit approved. We also promised him that we would ensure collection agent would visit on due days to collect the installments. We went back to the village with him. He narrated what happened with him in the office. Both good and bad. How defaulting had resulted in his bad credit rating and how we helped understand. He also told them benefits of paying on time. This influenced the other customers in the village, we in the due course of time made payments coming to the office
directly even if the executive didn’t arrive for collections.
Insight & Approach
The storytelling is a very important tool, it gives us insight into some other persons world witjout we having to experience it. That is the best part. Visualization plays a critical role here. It depends on who is telling the story and the emotions attached with it. It’s not the story but the message it conveys and moral to be learnt is important.
The story is told effectively can enhance the way we look at things, bring broader view to our limited taught.
I have used story telling the past, but it was not structured , this course has helped to refine the way I use it with definitive purpose.
Being in the financial domain I feel it is going to be a great asset having been through this course
A Reflection on the course by
[NAME_STUDENT]
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Feroz Saiful
Design Thinking for Innovation-visualization tool
Visualization– tool for Industrial Automation
Challenge: Extreme commerce (IDEEA) is a renowned food and beverage industry in Bangladesh. IDEEA is not only a pioneer but also an industrial giant in the whole country FMCG sector. With no doubt, their employees are very skilled and they have been with this company since beginning. Hence, the recent cutting edge industrial models are not so much familiar to them. Still AME using manual human based product distribution process for finished goods delivery system. Our team went there with a proposal for a smart automated finished goods distribution solution. This reading will demonstrate the challenges we faced and using a design tool –visualization, which tremendously helped out our team to pass the barrier successfully.
After collecting all the legacy and running industrial data, our team prepared an auto solution project proposal for them. But the orthodox IDEEA factory was rigid at their current position and did not accept any system manipulation over the running system. Factory management also had a gap of understanding how the automated process would work and unfortunately had a huge lack of confidence about the new changes.
Interaction & Tool Selection:
Individually all of our team members were very much enthusiastic and visionary about this project. If this project would be successfully implemented, this could be a milestone in the field of industrial automation. So we tried to interact with all departments which were directly or indirectly connected with the goods distribution system. Then according to our internal team discussion, we selected visualization as a design tool for the project proposal delineation. For this project, we selected this tool after some comparative analysis over some other tools for instance learning lunch, storytelling, mind mapping etc. Application: According to Angela Myer, a successful experienced designer, Visualization tool is a non-verbal way of communication and equally reachable to everyone. We used this tool with multiple relevant Images, videos, diagrams, symbols and colorful sketches. So that illustration process lucidly focused on the drawback of their running manual system and the respective department easily identified the gap and future scope of their improvements. The HR department understood the loss of production line efficiency due to unavailability of workers in time. In addition, company management realized the cumulative production loss hour yearly as well.
Figure: Implementation of visualization tool at customer preach.
Our team applied this visualization tool in three different sections. Firstly, to create an overall idea about the proposal for that we presented a flow chart of functional block diagrams describing work process. Secondly, PowerPoint presentation for the running system drawbacks and impacts on
Feroz Saiful
Design Thinking for Innovation-visualization tool
business. Finally, an animation proposed the new setup which would eliminate the weak part of the current setup as well the future workflow with the higher efficiency.
Insight & Approach: There were different factory people who participated in that interaction session. The presence of multiple departments had both positive and negative aspects. The great positivity was, any decision didn’t hang over time for the respective team. All could participate on a current basis. But the down side was, the factory system process was not known to all so some department people just gave a blank look over the idea. The visualization tool worked out on this part effectively. Hence this is a nonverbal way of communication, through the sketch, picture and animation it was practically possible to create an imagination and correlate different parts of the thought process at their brain. So this was the single point of understanding over the assumption. It helped a lot for describing the imaginary prototyping of the product distribution system.
Finally, the majority of the factory department such as engineering, production, supply chain, finance and human resource were aligned to our automatic distribution system and accepted the proposal. This visualization is the only tool that reinforced our team goal in practical terms and made it true. After this successful implementation, for any case where various people do not have a clear idea what will be going to next or lack of full theme process knowledge – we try to keep using this unique visualization tool very much.
|
[NAME_STUDENT]
Design Thinking for Innovation-visualization tool
Visualization– tool for Industrial Automation
Challenge: Extreme commerce (IDEEA) is a renowned food and beverage industry in Bangladesh. IDEEA is not only a pioneer but also an industrial giant in the whole country FMCG sector. With no doubt, their employees are very skilled and they have been with this company since beginning. Hence, the recent cutting edge industrial models are not so much familiar to them. Still AME using manual human based product distribution process for finished goods delivery system. Our team went there with a proposal for a smart automated finished goods distribution solution. This reading will demonstrate the challenges we faced and using a design tool –visualization, which tremendously helped out our team to pass the barrier successfully.
After collecting all the legacy and running industrial data, our team prepared an auto solution project proposal for them. But the orthodox IDEEA factory was rigid at their current position and did not accept any system manipulation over the running system. Factory management also had a gap of understanding how the automated process would work and unfortunately had a huge lack of confidence about the new changes.
Interaction & Tool Selection:
Individually all of our team members were very much enthusiastic and visionary about this project. If this project would be successfully implemented, this could be a milestone in the field of industrial automation. So we tried to interact with all departments which were directly or indirectly connected with the goods distribution system. Then according to our internal team discussion, we selected visualization as a design tool for the project proposal delineation. For this project, we selected this tool after some comparative analysis over some other tools for instance learning lunch, storytelling, mind mapping etc. Application: According to Angela Myer, a successful experienced designer, Visualization tool is a non-verbal way of communication and equally reachable to everyone. We used this tool with multiple relevant Images, videos, diagrams, symbols and colorful sketches. So that illustration process lucidly focused on the drawback of their running manual system and the respective department easily identified the gap and future scope of their improvements. The HR department understood the loss of production line efficiency due to unavailability of workers in time. In addition, company management realized the cumulative production loss hour yearly as well.
Figure: Implementation of visualization tool at customer preach.
Our team applied this visualization tool in three different sections. Firstly, to create an overall idea about the proposal for that we presented a flow chart of functional block diagrams describing work process. Secondly, PowerPoint presentation for the running system drawbacks and impacts on
[NAME_STUDENT]
Design Thinking for Innovation-visualization tool
business. Finally, an animation proposed the new setup which would eliminate the weak part of the current setup as well the future workflow with the higher efficiency.
Insight & Approach: There were different factory people who participated in that interaction session. The presence of multiple departments had both positive and negative aspects. The great positivity was, any decision didn’t hang over time for the respective team. All could participate on a current basis. But the down side was, the factory system process was not known to all so some department people just gave a blank look over the idea. The visualization tool worked out on this part effectively. Hence this is a nonverbal way of communication, through the sketch, picture and animation it was practically possible to create an imagination and correlate different parts of the thought process at their brain. So this was the single point of understanding over the assumption. It helped a lot for describing the imaginary prototyping of the product distribution system.
Finally, the majority of the factory department such as engineering, production, supply chain, finance and human resource were aligned to our automatic distribution system and accepted the proposal. This visualization is the only tool that reinforced our team goal in practical terms and made it true. After this successful implementation, for any case where various people do not have a clear idea what will be going to next or lack of full theme process knowledge – we try to keep using this unique visualization tool very much.
|
MIND MAPPING
Mind Mapping application for smartphone app project
Challenge and Selection
As part of an ongoing innovation project, I decided to apply the Mind Mapping tool in the sequence
‘what is?’ of the design thinking process. The project concerns office space equipment; the company
in which I work specializes in Internet of Things (IOT) control applications for the residential market
where we have some significant success. With this experience we want to develop applications in the
business or tertiary sector, however it turns out that the needs are different from the residential
sector and that we do not have a client but several who are involved in the value chain.
So, we analyzed the stakeholder’s experiences to ascertain the opportunities. The marketing
department initiated the traditional approach of researching needs with our customers and I decided
to extract the ethnological part discussed in the interviews, in order to reframe it in the approach
‘what is?’. The reason for this activity was to provide the opportunity to apply a design thinking tool,
Mind Mapping, and thus highlighting the needs of customers, create clusters, find links, and define
design criteria. The interviews and graphics from the marketing study allowed me to define typical
user profiles and to create a virtual panel of 5 persona. This type of document does not fit with the
notions of visualization necessary for our exercise, according to the precepts of Design Thinking.
Therefore, I called upon a professional illustrator to visualize the life scenarios of the users (the 5
persona), he drew on a large board for each persona, the different actions, habits, and routines…
which usually takes place in a typical day.
The circumstances of the COVID19 health crisis greatly disrupted the organization of the exercise. I
had to adapt because I managed the exchange remotely as the people were all working from home.
So, I put together a team of different profiles (sellers, designer, marketing manager) and a few loyal
partners (facility manager and office manager). I invited them to a 4-hour session to establish the
Mind Mapping. This constitutes the preparatory work for the Mind Mapping session which, as
Professor Ludovic has shown us, will allow us to establish a representation of our clients’ minds and to
identify the relevant criteria in a more visually engaging way. This will facilitate everyone's creativity
in the idea generation phase.
Application
First, I chose the central theme of Mind Mapping while targeting our research on improving working
life. The interviews were quite broad, we took up the needs of 5 key persona: the Space Planner who
must create environments adapted to workers; the Furniture Manufacturer who must face new
electrification needs integrated into the furniture; the Facility Manager who manages the building
functioning and its maintenance; the Office Manager who manages the allocation of office spaces
and, of course, the end user. Based on the central subject of Mind Mapping and the deployment of
the 5 persona needs, we started to create links between them. With the help of the illustrated
boards, sent beforehand, the participants quickly grasped the Mind Mapping tool and the
progressive and synthetic construction of our reflections gradually unfolded before our eyes. The
Xmind tool that I used for the exercise was quite practical because it allows you to add annotations
as you comment. Certain needs on the secondary crown triggered debates between the participants,
I simply chose to develop the ideas on a third level to keep track of the exchange so that I could
return to it later. For example, End Users wanted to have feedback from the company restaurant to
organize their departure for lunch based on attendance, being able to cancel their meal based on the
menu, having access to the daily menu, and so forth. As a result, I created a "restaurant needs"
family. Once all work life improvement needs were listed, I suggested that the participants attempt
to link the needs of each persona. Continuing the example of restaurant needs, we were able to link
those of End User, Facility Manager and Office manager, who wanted him to know more precisely
the volume and frequency of attendance in the company restaurant: Same cluster for different
reasons! We created a third crown to detail these the reason of needs.
Mapping Visualization:
The map is voluntarily simplified to maintain the project’s confidentiality, a part of the needs
examples remains to illustrate the links between clusters.
We were thus able to link a dozen needs between the persona, which could be identical,
complementary, or interconnected. At this stage, the team was actively engaged at the same level
and ideas began to surface, such as creating a smartphone application which could connect persona
and meet their different needs in a complementary way. I proposed to define the design criteria for
each need, knowing that for the same need the design criteria will be different from one persona to
another. This would facilitate the evaluation of ideas in the next ‘what if’ phase as described by
Professor J. Liedtka. Having completed the Mind Mapping phase, I was then able to start the next
phase of the design think process which is the brainstorming session (Not detailed here).
Insight and approach
First and foremost, I really enjoyed managing this Mind Mapping process and I think the participants
also appreciated this working session. I was very apprehensive about the videoconference
organization (apart from the course recommendations). In the end, people were very relaxed and
willing. Everyone contributed and the exchanges have been quite numerous. I limited the exercise to
4 hours and the participants to 7. I think it would have been difficult to have more participants in the
videoconference. There is another gap with the course recommendations: the participants were not
the interviewed users due to the fact the marketing study had already been carried out. In this case
the mind mapping was more a reading and an in-depth analysis of the expressions of the interviewed
people.
The construction of the Mind Mapping developed is quite easy, it is undoubtedly the simplified
visualization of the Mind Mapping and the summary descriptions of the clusters (sometimes
comprising just a single word to illustrate the need) which allows everyone to move forward at the
same time , without getting lost in overly detailed lists. As a result, the relationships between the
different clusters literally jumped out at us during the exercise. This would have required more
memory if we had listed needs (as they were initially in the marketing study). The hardest part was to
define the design criteria. I think I found the limit of the form I had chosen because they would have
been easier to determine with real customers. Besides, one of the participants was a Facility
manager, and I could observe that the definition of the criteria concerning this persona was
developed faster.
I think I will reuse this tool in my future work. However, I note that the design thinking approach
does not correspond to an addition of creativity tools and that to be effective it is necessary to
scrupulously follow the different stages. At this stage of my reflection, I see that I have a better grasp
of my subject and that certain ideas are already taking shape in my mind; I hope in the following
phases they will prove to be a source of innovation.
Philippe Quesnel
Innovation & R&D manager
|
MIND MAPPING
Mind Mapping application for smartphone app project
Challenge and Selection
As part of an ongoing innovation project, I decided to apply the Mind Mapping tool in the sequence
‘what is?’ of the design thinking process. The project concerns office space equipment; the company
in which I work specializes in Internet of Things (IOT) control applications for the residential market
where we have some significant success. With this experience we want to develop applications in the
business or tertiary sector, however it turns out that the needs are different from the residential
sector and that we do not have a client but several who are involved in the value chain.
So, we analyzed the stakeholder’s experiences to ascertain the opportunities. The marketing
department initiated the traditional approach of researching needs with our customers and I decided
to extract the ethnological part discussed in the interviews, in order to reframe it in the approach
‘what is?’. The reason for this activity was to provide the opportunity to apply a design thinking tool,
Mind Mapping, and thus highlighting the needs of customers, create clusters, find links, and define
design criteria. The interviews and graphics from the marketing study allowed me to define typical
user profiles and to create a virtual panel of 5 persona. This type of document does not fit with the
notions of visualization necessary for our exercise, according to the precepts of Design Thinking.
Therefore, I called upon a professional illustrator to visualize the life scenarios of the users (the 5
persona), he drew on a large board for each persona, the different actions, habits, and routines…
which usually takes place in a typical day.
The circumstances of the COVID19 health crisis greatly disrupted the organization of the exercise. I
had to adapt because I managed the exchange remotely as the people were all working from home.
So, I put together a team of different profiles (sellers, designer, marketing manager) and a few loyal
partners (facility manager and office manager). I invited them to a 4-hour session to establish the
Mind Mapping. This constitutes the preparatory work for the Mind Mapping session which, as
Professor Ludovic has shown us, will allow us to establish a representation of our clients’ minds and to
identify the relevant criteria in a more visually engaging way. This will facilitate everyone's creativity
in the idea generation phase.
Application
First, I chose the central theme of Mind Mapping while targeting our research on improving working
life. The interviews were quite broad, we took up the needs of 5 key persona: the Space Planner who
must create environments adapted to workers; the Furniture Manufacturer who must face new
electrification needs integrated into the furniture; the Facility Manager who manages the building
functioning and its maintenance; the Office Manager who manages the allocation of office spaces
and, of course, the end user. Based on the central subject of Mind Mapping and the deployment of
the 5 persona needs, we started to create links between them. With the help of the illustrated
boards, sent beforehand, the participants quickly grasped the Mind Mapping tool and the
progressive and synthetic construction of our reflections gradually unfolded before our eyes. The
Xmind tool that I used for the exercise was quite practical because it allows you to add annotations
as you comment. Certain needs on the secondary crown triggered debates between the participants,
I simply chose to develop the ideas on a third level to keep track of the exchange so that I could
return to it later. For example, End Users wanted to have feedback from the company restaurant to
organize their departure for lunch based on attendance, being able to cancel their meal based on the
menu, having access to the daily menu, and so forth. As a result, I created a "restaurant needs"
family. Once all work life improvement needs were listed, I suggested that the participants attempt
to link the needs of each persona. Continuing the example of restaurant needs, we were able to link
those of End User, Facility Manager and Office manager, who wanted him to know more precisely
the volume and frequency of attendance in the company restaurant: Same cluster for different
reasons! We created a third crown to detail these the reason of needs.
Mapping Visualization:
The map is voluntarily simplified to maintain the project’s confidentiality, a part of the needs
examples remains to illustrate the links between clusters.
We were thus able to link a dozen needs between the persona, which could be identical,
complementary, or interconnected. At this stage, the team was actively engaged at the same level
and ideas began to surface, such as creating a smartphone application which could connect persona
and meet their different needs in a complementary way. I proposed to define the design criteria for
each need, knowing that for the same need the design criteria will be different from one persona to
another. This would facilitate the evaluation of ideas in the next ‘what if’ phase as described by
Professor J. Liedtka. Having completed the Mind Mapping phase, I was then able to start the next
phase of the design think process which is the brainstorming session (Not detailed here).
Insight and approach
First and foremost, I really enjoyed managing this Mind Mapping process and I think the participants
also appreciated this working session. I was very apprehensive about the videoconference
organization (apart from the course recommendations). In the end, people were very relaxed and
willing. Everyone contributed and the exchanges have been quite numerous. I limited the exercise to
4 hours and the participants to 7. I think it would have been difficult to have more participants in the
videoconference. There is another gap with the course recommendations: the participants were not
the interviewed users due to the fact the marketing study had already been carried out. In this case
the mind mapping was more a reading and an in-depth analysis of the expressions of the interviewed
people.
The construction of the Mind Mapping developed is quite easy, it is undoubtedly the simplified
visualization of the Mind Mapping and the summary descriptions of the clusters (sometimes
comprising just a single word to illustrate the need) which allows everyone to move forward at the
same time , without getting lost in overly detailed lists. As a result, the relationships between the
different clusters literally jumped out at us during the exercise. This would have required more
memory if we had listed needs (as they were initially in the marketing study). The hardest part was to
define the design criteria. I think I found the limit of the form I had chosen because they would have
been easier to determine with real customers. Besides, one of the participants was a Facility
manager, and I could observe that the definition of the criteria concerning this persona was
developed faster.
I think I will reuse this tool in my future work. However, I note that the design thinking approach
does not correspond to an addition of creativity tools and that to be effective it is necessary to
scrupulously follow the different stages. At this stage of my reflection, I see that I have a better grasp
of my subject and that certain ideas are already taking shape in my mind; I hope in the following
phases they will prove to be a source of innovation.
[NAME_STUDENT]
Innovation & R&D manager
|
Carlos Hernandez
Rehabilitation - Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
The healthcare sector and more specifically the rehabilitation technologies have plenty of opportunities to be exploited. There are a lot of devices that have been the same for some time now by having the same structure and unpleasantness at sight. Consequently, kids and elders have a difficult time trusting the devices and in occasions neglecting the use of these devices despite these are design for helping them. Therefore, it is of the most importance to have a deeper understanding on where in the process people start avoiding these devices and allowing us to rethink the solution by connecting with people using the story telling tool.
Application
To apply the story telling tool we needed to visit the specialist on the subject to understand how these devices work, but must importantly go to the end user, in this specific case the kids and their parents, to understand the fear towards these devices. For this example, the following story was obtained by applying the tool after contacting with the parents of a child who had a broken arm.
First, the kid was having rejects towards the machines for the X RAY that allow doctors to dictate the arm status. They parents told us:” The kid was afraid by the machine and doctors weren’t able to make him be still for a second”. This makes taking XRAY scans more complex for doctors.
Secondly, whenever the kid had an injury and needs rehabilitation, they are afraid because of the previous pain and doesn’t want anyone to touch the injury. Because the doctor needs to know what the status of the arm is, they usually inspect them visually and in occasions, they have to touch the place of injury.
Finally, when the rehabilitation come, the kids are frightened by going to the doctor and doesn’t have the confidence to move the arm although the pain is no more, and the splint was removed. Following that, at the time of using the machines for rehabilitation was fear and reject towards It.
To sum up everything, the kid has a fear in almost each step of the rehabilitation, making the process being more complex and taking more time. The fear in many occasions is because the kid doesn’t feel in a safe environment.
Insight & Approach
To outline the main points, what wows, is that although this whole process is needed for the child to get better. Because the kids are still learning and discovering there are occasions were, they feel afraid. In this experience of the rehabilitation the kid had a series of bad experiences that can be changed.
Carlos Hernandez
One approach and the one that we followed, change the rehabilitation machines to be more friendly at sight and at the same time had some sort of gaming experience in it. So, instead of avoiding the doctor they feel excitement to use the machines and get better and have a more friendly experience than just using the rehabilitation machines.
|
[NAME_STUDENT]
Rehabilitation - Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
The healthcare sector and more specifically the rehabilitation technologies have plenty of opportunities to be exploited. There are a lot of devices that have been the same for some time now by having the same structure and unpleasantness at sight. Consequently, kids and elders have a difficult time trusting the devices and in occasions neglecting the use of these devices despite these are design for helping them. Therefore, it is of the most importance to have a deeper understanding on where in the process people start avoiding these devices and allowing us to rethink the solution by connecting with people using the story telling tool.
Application
To apply the story telling tool we needed to visit the specialist on the subject to understand how these devices work, but must importantly go to the end user, in this specific case the kids and their parents, to understand the fear towards these devices. For this example, the following story was obtained by applying the tool after contacting with the parents of a child who had a broken arm.
First, the kid was having rejects towards the machines for the X RAY that allow doctors to dictate the arm status. They parents told us:” The kid was afraid by the machine and doctors weren’t able to make him be still for a second”. This makes taking XRAY scans more complex for doctors.
Secondly, whenever the kid had an injury and needs rehabilitation, they are afraid because of the previous pain and doesn’t want anyone to touch the injury. Because the doctor needs to know what the status of the arm is, they usually inspect them visually and in occasions, they have to touch the place of injury.
Finally, when the rehabilitation come, the kids are frightened by going to the doctor and doesn’t have the confidence to move the arm although the pain is no more, and the splint was removed. Following that, at the time of using the machines for rehabilitation was fear and reject towards It.
To sum up everything, the kid has a fear in almost each step of the rehabilitation, making the process being more complex and taking more time. The fear in many occasions is because the kid doesn’t feel in a safe environment.
Insight & Approach
To outline the main points, what wows, is that although this whole process is needed for the child to get better. Because the kids are still learning and discovering there are occasions were, they feel afraid. In this experience of the rehabilitation the kid had a series of bad experiences that can be changed.
[NAME_STUDENT]
One approach and the one that we followed, change the rehabilitation machines to be more friendly at sight and at the same time had some sort of gaming experience in it. So, instead of avoiding the doctor they feel excitement to use the machines and get better and have a more friendly experience than just using the rehabilitation machines.
|
Visualization
Ana Perez Challenge & Selection: The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization, or Visual Thinking, to achieve a shared understanding of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting to identify and define possible solutions to the problem. I use this approach often with our customers, who are government agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize their mission or the delivery of their services to their customer, which may be U.S. citizens, businesses, and non-citizens. I have used the technique of using a straw man visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for discussion to allow a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining the scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions. Application: I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain. To develop the straw man graphic, I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment. The existing material may be operational or procedural documents, training materials, marketing materials, GAO or other auditing reports. If materials are not available, then I conduct informal interviews with one-three of the stakeholders who serve as my main points of contact on the initiative. If appropriate to the situation, I will borrow the concept to “front-stage/back-stage” from previous research, and discussed in David Gray’s book, “The Connected Company”. The front-stage/back-stage approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an internal service – has customers with whom the service provider interacts and internal processes that enable the organization to provide the service. The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value Chain Providers and a column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations, such as Congress, GAO, labor unions, advocacy groups, and other entities that may add constraints to how the organization operates. The straw man graphic is simple, using simple shapes and icons available in Visio or on the Internet. If the front-stage/back-stage view doesn’t work, then I will create a different type of visual, either based on a high-level process flow with swim lanes for different stakeholders, or another format. For the activity, I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5-6 participants each representing a different organization or area of interest. Each group receives a poster-size copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly, or use sticky notes to make comments. I give them two-three questions to answer, such as: 1) What key elements are missing from the graphic? 2) What would you change about the graphic to make it more accurately reflect your problem space? 3) What key insights do you have about the relationships between the entities in your problem space? I give them approximately 20 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic. Then I have each group report out on their answers to those three questions while pointing to the mark-ups on their poster. As each group reports out, I record commonalities in the insights of each group, and then additional insights that come from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic. After the session, I digitize each group’s poster as an artifact, create a view that combines the shared and new insights from the group discussion, and then create a revised graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a group.
Insight & Approach: What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the graphic – especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing their understanding of the problem they are working to solve, the more valuable aspect of the activity is the shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are working to define their problem space. The graphic gives the diverse group of stakeholders a focal point for discussion that allows them to share their perspectives and develop insights into potential root causes of their problems. While they could create the graphic from a blank slate in a collaborative manner, starting with a straw man jump starts the conversation for them. They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they are missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key entities instead of taking time to identify them. They can also identify variables in the problem space – that is, it helps them to identify what they don’t know, in what areas they need to obtain information or data to provide the values for the variables. Since I discovered that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning, next time I would use the visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities. Then the revised graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool throughout the remainder of their work.
|
Visualization
[NAME_STUDENT] Challenge & Selection: The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization, or Visual Thinking, to achieve a shared understanding of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting to identify and define possible solutions to the problem. I use this approach often with our customers, who are government agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize their mission or the delivery of their services to their customer, which may be U.S. citizens, businesses, and non-citizens. I have used the technique of using a straw man visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for discussion to allow a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining the scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions. Application: I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain. To develop the straw man graphic, I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment. The existing material may be operational or procedural documents, training materials, marketing materials, GAO or other auditing reports. If materials are not available, then I conduct informal interviews with one-three of the stakeholders who serve as my main points of contact on the initiative. If appropriate to the situation, I will borrow the concept to “front-stage/back-stage” from previous research, and discussed in David Gray’s book, “The Connected Company”. The front-stage/back-stage approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an internal service – has customers with whom the service provider interacts and internal processes that enable the organization to provide the service. The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value Chain Providers and a column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations, such as Congress, GAO, labor unions, advocacy groups, and other entities that may add constraints to how the organization operates. The straw man graphic is simple, using simple shapes and icons available in Visio or on the Internet. If the front-stage/back-stage view doesn’t work, then I will create a different type of visual, either based on a high-level process flow with swim lanes for different stakeholders, or another format. For the activity, I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5-6 participants each representing a different organization or area of interest. Each group receives a poster-size copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly, or use sticky notes to make comments. I give them two-three questions to answer, such as: 1) What key elements are missing from the graphic? 2) What would you change about the graphic to make it more accurately reflect your problem space? 3) What key insights do you have about the relationships between the entities in your problem space? I give them approximately 20 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic. Then I have each group report out on their answers to those three questions while pointing to the mark-ups on their poster. As each group reports out, I record commonalities in the insights of each group, and then additional insights that come from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic. After the session, I digitize each group’s poster as an artifact, create a view that combines the shared and new insights from the group discussion, and then create a revised graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a group.
Insight & Approach: What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the graphic – especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing their understanding of the problem they are working to solve, the more valuable aspect of the activity is the shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are working to define their problem space. The graphic gives the diverse group of stakeholders a focal point for discussion that allows them to share their perspectives and develop insights into potential root causes of their problems. While they could create the graphic from a blank slate in a collaborative manner, starting with a straw man jump starts the conversation for them. They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they are missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key entities instead of taking time to identify them. They can also identify variables in the problem space – that is, it helps them to identify what they don’t know, in what areas they need to obtain information or data to provide the values for the variables. Since I discovered that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning, next time I would use the visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities. Then the revised graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool throughout the remainder of their work.
|
Motivating Reflection Visualization examples;
Insight and Existing our Approaches;
Our answer tends to the issue of supporting reflection-on-activity. Our work is enlivened by Schön‟s conceptualization of reflection-on-activity and broadens it by recognizing how the intellectual demonstration of reflection converts into explicit plan exercises by and by. By considering designers‟ reflection practice, we hypothesized that a visual portrayal of plan antiquities that catches and conveys the plan cycle and setting of plan movement would better cultivate reflection-on-activity. To approve our methodology, we planned, actualized, and assessed Reflection, an intelligent perception instrument for supporting exercises related with reflection-on-activity. Assessment of Reflection with proficient originators indicated both subjective and quantitative advantages of our approach.There are a few key advancements in ReflectionSpace. To start with, Reflection upholds reviewing plan stories, understanding the progression of configuration, contrasting various undertakings, assessing time contributed, and finding covered up
designs. Second, Reflection offers a period and movement driven perception of plan
materials that can be explored at various degrees of detail.
Application of the matter;
Reflection-on-activity is a basic segment of innovative plan. It empowers creators to assess their plan cycle, gain from past victories and disappointments, and increase motivation which thusly can improve plan productivity and results. For instance, a visual creator may participate in a "self-assessment" meeting subsequent to finishing the plan of a site and find out if the last plan met customer prerequisites, regardless of whether she pre-maturely dedicated to a model, or whether this venture took longer than other website composition extends that she dealt with. Dissimilar to appearance in real life which empowers in-the-second considering plan action, reflection-onaction empowers basic contemplating earlier activities comprehensively. While not so much regular but rather more granular than appearance in real life, reflection-on-activity is similarly significant for improving plan results. This roused us to inspect conduct identified with reflection-on-activity, assemble an intuitive representation device that bolsters this conduct, and assess its effect on reflection for genuine plan ventures. Existing antiques assume an indispensable function in innovative plan - creators use existing curios to figure the plan issue, produce thoughts, and assess options. Studies affirm that creators frequently access earlier scenes (encounters) when tested with new issues.
Challenge and Selection;
the materials relating to this past undertaking to get a thought regarding her plan cycle, reasoning, and time necessity. In any case, the ancient rarities put away in the record framework simply helped her to get to "what was made and conveyed" without giving any insights regarding what measure I followed, the number of ideas work on,this is an independent item fashioner. I used to planning in a school pack that objectives metropolitan youngster populace. I began the undertaking by gathering data about the customer, the intended interest group, existing items, and different items utilized by the objective clients. I began pondering my previous experience working for a similar customer, wanting to review the customers inclination and what worked and didn't turn out working for this customer. Neglecting to review insights regarding my experience, I chose to investigate all tuld have created and how I chose the last idea, how the model advanced, my reasoning, and the exertion put resources into the various periods of this task. The main helpful relic Johana discovered was the "final.pdf" record that contained pictures of the antiquities from the distinctive plan stages. These pictures helped me review that the last model was roused by a Nikon camera case, however I had no clue about how that plan impacted the eventual outcome, while during my plan she chose to follow this heading, or what the customers sentiment was. I began to inspect substance of various envelopes trusting that it will assist her with responding to her inquiries, yet before long understood that antiques alone offer little help for her necessities.
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Motivating Reflection Visualization examples;
Insight and Existing our Approaches;
Our answer tends to the issue of supporting reflection-on-activity. Our work is enlivened by Schön‟s conceptualization of reflection-on-activity and broadens it by recognizing how the intellectual demonstration of reflection converts into explicit plan exercises by and by. By considering designers‟ reflection practice, we hypothesized that a visual portrayal of plan antiquities that catches and conveys the plan cycle and setting of plan movement would better cultivate reflection-on-activity. To approve our methodology, we planned, actualized, and assessed Reflection, an intelligent perception instrument for supporting exercises related with reflection-on-activity. Assessment of Reflection with proficient originators indicated both subjective and quantitative advantages of our approach.There are a few key advancements in ReflectionSpace. To start with, Reflection upholds reviewing plan stories, understanding the progression of configuration, contrasting various undertakings, assessing time contributed, and finding covered up
designs. Second, Reflection offers a period and movement driven perception of plan
materials that can be explored at various degrees of detail.
Application of the matter;
Reflection-on-activity is a basic segment of innovative plan. It empowers creators to assess their plan cycle, gain from past victories and disappointments, and increase motivation which thusly can improve plan productivity and results. For instance, a visual creator may participate in a "self-assessment" meeting subsequent to finishing the plan of a site and find out if the last plan met customer prerequisites, regardless of whether she pre-maturely dedicated to a model, or whether this venture took longer than other website composition extends that she dealt with. Dissimilar to appearance in real life which empowers in-the-second considering plan action, reflection-onaction empowers basic contemplating earlier activities comprehensively. While not so much regular but rather more granular than appearance in real life, reflection-on-activity is similarly significant for improving plan results. This roused us to inspect conduct identified with reflection-on-activity, assemble an intuitive representation device that bolsters this conduct, and assess its effect on reflection for genuine plan ventures. Existing antiques assume an indispensable function in innovative plan - creators use existing curios to figure the plan issue, produce thoughts, and assess options. Studies affirm that creators frequently access earlier scenes (encounters) when tested with new issues.
Challenge and Selection;
the materials relating to this past undertaking to get a thought regarding her plan cycle, reasoning, and time necessity. In any case, the ancient rarities put away in the record framework simply helped her to get to "what was made and conveyed" without giving any insights regarding what measure I followed, the number of ideas work on,this is an independent item fashioner. I used to planning in a school pack that objectives metropolitan youngster populace. I began the undertaking by gathering data about the customer, the intended interest group, existing items, and different items utilized by the objective clients. I began pondering my previous experience working for a similar customer, wanting to review the customers inclination and what worked and didn't turn out working for this customer. Neglecting to review insights regarding my experience, I chose to investigate all tuld have created and how I chose the last idea, how the model advanced, my reasoning, and the exertion put resources into the various periods of this task. The main helpful relic [NAME_STUDENT] discovered was the "final.pdf" record that contained pictures of the antiquities from the distinctive plan stages. These pictures helped me review that the last model was roused by a Nikon camera case, however I had no clue about how that plan impacted the eventual outcome, while during my plan she chose to follow this heading, or what the customers sentiment was. I began to inspect substance of various envelopes trusting that it will assist her with responding to her inquiries, yet before long understood that antiques alone offer little help for her necessities.
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Diego Claro December 16, 2019
Reflection
Visualization
Challenge & Selection.
I am Solution Architect into a Company what expects to replace its Core System for
Human Resources and this one implies many challenges. People from diverse expertise areas into
the Organization and a poor communication channel to converge into the same situation to
archive a potential solution to integrate the current Payroll system with a new product for the HR
VicePresidency where this one coexist with another applications from different businesses area. I
used Visualization as a tool to get an understanding from the stakeholders needs in order to
establish a proper communication channel to exchange ideas about the problem and reduce
frictions among attendants with few knowledge of technology terms, due to Visualization
Thinking (Visualization Tool) allow us to express ourselves in graphic mode and give the
opportunity to the rest to participate.
Application.
First, I drew the current situation about the main problem segmented by respective
domains in a board to make it visible for each attendant in order to promote the participation
and start brainstorming, then I conduct the informal interviews where stakeholders will give me
impression and relevant information about their processes daily so that I can print onto the draw
and complement elements. Once We ‘ve described the complete current situation, then We can
start asking What if this component is incorporated into the specific flow? So, ideas are coming
on the desk and the draw will be transformed into that Product that everyone expects.
And finally everybody may say if there are potential risks and suggest if anything requires
to be modified with the approval of the rest of stakeholders presents till refine the Solution and so
on.
DESIGN THINKING REFLECTIONS 1
Insight & Approach.
I learned from this kind of process what the proper communication is crucial to engage
great ideas and build excellent… and why not disruptive products with added value. Also the
timely feedback from every interested part is so important to obtain ideas and how to build
something in efficient way. Visualization permits to explore variables in play and placed the
stakeholder in a focal point of discussion, avoiding the distractions and reducing the wastes.
Since discovered the power of the visualization thinking, I ve seen how the communication
is fluency among stakeholder and allow to keep track about the evolution of the idea.
DESIGN THINKING REFLECTIONS 2
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[NAME_STUDENT] December 16, 2019
Reflection
Visualization
Challenge & Selection.
I am Solution Architect into a Company what expects to replace its Core System for
Human Resources and this one implies many challenges. People from diverse expertise areas into
the Organization and a poor communication channel to converge into the same situation to
archive a potential solution to integrate the current Payroll system with a new product for the HR
VicePresidency where this one coexist with another applications from different businesses area. I
used Visualization as a tool to get an understanding from the stakeholders needs in order to
establish a proper communication channel to exchange ideas about the problem and reduce
frictions among attendants with few knowledge of technology terms, due to Visualization
Thinking (Visualization Tool) allow us to express ourselves in graphic mode and give the
opportunity to the rest to participate.
Application.
First, I drew the current situation about the main problem segmented by respective
domains in a board to make it visible for each attendant in order to promote the participation
and start brainstorming, then I conduct the informal interviews where stakeholders will give me
impression and relevant information about their processes daily so that I can print onto the draw
and complement elements. Once We ‘ve described the complete current situation, then We can
start asking What if this component is incorporated into the specific flow? So, ideas are coming
on the desk and the draw will be transformed into that Product that everyone expects.
And finally everybody may say if there are potential risks and suggest if anything requires
to be modified with the approval of the rest of stakeholders presents till refine the Solution and so
on.
DESIGN THINKING REFLECTIONS 1
Insight & Approach.
I learned from this kind of process what the proper communication is crucial to engage
great ideas and build excellent… and why not disruptive products with added value. Also the
timely feedback from every interested part is so important to obtain ideas and how to build
something in efficient way. Visualization permits to explore variables in play and placed the
stakeholder in a focal point of discussion, avoiding the distractions and reducing the wastes.
Since discovered the power of the visualization thinking, I ve seen how the communication
is fluency among stakeholder and allow to keep track about the evolution of the idea.
DESIGN THINKING REFLECTIONS 2
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Pablo Romero Example Reflection – Storytelling
Challenge
My challenge was that I had to found this new society on creativity, leadership, innovation and design.
Therefore, I had to convince people in my college that it was a good idea and I would gain their
participation with this way. So, long story short, I had to influence people along the foundation of this
creative society. Among with that, there were other stakeholders such as society’s collaborative
companies and college management.
Selection
When it comes to affecting and influencing people under your organization, in my opinion, there is no
better choice then storytelling. I have a story to tell them about why the existing societies are not as
good as they should be, and there is no society that would excel students’ soft skills. If you want to
create, you need to create. You cannot just listen to people who create and then become a creator
yourself. This idea led to turn my thoughts to a story then to tell people. Some say storytelling have
four P’s: People, Place, Plot, and Purpose. Therefore, I chose storytelling to be able to show these
aspects.
Application
Before assembling people together for the board of this society, I have took them one by one and spoke
privately with each. Emotional branding is the key point in here for society and I have tried that. Each
individual was from different disciplines, because this society is a multidisciplinary one. Hence, I aimed
for their needs and how this society can have benefits for their faculty as well. Apart from that, our
collaborative companies had their needs as well. After all, it must be a win-win relationship and I told
our story according to that. I explained the benefits of cooperation with telling stories. People had to
chance to show empathy with this storytelling applications and were all eager to participate in it.
Insight
Applying this tool really showed me that systematic and emotional approach when it comes to using
storytelling works wonderful. Showing empathy to people’s needs and influencing them using design
thinking has many benefits. Apart from that I gained experience with my story each time I told it then
each time I did better at telling it.
Approach
I would apply this tool for a similar case because I saw that people needs to start with “why?” instead
of what. In addition, I was able to create complexity in their heads and then solve it by answering with
storytelling.
Another tools like visualization and mind mapping is actually applied with this method too but they
weren’t directly. I might consider using mind mapping more directly too because mind map is a diagram
used to visually organize information. A mind map is hierarchical and shows relationships among pieces
of the whole. Which would benefit my explanation of the society to other people.
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[NAME_STUDENT] Example Reflection – Storytelling
Challenge
My challenge was that I had to found this new society on creativity, leadership, innovation and design.
Therefore, I had to convince people in my college that it was a good idea and I would gain their
participation with this way. So, long story short, I had to influence people along the foundation of this
creative society. Among with that, there were other stakeholders such as society’s collaborative
companies and college management.
Selection
When it comes to affecting and influencing people under your organization, in my opinion, there is no
better choice then storytelling. I have a story to tell them about why the existing societies are not as
good as they should be, and there is no society that would excel students’ soft skills. If you want to
create, you need to create. You cannot just listen to people who create and then become a creator
yourself. This idea led to turn my thoughts to a story then to tell people. Some say storytelling have
four P’s: People, Place, Plot, and Purpose. Therefore, I chose storytelling to be able to show these
aspects.
Application
Before assembling people together for the board of this society, I have took them one by one and spoke
privately with each. Emotional branding is the key point in here for society and I have tried that. Each
individual was from different disciplines, because this society is a multidisciplinary one. Hence, I aimed
for their needs and how this society can have benefits for their faculty as well. Apart from that, our
collaborative companies had their needs as well. After all, it must be a win-win relationship and I told
our story according to that. I explained the benefits of cooperation with telling stories. People had to
chance to show empathy with this storytelling applications and were all eager to participate in it.
Insight
Applying this tool really showed me that systematic and emotional approach when it comes to using
storytelling works wonderful. Showing empathy to people’s needs and influencing them using design
thinking has many benefits. Apart from that I gained experience with my story each time I told it then
each time I did better at telling it.
Approach
I would apply this tool for a similar case because I saw that people needs to start with “why?” instead
of what. In addition, I was able to create complexity in their heads and then solve it by answering with
storytelling.
Another tools like visualization and mind mapping is actually applied with this method too but they
weren’t directly. I might consider using mind mapping more directly too because mind map is a diagram
used to visually organize information. A mind map is hierarchical and shows relationships among pieces
of the whole. Which would benefit my explanation of the society to other people.
|
Mind Mapping - The case of a facilitated mobile selling platform.
Author: Yunier Leung
In 2011 a colleague and I embarked in a difficult task, building the most advanced
craft beer e-commerce that our market had ever seen. Having worked together in the largest craft beer company in Latin America, we had the experience and knew we could do better. During the design process of the new business, we saw ourselves locked in a sea of technical options on how the application could be built, what it would have and what not. We collected about 200 features up to then, and they should be narrowed to a maximum of a handful manageable items. But how?
The selection and application of the tool happened concomitantly. As we laid out so
many disconnected options in front of us, so we began organizing and connecting the dots. Soon enough, the tool showed itself to us: Mind Mapping. It is extremely useful exactly to that: surface patterns in a large knowledge base. The tool consists of reorganizing the ideas hierarchically, starting from a initial, broad and general point. In our case, this was the final result: an app. Soon some clusters and a workflow surfaced, lot's of correlated small pieces falling into larger ones, as steps of a larger construction.
After some days of work, the first insight appeared: we just needed the steps really
useful to take products from our stock to the client, exactly how a well done mind map should look, organized and sensible. Everything that stepped in the way of our goal should and could be removed. We ditched away collecting too much information from our clients, we built stocks near them, with really fast deliveries, removing the distance itself. Added artificial intelligence algorithms to predict lot's of information that was not central to the user experience, but that would facilitate the conversion. Lot's of features were consolidated in small, really needed groups.
The approach turned out to be very efficient. When we reached the prototype
version of the business it was elegant, simple and goal centric. In every new phase of the business we reapplied designing mind maps so that everyone knew both processes, hierarchies and what really matter: how everything connected. I could not change anything beyond applying the tool earlier every time.
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Mind Mapping - The case of a facilitated mobile selling platform.
Author: [NAME_STUDENT]
In 2011 a colleague and I embarked in a difficult task, building the most advanced
craft beer e-commerce that our market had ever seen. Having worked together in the largest craft beer company in Latin America, we had the experience and knew we could do better. During the design process of the new business, we saw ourselves locked in a sea of technical options on how the application could be built, what it would have and what not. We collected about 200 features up to then, and they should be narrowed to a maximum of a handful manageable items. But how?
The selection and application of the tool happened concomitantly. As we laid out so
many disconnected options in front of us, so we began organizing and connecting the dots. Soon enough, the tool showed itself to us: Mind Mapping. It is extremely useful exactly to that: surface patterns in a large knowledge base. The tool consists of reorganizing the ideas hierarchically, starting from a initial, broad and general point. In our case, this was the final result: an app. Soon some clusters and a workflow surfaced, lot's of correlated small pieces falling into larger ones, as steps of a larger construction.
After some days of work, the first insight appeared: we just needed the steps really
useful to take products from our stock to the client, exactly how a well done mind map should look, organized and sensible. Everything that stepped in the way of our goal should and could be removed. We ditched away collecting too much information from our clients, we built stocks near them, with really fast deliveries, removing the distance itself. Added artificial intelligence algorithms to predict lot's of information that was not central to the user experience, but that would facilitate the conversion. Lot's of features were consolidated in small, really needed groups.
The approach turned out to be very efficient. When we reached the prototype
version of the business it was elegant, simple and goal centric. In every new phase of the business we reapplied designing mind maps so that everyone knew both processes, hierarchies and what really matter: how everything connected. I could not change anything beyond applying the tool earlier every time.
|
Storytelling to improve government communication skills
Monica Torres
1. Challenge:
I work for the Colombian government since I was 23 years old. What I have seen during that time is that: (i) State entities in Colombia have little credibility caused by high rates of corruption and the popular belief that they are inefficient. (ii) people who work for the government have difficulties to communicate what the government is doing because they use a technical terminology that common people do not understand. (iii) Government workers are used to do things in a certain way that allow them to keep their Jobs and get things done accordingly to the law. Finally, (iv) government entities do not understand the real problems of citizens.
In this context, we worked identifying a way to face those issues in our office. We decided to start with the problem within our reach “improve my communication skills and my colleague’s”. The main challenge was finding a way to change our mindset so we used a tool that allow us to communicate better among us.
2. Selection:
Driven to improve our communication skills and connect with each other, we decided to use storytelling as a tool to ease the presentations of our topics. Telling stories in our presentations make them more interesting for the listener, helping to capture their attention and empathize with the audience. The stories humanized our communication and make our colleagues feel closer to topics different from their expertise. It makes them the center of our presentations.
Taking in to account that our topics and the language we used was considered difficult to keep up and boring, we decided to use examples and analogies in our personal stories to connect with values, emotions and character. Like John Kaur, Global Leadership Development Director from Mars Inc, says “(…) Every great brand has a story and that story connects to the emotions, the characters, the values of the people (…)”. We wanted to build the story behind our work, that’s our brand.
3. Application:
We started searching in to our personal repertoire of stories, looking for the key points that could have a personal connection with our audience as well as with the topics we were presenting. We chose the stories were there was a strong connection with the speaker but also had a clear meaning to the listener. The criteria for determining the stories was that it had to be funny as we realized that our audience was always leaning for this type of content.
Once the stories were identified, the next step was to build the speech accordingly to what we wanted to explain. The first story we told had the purpose to explain the “integrated model of planning and public management” which is the model that determines the proceedings in public institutions to make them more effective and transparent. In the
past, people who had participated in conferences about this topic said it was boring and difficult to understand.
The chosen story was the personal experience of my dad who out of nowhere decided he wanted to build a sheep farm. Using as an example the different planning and management stages of the project and making a strong emphasis on the different problems that the project had to overcome, as well as asking the audience for possible solutions we presented the case, making fun of some experiences he overcome and discovering useful correlations between the model and my dad´s experience.
At the end of each presentation, the participants expressed that they understood the topic and could implement the model in their daily routine. They also revealed that they were entertained during the presentation and that they could replicate the explanation of the model in a similar way. In a nutshell, the storytelling strategy was effective and we decided to replicate this tool in other presentations. Now is quite popular to hear storytelling presentations at the organization, what is helpful to communicate with citizens as well.
4. Insight:
What we learned out of this experience was: (i) Firstly we need to understand our audience, their values and interests to match what they find appealing with what they need to learn. (ii) Using humor as a resource is very efficient to connect with the audience and retain their attention. (iii) Personal stories are easier to tell for the speaker as they lived them already. (iv) By opening and telling something personal it is easier to create a bond with the audience. (v) Through stories, it is easier to find the causes and solutions to common problems which is useful for design thinking as well, it has been our entrance to design thinking at the organization.
5. Approach:
Given that storytelling tool has been successfully used for enhance our communication skills, it is time to explore some others uses. We started our first design thinking exercise and we want to include story telling tool as a facilitator in this process. Having said that, perhaps the only thing I would do different is to test the story before doing it with a real audience to find better analogies and conclusions as well as getting an initial feedback from your colleagues. Using experimentation as a complement to improve de innovation exercises at the organization.
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Storytelling to improve government communication skills
[NAME_STUDENT]
1. Challenge:
I work for the Colombian government since I was 23 years old. What I have seen during that time is that: (i) State entities in Colombia have little credibility caused by high rates of corruption and the popular belief that they are inefficient. (ii) people who work for the government have difficulties to communicate what the government is doing because they use a technical terminology that common people do not understand. (iii) Government workers are used to do things in a certain way that allow them to keep their Jobs and get things done accordingly to the law. Finally, (iv) government entities do not understand the real problems of citizens.
In this context, we worked identifying a way to face those issues in our office. We decided to start with the problem within our reach “improve my communication skills and my colleague’s”. The main challenge was finding a way to change our mindset so we used a tool that allow us to communicate better among us.
2. Selection:
Driven to improve our communication skills and connect with each other, we decided to use storytelling as a tool to ease the presentations of our topics. Telling stories in our presentations make them more interesting for the listener, helping to capture their attention and empathize with the audience. The stories humanized our communication and make our colleagues feel closer to topics different from their expertise. It makes them the center of our presentations.
Taking in to account that our topics and the language we used was considered difficult to keep up and boring, we decided to use examples and analogies in our personal stories to connect with values, emotions and character. Like John Kaur, Global Leadership Development Director from Mars Inc, says “(…) Every great brand has a story and that story connects to the emotions, the characters, the values of the people (…)”. We wanted to build the story behind our work, that’s our brand.
3. Application:
We started searching in to our personal repertoire of stories, looking for the key points that could have a personal connection with our audience as well as with the topics we were presenting. We chose the stories were there was a strong connection with the speaker but also had a clear meaning to the listener. The criteria for determining the stories was that it had to be funny as we realized that our audience was always leaning for this type of content.
Once the stories were identified, the next step was to build the speech accordingly to what we wanted to explain. The first story we told had the purpose to explain the “integrated model of planning and public management” which is the model that determines the proceedings in public institutions to make them more effective and transparent. In the
past, people who had participated in conferences about this topic said it was boring and difficult to understand.
The chosen story was the personal experience of my dad who out of nowhere decided he wanted to build a sheep farm. Using as an example the different planning and management stages of the project and making a strong emphasis on the different problems that the project had to overcome, as well as asking the audience for possible solutions we presented the case, making fun of some experiences he overcome and discovering useful correlations between the model and my dad´s experience.
At the end of each presentation, the participants expressed that they understood the topic and could implement the model in their daily routine. They also revealed that they were entertained during the presentation and that they could replicate the explanation of the model in a similar way. In a nutshell, the storytelling strategy was effective and we decided to replicate this tool in other presentations. Now is quite popular to hear storytelling presentations at the organization, what is helpful to communicate with citizens as well.
4. Insight:
What we learned out of this experience was: (i) Firstly we need to understand our audience, their values and interests to match what they find appealing with what they need to learn. (ii) Using humor as a resource is very efficient to connect with the audience and retain their attention. (iii) Personal stories are easier to tell for the speaker as they lived them already. (iv) By opening and telling something personal it is easier to create a bond with the audience. (v) Through stories, it is easier to find the causes and solutions to common problems which is useful for design thinking as well, it has been our entrance to design thinking at the organization.
5. Approach:
Given that storytelling tool has been successfully used for enhance our communication skills, it is time to explore some others uses. We started our first design thinking exercise and we want to include story telling tool as a facilitator in this process. Having said that, perhaps the only thing I would do different is to test the story before doing it with a real audience to find better analogies and conclusions as well as getting an initial feedback from your colleagues. Using experimentation as a complement to improve de innovation exercises at the organization.
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Elizabeth Jose
DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Reflection – Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
The tool I used was the tool of Storytelling. I work in a social organization which provides social development to vulnerable sector in their area of influence. The social theme that I work with was the following: Access to drinking water consumption in rural communities in the 4 communities surrounding the Argos plant in Comayagua, Honduras.
Argos's “Piedras Azules” cement plant is located in the department of Comayagua, Honduras. From the beginning of its operations in the country, a fundamental pillar for the organization is sustainability, it is important in the search for a relationship with the communities surrounding the plant; in order to be good neighbors and allies in their development.
In 2010, an initial diagnosis was made documenting different socioeconomic aspects to determine and prioritize the social impact that would serve as a roadmap for the execution of a community development plan, continuously supporting innovative social initiatives with great impact for the entire community. Thus, one of the basic needs prioritized by the 4 communities of incidence in Comayagua is access to drinking water. At present, the communities have a supply water source which supplies a large part of the homes in these communities; however, it is not potable, but only pipe water without any type of treatment. It should be noted that a significant percentage of the population is in a high level of poverty due to the high unemployment rate in the area, resulting in a deficit in the family economy. The largest source of household income is through a salary from the private sector with 25% (from the jobs generated by the cement plant, as well as other jobs generated in the urban area of the municipality), followed by farming on account their own, that is to say that 19% of the families in the community dedicate themselves to cultivating the land to sell their product. The rest of the population obtains income from remittances sent by relatives or informal enterprises within and outside the community. According to data from the study, most families survive on an income of $ 200 a month.
This lack of income is the fundamental result by which in the homes of the families in these rural communities they do not consume drinking water, mainly due to the high costs that a bottle of water represents in their economy. It is estimated that an average family consumes three bottles per week, the prices of each bottle are approximately $ 1.80 per unit, spending a minimum of $ 21.6 per month on average. Added to this problem are the health difficulties derived from the consumption of non-potable water for humans, such as: diarrhea and parasitism, especially in children.
I use this information to develop different strategies to try and find a way to help with an innovating solution that may help the population to access to safe water
Application
This tool will be useful in the main documentation in order to tell a story of a resident who has been affected for years by the consumption of non-potable water and how this has had a multiplying effect on the rest of his family nucleus. Likewise, it will provide
usefulness to document the initial problem and how the approach to the solution can have a significant impact on the residents. Likewise, it will allow to show a real and essential panorama of the problem to possible / future social partners for the management of resources for the implementation of the innovative solution in the community.
When I make the application of the storytelling I document the story of the resident I could tell they were lacking of good health and a system that assures them to provide access to water and also safe water for their consume. I made him to demonstrate me the type of water that came up of their faucet. It turned out that with a simple method I take samples of the water to determine the level of contamination in the same to be able to evaluate the current situation of the water and thus start with the innovative social solution.
Insight & Approach
A sample of the water analyzed in the laboratory, revealed that the water is not suitable for human consumption, this because the water has an electrical conductivity higher than those allowed by national and international standards, in addition the water contains a silica index higher than that allows the national standard. They do not have a water treatment system. Some houses have basins for collecting water in precarious conditions, in other cases they use corroded plastic or metal tanks.
So I told this story to the social organization I work with, and I think it had a big impact on the Board of Directors. We started to document all the population water access problems to start with social projects that would made them to solve this problem. Also, we started to look at cooperation agencies that have external funds at their disposal to finance water projects with a social focus in communities.
This course allowed me to apply this useful tool that will allow us to better evaluate the project.
|
[NAME_STUDENT]
DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Reflection – Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
The tool I used was the tool of Storytelling. I work in a social organization which provides social development to vulnerable sector in their area of influence. The social theme that I work with was the following: Access to drinking water consumption in rural communities in the 4 communities surrounding the Argos plant in Comayagua, Honduras.
Argos's “Piedras Azules” cement plant is located in the department of Comayagua, Honduras. From the beginning of its operations in the country, a fundamental pillar for the organization is sustainability, it is important in the search for a relationship with the communities surrounding the plant; in order to be good neighbors and allies in their development.
In 2010, an initial diagnosis was made documenting different socioeconomic aspects to determine and prioritize the social impact that would serve as a roadmap for the execution of a community development plan, continuously supporting innovative social initiatives with great impact for the entire community. Thus, one of the basic needs prioritized by the 4 communities of incidence in Comayagua is access to drinking water. At present, the communities have a supply water source which supplies a large part of the homes in these communities; however, it is not potable, but only pipe water without any type of treatment. It should be noted that a significant percentage of the population is in a high level of poverty due to the high unemployment rate in the area, resulting in a deficit in the family economy. The largest source of household income is through a salary from the private sector with 25% (from the jobs generated by the cement plant, as well as other jobs generated in the urban area of the municipality), followed by farming on account their own, that is to say that 19% of the families in the community dedicate themselves to cultivating the land to sell their product. The rest of the population obtains income from remittances sent by relatives or informal enterprises within and outside the community. According to data from the study, most families survive on an income of $ 200 a month.
This lack of income is the fundamental result by which in the homes of the families in these rural communities they do not consume drinking water, mainly due to the high costs that a bottle of water represents in their economy. It is estimated that an average family consumes three bottles per week, the prices of each bottle are approximately $ 1.80 per unit, spending a minimum of $ 21.6 per month on average. Added to this problem are the health difficulties derived from the consumption of non-potable water for humans, such as: diarrhea and parasitism, especially in children.
I use this information to develop different strategies to try and find a way to help with an innovating solution that may help the population to access to safe water
Application
This tool will be useful in the main documentation in order to tell a story of a resident who has been affected for years by the consumption of non-potable water and how this has had a multiplying effect on the rest of his family nucleus. Likewise, it will provide
usefulness to document the initial problem and how the approach to the solution can have a significant impact on the residents. Likewise, it will allow to show a real and essential panorama of the problem to possible / future social partners for the management of resources for the implementation of the innovative solution in the community.
When I make the application of the storytelling I document the story of the resident I could tell they were lacking of good health and a system that assures them to provide access to water and also safe water for their consume. I made him to demonstrate me the type of water that came up of their faucet. It turned out that with a simple method I take samples of the water to determine the level of contamination in the same to be able to evaluate the current situation of the water and thus start with the innovative social solution.
Insight & Approach
A sample of the water analyzed in the laboratory, revealed that the water is not suitable for human consumption, this because the water has an electrical conductivity higher than those allowed by national and international standards, in addition the water contains a silica index higher than that allows the national standard. They do not have a water treatment system. Some houses have basins for collecting water in precarious conditions, in other cases they use corroded plastic or metal tanks.
So I told this story to the social organization I work with, and I think it had a big impact on the Board of Directors. We started to document all the population water access problems to start with social projects that would made them to solve this problem. Also, we started to look at cooperation agencies that have external funds at their disposal to finance water projects with a social focus in communities.
This course allowed me to apply this useful tool that will allow us to better evaluate the project.
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EXAMPLE REFLECTION – FIXED MINDSET Challenge: I am Narayan Majid, I am going to tell you about fixed mindset. Before completing the course, I had a completely fixed mindset. Now I have changed my mindset because there is more unwanted challenge in fixed mindset which I came to know from this course. There are those types of challenge in fixed mindset. If you guys have fixed mindset then once think about it. Now I am challenging myself to change my mindset from fixed to growth mindset. Selection: So, I select my mindset to be a growth mindset and knowledgeable mindset. I select growth mind set because our professor taught about fixed mindset and growth mindset and I am impressed by growth mindset and I select growth mind set. According to me, growth mindset is like hungry mind which is always ready to gain knowledge and stay quite like it knows nothing. Everyone wants success and best life. To achieve success, you have to do something special today and that’s why I select growth mindset. Application: The general application of growth mindset is to increase knowledge, experience, and always ready to gain knowledge. To gain this and make something new on you, you have to challenge yourself to be great and achieve your goal. I have not applied this tool yet. Currently I am studying whenever I will start thinking about my business and innovation this idea will be applied for it. Insight and Approach: I don’t have experience about business yes, I will make a group and start my own later. For this I have to gain knowledge and experience about that first. By completing this course now i can challenge myself at different situation and all and i will approach my destination. I will apply all my knowledge and experience which I gain from studying, seniors, documentary, others experience, market visit and all so that I can
make something different. I will apply some different and modern tools to develop and help others. Our society is not well developed on every position and situation, to develop properly in every place we have to use different ideas and proper knowledge. In the end, take every risk as opportunity and challenge yourself to do something new and to learn something new.
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EXAMPLE REFLECTION – FIXED MINDSET Challenge: I am [NAME_STUDENT] , I am going to tell you about fixed mindset. Before completing the course, I had a completely fixed mindset. Now I have changed my mindset because there is more unwanted challenge in fixed mindset which I came to know from this course. There are those types of challenge in fixed mindset. If you guys have fixed mindset then once think about it. Now I am challenging myself to change my mindset from fixed to growth mindset. Selection: So, I select my mindset to be a growth mindset and knowledgeable mindset. I select growth mind set because our professor taught about fixed mindset and growth mindset and I am impressed by growth mindset and I select growth mind set. According to me, growth mindset is like hungry mind which is always ready to gain knowledge and stay quite like it knows nothing. Everyone wants success and best life. To achieve success, you have to do something special today and that’s why I select growth mindset. Application: The general application of growth mindset is to increase knowledge, experience, and always ready to gain knowledge. To gain this and make something new on you, you have to challenge yourself to be great and achieve your goal. I have not applied this tool yet. Currently I am studying whenever I will start thinking about my business and innovation this idea will be applied for it. Insight and Approach: I don’t have experience about business yes, I will make a group and start my own later. For this I have to gain knowledge and experience about that first. By completing this course now i can challenge myself at different situation and all and i will approach my destination. I will apply all my knowledge and experience which I gain from studying, seniors, documentary, others experience, market visit and all so that I can
make something different. I will apply some different and modern tools to develop and help others. Our society is not well developed on every position and situation, to develop properly in every place we have to use different ideas and proper knowledge. In the end, take every risk as opportunity and challenge yourself to do something new and to learn something new.
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Design Thinking Eina Nazim
Example Reflection – Story Telling Challenge & Selection I have used some of the tools which is described in Design thinking Modules including Visualization and Journey Mapping and Customer co creation. In this reflection I would like to share my learnings with respect to using Story telling as a tool. I am leading applications engineering organization in semiconductor chip design electronic design automation, due to complex technical problems and increased customer pressure we have a requirement of updating Executives both Internal and external in regular basis. As volume of data and multiple analysis data points conveying the key message and also sharing the empathy for the customer that we are working on the right problems and be able to solve timely becomes challenges, I have used story telling technique in high pressure environment to describe the problem and also correlate with the day to day difficulty of the customer and how our solution can optly fit in solving his todays problem and help him to spend his weekend peacefully while we work on finding long term solution. I have used this technique to use the data but relate to the day to day problem of the designer and how the quick fix has helped me in the past, story telling technique helps to deal with the enormous amount of data and also helps in explaining the cause and benefit easily in limited time and also gain the required traction along with helping to build the trust with the personal connection.
Application and Insight:
Most of the times even in specific meetings where you have to pull in data and also to describe the the background to set the context, I use the story telling technique which helps to build the chronology of the events and the background context which helps to bring the audience to the same sync before we dive in to the data analysis and also time to time bring in the cause and benefit to set the next steps helps to build the logical flow and also to easily highlight risks and dependencies as needed through the flow of story events. The Insight which I gathered so far based on the internal and external meetings where I have used this technique is that it is easier to set the context, get required attention if handled well, cons of using this if not done correctly with the appropriate time setting audience can lose the attention and also divert the attention from pivot of discussion. Overall one of the best tool to get traction, set the context and also set the big picture and benefit/cause when used effectively.
Approach
I would need to prepare the main pivot and risks for the story telling when dealing with multiple levels of audience, in cases of when I am not prepared I would still prefer to use story telling with the help of visualization as required to set the context as well as I might also use the journey mapping as an aid to my story telling in appropriate challenging situations to gain the continued attention and required high level scope
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Design Thinking [NAME_STUDENT]
Example Reflection – Story Telling Challenge & Selection I have used some of the tools which is described in Design thinking Modules including Visualization and Journey Mapping and Customer co creation. In this reflection I would like to share my learnings with respect to using Story telling as a tool. I am leading applications engineering organization in semiconductor chip design electronic design automation, due to complex technical problems and increased customer pressure we have a requirement of updating Executives both Internal and external in regular basis. As volume of data and multiple analysis data points conveying the key message and also sharing the empathy for the customer that we are working on the right problems and be able to solve timely becomes challenges, I have used story telling technique in high pressure environment to describe the problem and also correlate with the day to day difficulty of the customer and how our solution can optly fit in solving his todays problem and help him to spend his weekend peacefully while we work on finding long term solution. I have used this technique to use the data but relate to the day to day problem of the designer and how the quick fix has helped me in the past, story telling technique helps to deal with the enormous amount of data and also helps in explaining the cause and benefit easily in limited time and also gain the required traction along with helping to build the trust with the personal connection.
Application and Insight:
Most of the times even in specific meetings where you have to pull in data and also to describe the the background to set the context, I use the story telling technique which helps to build the chronology of the events and the background context which helps to bring the audience to the same sync before we dive in to the data analysis and also time to time bring in the cause and benefit to set the next steps helps to build the logical flow and also to easily highlight risks and dependencies as needed through the flow of story events. The Insight which I gathered so far based on the internal and external meetings where I have used this technique is that it is easier to set the context, get required attention if handled well, cons of using this if not done correctly with the appropriate time setting audience can lose the attention and also divert the attention from pivot of discussion. Overall one of the best tool to get traction, set the context and also set the big picture and benefit/cause when used effectively.
Approach
I would need to prepare the main pivot and risks for the story telling when dealing with multiple levels of audience, in cases of when I am not prepared I would still prefer to use story telling with the help of visualization as required to set the context as well as I might also use the journey mapping as an aid to my story telling in appropriate challenging situations to gain the continued attention and required high level scope
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MIND MAPPING
Mind mapping is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helps structuring information, helping you to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate new ideas. Just as in every great idea, its power lies in its simplicity.In a mind map, as opposed to traditional note taking or a linear text, information is structured in a way that resembles much more closely how your brain actually works. Since it is an activity that is both analytical and artistic, it engages your brain in a much, much richer way, helping in all its cognitive functions.
A mind map’s radiant structure directly corresponds to the way our brains store and retrieve information.
A mind map conveys the hierarchy and relationships between individual ideas and enables you to see the big picture.
A mind map makes use of mental triggers (such as pictures, colors, and connections) to help your brain memorize things more easily.
The best part: mind mapping doesn’t feel like work!
Mind maps are a visual way to organize your thoughts around one topic using words, colors, images and numbers to highlight ideas and draw connections. Invented by Tony Buzan in the 1960s, mind mapping is much more than drawing: It’s a framework to help you fully think through ideas, and show how topics and ideas are connected and allowing with more flexibility than an outline or list affords.
Mind mapping can be a solo or team activity, and they can be used for all types of tasks: learning, thinking through ideas, strategic planning, mapping out processes or organizing overwhelming amounts of information. I’ve even come across mind maps made to plan weddings or organize Thanksgiving dinner.
You don't have to make a mind map—you could just jot a note down on that napkin, or use an outlining app to list the things you're thinking about. So why mind maps?
“Lists always get long, and they assign importance in terms of where the item is on the list,” explained MeisterLabs co-founder Michael Hollauf. “If something is further down, it’s inherently less important. If you have topics that are on a similar level, it’s hard to show that in a list. Mind maps can reorganize really easily if you decide something belongs to something else.”
In other words, instead of capturing information linearly by default, mind maps can show–and help you discover–connections between different topics, the way your mind works.
List or outlines can be great for small tasks, but Roberta told me fresh ideas are more likely to pop up when creating a mind map because of the free format. “When I’m planning a project, a mind map helps me capture my ideas without having to lay out steps in a linear fashion. I find that a linear list, or even an outline, hems me in and stops me thinking freely.”
For mind mapping beginners, it can be helpful to have a pro guide your first few maps. "Look for someone who often uses mind maps and ask their opinion,” Roberta told me. “This can help to remove blocks to mastering the technique in the early days.”
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MIND MAPPING
Mind mapping is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helps structuring information, helping you to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate new ideas. Just as in every great idea, its power lies in its simplicity.In a mind map, as opposed to traditional note taking or a linear text, information is structured in a way that resembles much more closely how your brain actually works. Since it is an activity that is both analytical and artistic, it engages your brain in a much, much richer way, helping in all its cognitive functions.
A mind map’s radiant structure directly corresponds to the way our brains store and retrieve information.
A mind map conveys the hierarchy and relationships between individual ideas and enables you to see the big picture.
A mind map makes use of mental triggers (such as pictures, colors, and connections) to help your brain memorize things more easily.
The best part: mind mapping doesn’t feel like work!
Mind maps are a visual way to organize your thoughts around one topic using words, colors, images and numbers to highlight ideas and draw connections. Invented by Tony Buzan in the 1960s, mind mapping is much more than drawing: It’s a framework to help you fully think through ideas, and show how topics and ideas are connected and allowing with more flexibility than an outline or list affords.
Mind mapping can be a solo or team activity, and they can be used for all types of tasks: learning, thinking through ideas, strategic planning, mapping out processes or organizing overwhelming amounts of information. I’ve even come across mind maps made to plan weddings or organize Thanksgiving dinner.
You don't have to make a mind map—you could just jot a note down on that napkin, or use an outlining app to list the things you're thinking about. So why mind maps?
“Lists always get long, and they assign importance in terms of where the item is on the list,” explained MeisterLabs co-founder Michael Hollauf. “If something is further down, it’s inherently less important. If you have topics that are on a similar level, it’s hard to show that in a list. Mind maps can reorganize really easily if you decide something belongs to something else.”
In other words, instead of capturing information linearly by default, mind maps can show–and help you discover–connections between different topics, the way your mind works.
List or outlines can be great for small tasks, but [NAME_STUDENT] told me fresh ideas are more likely to pop up when creating a mind map because of the free format. “When I’m planning a project, a mind map helps me capture my ideas without having to lay out steps in a linear fashion. I find that a linear list, or even an outline, hems me in and stops me thinking freely.”
For mind mapping beginners, it can be helpful to have a pro guide your first few maps. "Look for someone who often uses mind maps and ask their opinion,” [NAME_STUDENT] told me. “This can help to remove blocks to mastering the technique in the early days.”
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Storytelling
Challenge
I work for a non-profit organization that provides quality education to under-privileged children. My company adopts under-performing public schools in low-income communities. After adopting those schools, we implement reforms that lead to positive student learning outcomes and increased student enrollment.
In order to raise funds for our initiatives, we organize fundraising dinners. Guests pay an entry fee to attend a musical performance followed by dinner. During the event, my company’s Fundraising department used to highlight important facts about the shortcomings in the public school system by displaying shocking facts about the low student enrollment, high drop-out rate, and abysmal student achievement. The Fundraising Department personnel would then distribute donation forms among the guests and ask them to make donation commitments to address the problems that they were highlighting. At the end of the event, we would collect these firms. Very few people would make any commitments and those who did, would not follow though by actually sending a donation check. We were unable to identify why our guests were not making any donation commitments when they clearly cared enough about the cause to attend our event.
Selection and Application
Last year, we all sat down to discuss ways to collect more donor commitments during our fundraising dinner scheduled for December. We decided to interview guests and tried to place ourselves in the shoes of our donors. We realized from our discussions that our fundraising pitches during the events did not draw any interest from the guests. They would mostly tune out or start talking among themselves when our Fundraising Manager would come on stage. The Fundraising Manager would list out a number of facts and figures about the abysmal state of public schools but it did not resonate with the guests.
Therefore, we decided to come up with a different approach to our fundraising efforts. So we decided that instead of presenting facts and figures, we will pick stories about our students who had done well in our schools and gone on to attend University. We selected this approach because people would be more interested to see the students, learn about their lives and see how our work impacts them instead of viewing graphs.
This time, our CEO would tell the stories of these children and we would display photographs from their time in school while playing sports or participating in one of our classes. At the end of their story, we would invite the student to come on stage and narrate how he viewed our company had impacted his life. After narrating our students’ stories, we would then ask the guests to commit a donation that would sponsor a child’s education for a certain amount. We would then share details about the sponsored student’s progress with the donor.
Insight and Approach
In previous fundraising dinners, we would receive donor commitments from 5 percent of the invitees. But after using storytelling as a tool to inform the guests about our impact in the public schools, we received commitments from 23 percent of the guests who attended the fundraising dinner held in December last year.
We learnt that storytelling is a powerful tool to not only draw attention but to also drive donations because people connected better to uplifting stories. What we have learned is that the stories we pick should represent the diverse background of our students. We have students in our schools who have overcome great odds to complete their education and start successful careers. These stories can help highlight how our work helps these students accomplish their goals and overcome hardships. We decided that we will highlight more of these stories on our website and on our social media campaigns for fundraising purposes.
Submitted By
Jaya Madni
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Storytelling
Challenge
I work for a non-profit organization that provides quality education to under-privileged children. My company adopts under-performing public schools in low-income communities. After adopting those schools, we implement reforms that lead to positive student learning outcomes and increased student enrollment.
In order to raise funds for our initiatives, we organize fundraising dinners. Guests pay an entry fee to attend a musical performance followed by dinner. During the event, my company’s Fundraising department used to highlight important facts about the shortcomings in the public school system by displaying shocking facts about the low student enrollment, high drop-out rate, and abysmal student achievement. The Fundraising Department personnel would then distribute donation forms among the guests and ask them to make donation commitments to address the problems that they were highlighting. At the end of the event, we would collect these firms. Very few people would make any commitments and those who did, would not follow though by actually sending a donation check. We were unable to identify why our guests were not making any donation commitments when they clearly cared enough about the cause to attend our event.
Selection and Application
Last year, we all sat down to discuss ways to collect more donor commitments during our fundraising dinner scheduled for December. We decided to interview guests and tried to place ourselves in the shoes of our donors. We realized from our discussions that our fundraising pitches during the events did not draw any interest from the guests. They would mostly tune out or start talking among themselves when our Fundraising Manager would come on stage. The Fundraising Manager would list out a number of facts and figures about the abysmal state of public schools but it did not resonate with the guests.
Therefore, we decided to come up with a different approach to our fundraising efforts. So we decided that instead of presenting facts and figures, we will pick stories about our students who had done well in our schools and gone on to attend University. We selected this approach because people would be more interested to see the students, learn about their lives and see how our work impacts them instead of viewing graphs.
This time, our CEO would tell the stories of these children and we would display photographs from their time in school while playing sports or participating in one of our classes. At the end of their story, we would invite the student to come on stage and narrate how he viewed our company had impacted his life. After narrating our students’ stories, we would then ask the guests to commit a donation that would sponsor a child’s education for a certain amount. We would then share details about the sponsored student’s progress with the donor.
Insight and Approach
In previous fundraising dinners, we would receive donor commitments from 5 percent of the invitees. But after using storytelling as a tool to inform the guests about our impact in the public schools, we received commitments from 23 percent of the guests who attended the fundraising dinner held in December last year.
We learnt that storytelling is a powerful tool to not only draw attention but to also drive donations because people connected better to uplifting stories. What we have learned is that the stories we pick should represent the diverse background of our students. We have students in our schools who have overcome great odds to complete their education and start successful careers. These stories can help highlight how our work helps these students accomplish their goals and overcome hardships. We decided that we will highlight more of these stories on our website and on our social media campaigns for fundraising purposes.
Submitted By
[NAME_STUDENT]
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Martina Mazzoleni, 2017
Reflection-Learning Launch
Challenge
I am a manager and owner of a small business startup and our biggest challenge is to improve process
flow through automation, to avoid delayed customer repairs, lost phones, storage management and staff
loyalty in order to ensure that our customers are satisfied and get back their phones property fixed within
a stipulated time and that our staff are loyal to business ethics. The business scope is composed of me as
the manager, two repairs department employees, a cashier and four sales ladies who will work together
towards the project objectives. The project will run for 60 business days including staff training and system
installation that will record a client’s phone on the system as it is received, recording the transfer of the
phone to the repair technician, tracking the phone repairs and informing the client and finally dispatching
the phone to the client and clearing it on the system. All department views and suggestions will be
considered as well as stakeholders suggestions, especially from clients.
Selection
As a new established business, we aim to try as many tools as possible that will lead to effectiveness and
efficiency of our business operations. Amongst the several design thinking tools we chose the learning
launch tools which tests an idea using a small sample, then from the feedback we get from staff and clients
we improve to do a full market launch. We will be prioritizing key assumptions and analyzing the outcome
of the idea following the idea’s test results. This tool is more practical, affordable and offers real time
prototype feedback (Christian Friedrich, learning launch tool, week 4 materials 2017).
Application
Firstly, we focused on a procedural plan that maps out the business process. The main focus is to collect
as much information about a client’s device and its issues, date of collection, the staff member who
collected the phone upon receiving the phone with the aim of creating accurate client device data base.
This test the assumptions that devices were stolen because there was no proper record of whom received
the device. Our staff attended a week-long training about the recording process and business ethics to
ensure effectiveness of operations. Implementation of the learned skills took effect throughout a three-
week period with assessments of progress and staff feedback. We therefore expect staff to be more
enlightened on their work flow procedure.
Martina Mazzoleni, 2017
Furthermore, we focused on analyzing issues and possible solutions related to repair processes, dispatch,
clearance and after sales services of client’s devices. Hence, the analysis indicated that our main challenge
was is in the storage and repairs department which caused misplacements of phones. Our team suggested
various storage methods and research was conducted for two weeks to determine how competitors
manage their storage issues. The report of this research indicated that all suggestions were valid, but
priority had to be placed on ideas that are cheaper, faster to implement and lead to more efficiency.
Hence the storage system was based on months the phone is received.
Insight
The tool helped our business make decisions faster and applications more appropriate the to avoid errors
in assumption. It gave us competitive advantage over other small startups. We were able to develop
statements that identify what we aim to achieve and issues that need to be rectified. We stated
assumptions of activities that would lead to a successful outcomes and failures. Amongst the various
assumptions we priorities on those that would have a major impact of growth or instability to the business
and therefore proceeded with implementation to test this assumption. Our results were quite
encouraging a we experience more customer returns and suggestions, efficiency in storage and locating
a phone after repairs. Hence, the learning launch provided a useful test that confirmed continuity of
implementing our idea.
Approach
As a startup business this tool has been effective in helping us develop creative solutions to our business
challenges. An alternative tool that we would use is the mind mapping tool where we will track our
performance, take corrective measures and map our way forward to achieve, growth of capabilities,
progress of operation work flow and solutions for sustainable efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
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[NAME_STUDENT] , 2017
Reflection-Learning Launch
Challenge
I am a manager and owner of a small business startup and our biggest challenge is to improve process
flow through automation, to avoid delayed customer repairs, lost phones, storage management and staff
loyalty in order to ensure that our customers are satisfied and get back their phones property fixed within
a stipulated time and that our staff are loyal to business ethics. The business scope is composed of me as
the manager, two repairs department employees, a cashier and four sales ladies who will work together
towards the project objectives. The project will run for 60 business days including staff training and system
installation that will record a client’s phone on the system as it is received, recording the transfer of the
phone to the repair technician, tracking the phone repairs and informing the client and finally dispatching
the phone to the client and clearing it on the system. All department views and suggestions will be
considered as well as stakeholders suggestions, especially from clients.
Selection
As a new established business, we aim to try as many tools as possible that will lead to effectiveness and
efficiency of our business operations. Amongst the several design thinking tools we chose the learning
launch tools which tests an idea using a small sample, then from the feedback we get from staff and clients
we improve to do a full market launch. We will be prioritizing key assumptions and analyzing the outcome
of the idea following the idea’s test results. This tool is more practical, affordable and offers real time
prototype feedback (Christian Friedrich, learning launch tool, week 4 materials 2017).
Application
Firstly, we focused on a procedural plan that maps out the business process. The main focus is to collect
as much information about a client’s device and its issues, date of collection, the staff member who
collected the phone upon receiving the phone with the aim of creating accurate client device data base.
This test the assumptions that devices were stolen because there was no proper record of whom received
the device. Our staff attended a week-long training about the recording process and business ethics to
ensure effectiveness of operations. Implementation of the learned skills took effect throughout a three-
week period with assessments of progress and staff feedback. We therefore expect staff to be more
enlightened on their work flow procedure.
[NAME_STUDENT] , 2017
Furthermore, we focused on analyzing issues and possible solutions related to repair processes, dispatch,
clearance and after sales services of client’s devices. Hence, the analysis indicated that our main challenge
was is in the storage and repairs department which caused misplacements of phones. Our team suggested
various storage methods and research was conducted for two weeks to determine how competitors
manage their storage issues. The report of this research indicated that all suggestions were valid, but
priority had to be placed on ideas that are cheaper, faster to implement and lead to more efficiency.
Hence the storage system was based on months the phone is received.
Insight
The tool helped our business make decisions faster and applications more appropriate the to avoid errors
in assumption. It gave us competitive advantage over other small startups. We were able to develop
statements that identify what we aim to achieve and issues that need to be rectified. We stated
assumptions of activities that would lead to a successful outcomes and failures. Amongst the various
assumptions we priorities on those that would have a major impact of growth or instability to the business
and therefore proceeded with implementation to test this assumption. Our results were quite
encouraging a we experience more customer returns and suggestions, efficiency in storage and locating
a phone after repairs. Hence, the learning launch provided a useful test that confirmed continuity of
implementing our idea.
Approach
As a startup business this tool has been effective in helping us develop creative solutions to our business
challenges. An alternative tool that we would use is the mind mapping tool where we will track our
performance, take corrective measures and map our way forward to achieve, growth of capabilities,
progress of operation work flow and solutions for sustainable efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
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P a g e 1 | 3
June 22, 2017
Jose Gil – Final Assignment.
Design Thinking for Innovation.
Reflection – Mind Mapping.
Challenge
I work as a Consulting Manager at an IT consulting firm in Mexico City. We specialize in the implementation and support of ERP systems for clients of different industries. We started working with a new client, a hospital. Another consulting firm had already implemented them an ERP system for their financials and supply chain management. Although the new system is one of the best in the market, the client had been facing many different problems with it: the nurses had to wait a lot to place their medicine replenishment orders, clients had to wait a lot of time for invoices, finance could not close their accounting periods on time, and so on.
As you can imagine, this situation had caused a big displeasure to the Board of Directors, and a great dislike among end users (operations, IT, nurses, etc.), because the implementation of the new system, instead of making their work easier, it was making it more difficult.
The managers of Operations and IT didn’t have a clear idea where the real problem was: if it was the system configuration, the interfaces, deficient training about the system, etc. They had no idea where to start, and they also didn’t know what to offer their end users to improve.
There were several challenges in this situation. In first place, to gather all the problems that the client was facing in the different areas. Second, to make end users to get involved in the problem and not only complaint all the time, so that they could provide their evaluation about the current challenges and contribute with ideas on the improvements they believed could make each area to provide more value to the company.
Tool Selected
We were clearly in the “what is” stage at this point. The tool we selected was mind mapping. As the video lecture shows on week 3, this is a tool that can be used in the first phase of the design thinking process, which allows us to look at the current reality. It could also help us to bring together a large amount of data, because we would have to interview people from many areas such as inventory, purchasing, accounts payable, IT, finance, etc. and finding possible patterns would be more difficult in a traditional way. Finally, it could help to make all areas to empathize about the problems that the whole hospital was facing and not just their own area.
Application
The IT Director acted as the sponsor for our design thinking activity. We asked him to help us organize a one-day workshop, outside their facilities. So, they rented a hotel lounge, and convened the key users of each area involved. At the workshop day, we asked them to conform
P a g e 2 | 3
workgroups according to business workflows, such as incomes, expenses, and supply chain. We divided the agenda in 3 parts: describe a blueprint of their business processes, make challenges evaluation, and creation of new ideas. We printed in large format the three different layouts for each part of the agenda. We provided them with post-its, markers, and pencils, so that every business process, challenge, problem and idea, they could write them in few words using the post-its and place them in the column of the layout they considered it should be. Below is a picture of one of the business process layouts:
Figure 1. Business process blueprint layout.
In the third layout, the generation of ideas, we asked them to evaluate the importance level vs. the urgency rate of their new ideas, from low to high. This helped the client to identify from the new ideas for example what is not important and not urgent, from what is important and urgent. Below is a picture of the layout:
P a g e 3 | 3
Figure 2. Ideas Generation - Priorities Scale.
Insights
This exercise provided me in first place a very clear view of the mind mapping tool, and design thinking as a whole. We obtained a lot of information from many different stakeholders in just a single day. I saw how people can empathize easily among their problems and the problems of others, using mind mapping, because it doesn’t judge or criticize them. It only helps them to tell us how they feel about the current problems they were facing. Once they became aware of the situation of all the company, they could come up with ideas that they believed could help to remove all the impediments they had at that moment.
I am positive that this course helped me to understand much better the design thinking process, and it allowed me at my job to apply the mind mapping tool in a real-world situation.
Approach
I believe that the mind mapping tool was the correct tool to use in this situation. Maybe in another situation, the visualization tool would also have been very helpful. But in this case, we arrived with the hospital in a stage where the problem was big, and the client wanted to get information quickly.
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P a g e 1 | 3
June 22, 2017
[NAME_STUDENT] – Final Assignment.
Design Thinking for Innovation.
Reflection – Mind Mapping.
Challenge
I work as a Consulting Manager at an IT consulting firm in Mexico City. We specialize in the implementation and support of ERP systems for clients of different industries. We started working with a new client, a hospital. Another consulting firm had already implemented them an ERP system for their financials and supply chain management. Although the new system is one of the best in the market, the client had been facing many different problems with it: the nurses had to wait a lot to place their medicine replenishment orders, clients had to wait a lot of time for invoices, finance could not close their accounting periods on time, and so on.
As you can imagine, this situation had caused a big displeasure to the Board of Directors, and a great dislike among end users (operations, IT, nurses, etc.), because the implementation of the new system, instead of making their work easier, it was making it more difficult.
The managers of Operations and IT didn’t have a clear idea where the real problem was: if it was the system configuration, the interfaces, deficient training about the system, etc. They had no idea where to start, and they also didn’t know what to offer their end users to improve.
There were several challenges in this situation. In first place, to gather all the problems that the client was facing in the different areas. Second, to make end users to get involved in the problem and not only complaint all the time, so that they could provide their evaluation about the current challenges and contribute with ideas on the improvements they believed could make each area to provide more value to the company.
Tool Selected
We were clearly in the “what is” stage at this point. The tool we selected was mind mapping. As the video lecture shows on week 3, this is a tool that can be used in the first phase of the design thinking process, which allows us to look at the current reality. It could also help us to bring together a large amount of data, because we would have to interview people from many areas such as inventory, purchasing, accounts payable, IT, finance, etc. and finding possible patterns would be more difficult in a traditional way. Finally, it could help to make all areas to empathize about the problems that the whole hospital was facing and not just their own area.
Application
The IT Director acted as the sponsor for our design thinking activity. We asked him to help us organize a one-day workshop, outside their facilities. So, they rented a hotel lounge, and convened the key users of each area involved. At the workshop day, we asked them to conform
P a g e 2 | 3
workgroups according to business workflows, such as incomes, expenses, and supply chain. We divided the agenda in 3 parts: describe a blueprint of their business processes, make challenges evaluation, and creation of new ideas. We printed in large format the three different layouts for each part of the agenda. We provided them with post-its, markers, and pencils, so that every business process, challenge, problem and idea, they could write them in few words using the post-its and place them in the column of the layout they considered it should be. Below is a picture of one of the business process layouts:
Figure 1. Business process blueprint layout.
In the third layout, the generation of ideas, we asked them to evaluate the importance level vs. the urgency rate of their new ideas, from low to high. This helped the client to identify from the new ideas for example what is not important and not urgent, from what is important and urgent. Below is a picture of the layout:
P a g e 3 | 3
Figure 2. Ideas Generation - Priorities Scale.
Insights
This exercise provided me in first place a very clear view of the mind mapping tool, and design thinking as a whole. We obtained a lot of information from many different stakeholders in just a single day. I saw how people can empathize easily among their problems and the problems of others, using mind mapping, because it doesn’t judge or criticize them. It only helps them to tell us how they feel about the current problems they were facing. Once they became aware of the situation of all the company, they could come up with ideas that they believed could help to remove all the impediments they had at that moment.
I am positive that this course helped me to understand much better the design thinking process, and it allowed me at my job to apply the mind mapping tool in a real-world situation.
Approach
I believe that the mind mapping tool was the correct tool to use in this situation. Maybe in another situation, the visualization tool would also have been very helpful. But in this case, we arrived with the hospital in a stage where the problem was big, and the client wanted to get information quickly.
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Desing Thinking Activity
Presented by Tania Vanegas
challenge: The challenge that I want to capture is going to be: We have a problem with the internet of some university students and due to the health situations that the world goes through with Covid-19, virtuality is the tool to get ahead, some students They do not have the resources to adapt to this situation, how can we solve it. Selection: The tool that we are going to use is the visualization (Module 1). Visualization for creative and intuitive thinking in search of a solution to a problematic situation should be done based on a key question of the creative thinking process that are:
Visualization is not about drawing but about visually imagining things in your thinking since human beings have the ability to remember things better and organize them better if they are visually attractive. Visualization is within us, innovation begins within us, not outside.
Application: Using the tool to visualize the problem reflected, we take as an application, which is the main problem and it is the connection or access to the internet of the students, we look for some ideas and we visualize them, as a solution could be study with the different students and Find out how they can improve the quality of the connection, facilitating them with aids such as data, devices such as laptops, digital tablets, among others. It was also proposed to work on an extra- temporary basis, that is, at different times than the other students, leaving jobs on weekends for the whole week so that they do not have to connect every day, and have complementary materials for the subjects.
Universities must find how to finance these aids, either with student fees or aid from the state or the committees that are part of this establishment.
Approach: Due to the current situation in the world, many things used for education and the preparation of people for higher education are limited, educational establishments and universities must try to meet expectations and seek solutions such as helping students students who need it, providing services, thus supporting each of their students with laptops, digital tablets, mobile cell phones, mobile data, internet connection, among others and so they can fulfill the responsibilities, although none of us were prepared for this situation, with visualization to find solutions to each of the problems that arise.
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Desing Thinking Activity
Presented by [NAME_STUDENT]
challenge: The challenge that I want to capture is going to be: We have a problem with the internet of some university students and due to the health situations that the world goes through with Covid-19, virtuality is the tool to get ahead, some students They do not have the resources to adapt to this situation, how can we solve it. Selection: The tool that we are going to use is the visualization (Module 1). Visualization for creative and intuitive thinking in search of a solution to a problematic situation should be done based on a key question of the creative thinking process that are:
Visualization is not about drawing but about visually imagining things in your thinking since human beings have the ability to remember things better and organize them better if they are visually attractive. Visualization is within us, innovation begins within us, not outside.
Application: Using the tool to visualize the problem reflected, we take as an application, which is the main problem and it is the connection or access to the internet of the students, we look for some ideas and we visualize them, as a solution could be study with the different students and Find out how they can improve the quality of the connection, facilitating them with aids such as data, devices such as laptops, digital tablets, among others. It was also proposed to work on an extra- temporary basis, that is, at different times than the other students, leaving jobs on weekends for the whole week so that they do not have to connect every day, and have complementary materials for the subjects.
Universities must find how to finance these aids, either with student fees or aid from the state or the committees that are part of this establishment.
Approach: Due to the current situation in the world, many things used for education and the preparation of people for higher education are limited, educational establishments and universities must try to meet expectations and seek solutions such as helping students students who need it, providing services, thus supporting each of their students with laptops, digital tablets, mobile cell phones, mobile data, internet connection, among others and so they can fulfill the responsibilities, although none of us were prepared for this situation, with visualization to find solutions to each of the problems that arise.
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Rustic Mango: Company General Use
Waliur Aslam – Initiating Data Helpdesk desk group
Reflection – Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
Storytelling is a great tool that I use it in my work. I work with Educatools, Exploration Data Management division, Data Manager, and Group leader of Data Helpdesk. Many of them have a challenge to control on the requests that we receive it from Exploration Organizations which has multiple divisions and departments. I spend a lot of time to see how I can serve and support the team to handle the remedy tickets. When I work with other groups, we share fact stories for different reasons. Often they're interested to share stories to see how we can improve our life to improve the business. I have a story about using storytelling. In working with different entities, the group tried to meet and explain about the situations that we are face it in the daily bases. The upper management assigned the SME’s from each departments and division to measure the situation and report the minutes to improve the business.
Insight & Approach
We listed all the comments and the feedback and we came back to our division to discover how we can resolve the situation.
We worked with the Computer Center which is the focal contact and the focal point to serve all the exploration organizations, we initiate an alias email that can the employees send their requests and the data Helpdesk group will handle it and record it to be dispatch to the members in the division and resolve the remedy ticket in proper way and reduce the resolution time to resolve it. After we implement this role and deployed it in a simple we tool to be reported the daily outstanding remedy tickets.
The assignee can consider and following up to their remedy tickets and they can be able to change the status for each single ticket from assigned to in-progress and the requester will be notified that his/her request is under process.
This course made me see this as a tool in a new way. When I've done it before it was really "ad hoc," but
now I can prepare ahead and think of stories that will assist me in presenting my ideas and best
illuminate them.
I have a design background, but I ended up as an entrepreneur in business. I had no idea this would ever
be considered an asset, but I am so very grateful that it is!
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Rustic Mango: Company General Use
[NAME_STUDENT] – Initiating Data Helpdesk desk group
Reflection – Storytelling
Challenge & Selection
Storytelling is a great tool that I use it in my work. I work with Educatools, Exploration Data Management division, Data Manager, and Group leader of Data Helpdesk. Many of them have a challenge to control on the requests that we receive it from Exploration Organizations which has multiple divisions and departments. I spend a lot of time to see how I can serve and support the team to handle the remedy tickets. When I work with other groups, we share fact stories for different reasons. Often they're interested to share stories to see how we can improve our life to improve the business. I have a story about using storytelling. In working with different entities, the group tried to meet and explain about the situations that we are face it in the daily bases. The upper management assigned the SME’s from each departments and division to measure the situation and report the minutes to improve the business.
Insight & Approach
We listed all the comments and the feedback and we came back to our division to discover how we can resolve the situation.
We worked with the Computer Center which is the focal contact and the focal point to serve all the exploration organizations, we initiate an alias email that can the employees send their requests and the data Helpdesk group will handle it and record it to be dispatch to the members in the division and resolve the remedy ticket in proper way and reduce the resolution time to resolve it. After we implement this role and deployed it in a simple we tool to be reported the daily outstanding remedy tickets.
The assignee can consider and following up to their remedy tickets and they can be able to change the status for each single ticket from assigned to in-progress and the requester will be notified that his/her request is under process.
This course made me see this as a tool in a new way. When I've done it before it was really "ad hoc," but
now I can prepare ahead and think of stories that will assist me in presenting my ideas and best
illuminate them.
I have a design background, but I ended up as an entrepreneur in business. I had no idea this would ever
be considered an asset, but I am so very grateful that it is!
|
Juan Bakker Group - Confidential
Peer-graded Assignment: Reflection – Visualization Challenge and selection. One of the tools I have used in problem solving/idea generation is the tool of visualization or visual thinking, to understand a research problem and areas to work on before attempting to come up with different solutions to the problem. In order to design the solution, first we must build a good understanding of the problem that we are trying to solve. Visualization tool helps to build connections between different findings and understand the bigger picture. I have used the technique of using a research wall to display all the relevant research outputs, in one place. The visual aspect of the wall triggers idea generation and enables project members to better understand research insights. Application I start the process by creating a graphic of the problem domain. To develop the graphic, I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment. The existing material may be existing research data, manufacturing methods, market data and/or customer feedback. For the activity, I will divide the researchers into groups of 2-3 participants each specialized in a different area of study, such as chemistry, engineering and biology. Each group receives a copy of the graphic of the problem domain that they can write on directly. They will get following questions to answer,
1. What are the customer pains and weaknesses of the existing problem? 2. What are the improvements you would make to eliminate existing pains and weaknesses?
Each group gets 30 minutes to discuss and answer the questions on the graphic. Then each group gets to display their answers on a white board which helps to identify the commonalities of different solutions. The research wall created at the end of the session is used to identify the most suitable solution to the problem presented. Insight and approach What I have learned from conduction this exercise is that while the graphics with their feedback is important in understanding the problem they are working to solve, more importantly this activity helps to share insights of individuals from different disciplines among their groups and encourage learning and using a multidisciplinary approach to solve the problem at hand. The graphic/research wall initiates discussion and encourages individuals of different disciplines to come up with a much more informed solution. During the final group discussion, they can clearly compare the different solutions suggested by different groups and pick the most suitable solution to the problem. The most valuable aspect of this activity is the shared insights and learning.
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[NAME_STUDENT] Group - Confidential
Peer-graded Assignment: Reflection – Visualization Challenge and selection. One of the tools I have used in problem solving/idea generation is the tool of visualization or visual thinking, to understand a research problem and areas to work on before attempting to come up with different solutions to the problem. In order to design the solution, first we must build a good understanding of the problem that we are trying to solve. Visualization tool helps to build connections between different findings and understand the bigger picture. I have used the technique of using a research wall to display all the relevant research outputs, in one place. The visual aspect of the wall triggers idea generation and enables project members to better understand research insights. Application I start the process by creating a graphic of the problem domain. To develop the graphic, I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment. The existing material may be existing research data, manufacturing methods, market data and/or customer feedback. For the activity, I will divide the researchers into groups of 2-3 participants each specialized in a different area of study, such as chemistry, engineering and biology. Each group receives a copy of the graphic of the problem domain that they can write on directly. They will get following questions to answer,
1. What are the customer pains and weaknesses of the existing problem? 2. What are the improvements you would make to eliminate existing pains and weaknesses?
Each group gets 30 minutes to discuss and answer the questions on the graphic. Then each group gets to display their answers on a white board which helps to identify the commonalities of different solutions. The research wall created at the end of the session is used to identify the most suitable solution to the problem presented. Insight and approach What I have learned from conduction this exercise is that while the graphics with their feedback is important in understanding the problem they are working to solve, more importantly this activity helps to share insights of individuals from different disciplines among their groups and encourage learning and using a multidisciplinary approach to solve the problem at hand. The graphic/research wall initiates discussion and encourages individuals of different disciplines to come up with a much more informed solution. During the final group discussion, they can clearly compare the different solutions suggested by different groups and pick the most suitable solution to the problem. The most valuable aspect of this activity is the shared insights and learning.
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CHALLENGE
Miriam’s Field Operations organization needs to reduce the number of technicians in trucks that it sends out into the field to assist customers with troubleshooting their television and broadband issues. Customers call into customer care call centers and chat online about their service issues. Those calls are handled but representatives who follow detailed troubleshooting process flows that ultimately generate trouble tickets that in turn dispatch technicians out to a customer’s home to help troubleshoot and solve a customer’s problem.
There is ample cost in operating the call centers and ample cost to roll a truck and a highly skilled technician out to a customer’s home. If Miriam could reduce the number of technician/truck rolls by giving customer options to solve the problem themselves or proactively solve a customer’s problem before (s)he must call in for assistance could save Miriam millions of dollars in operating costs. It could also give customers a much better experience that does not involve the customer having to wait at home during a four-hour appointment window for a technician’s visit.
SELECTION
Using a mind map could help identify better ways for Miriam to solve its customers’ problems before having to roll a technician/truck. As Marion Moore mentioned in Module 3 of this course (https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-design-thinking-innovation/lecture/lsFRa/mind- mapping-tool, looking at the situation through a “what is” lens by using a mind map can be very helpful to understanding existing challenges and roadblocks that create customer problems in the first place. Having this knowledge will be critical for the next step, the “what if” phase of the design thinking process that helps to identify how to modify the current situation for the better. Given the process nature of Miriam customers calling into a center, workflows being used, then trouble tickets being recorded, and finally dispatching technicians to troubleshoot, the mind map seems like a good approach to help solve its technician/truck roll challenge.
APPLICATION
When applying the mind map to Miriam’s processes, I found the challenge to be overwhelming and decided that it might be best to focus on a specific type of reason for a technician/truck roll. I opted for a scenario about a broadband customer self-install kit. This kit is sent out to customers who order internet service, who want to install the equipment themselves. Quite often, something in the process breaks down and the customer is unable to complete the self- install. When that happens, the customer must call into a call center for help and this frequently requires a technician/truck roll to solve the problem.
In looking at the volume of calls into a call center, related to the customer self-install kit, I used a mind map to draw out the various process steps a customer goes through during the self-install. While there are instructions in the self-install kit, it became clear that many technician/truck rolls are related to issues outside of the equipment in the kit (e.g., modem/router, cables). I mapped out the entire customer process from call in to the call customer to place the order for a self- install kit, to receipt of it, opening the contents, reviewing the instructions through to install. I
noted potential pain points for the customer along the way, such as potential areas of confusion or instructions that relied heavily on technical “jargon” that were intended for a non-technical audience.
INSIGHT
The insight I had from mapping out all the steps a customer must go through to do the self- install, was that the information about which port to plug which cable into could be misconstrued. If a non-tech savvy customer was unable to determine an input vs. an output port on their own, the instructions provided would be of no help. My mind map showed a clear gap in the installation process. There were just too many options for a customer to use the cables to connect the router. This insight was likely the source of customer confusion and a failed self- install which would lead to a call to the call center and a potential technician/truck roll. This exercise also helped me to see why the “what is” phase of design thinking is crucial. It now seems obvious to me that this step demonstrates the problem in a clearer light so potential solutions in the “what if” phase that comes next can be addressed.
APPROACH
If I were to do this mind mapping exercise differently next time, I think I’d look more closely at the workflows used by customer care representatives. My mind map showed gaps in the clarity of the instructions. I think a care representative should be able to walk a customer through connecting a modem/router with the right cables and ports such that a technician/truck would not have to be dispatched. There may be more value (e.g., greater cost savings opportunities) in using mind mapping on the customer care representative workflows as opposed to the customer instructions.
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CHALLENGE
[NAME_STUDENT] ’s Field Operations organization needs to reduce the number of technicians in trucks that it sends out into the field to assist customers with troubleshooting their television and broadband issues. Customers call into customer care call centers and chat online about their service issues. Those calls are handled but representatives who follow detailed troubleshooting process flows that ultimately generate trouble tickets that in turn dispatch technicians out to a customer’s home to help troubleshoot and solve a customer’s problem.
There is ample cost in operating the call centers and ample cost to roll a truck and a highly skilled technician out to a customer’s home. If [NAME_STUDENT] could reduce the number of technician/truck rolls by giving customer options to solve the problem themselves or proactively solve a customer’s problem before (s)he must call in for assistance could save [NAME_STUDENT] millions of dollars in operating costs. It could also give customers a much better experience that does not involve the customer having to wait at home during a four-hour appointment window for a technician’s visit.
SELECTION
Using a mind map could help identify better ways for [NAME_STUDENT] to solve its customers’ problems before having to roll a technician/truck. As Marion Moore mentioned in Module 3 of this course (https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-design-thinking-innovation/lecture/lsFRa/mind- mapping-tool, looking at the situation through a “what is” lens by using a mind map can be very helpful to understanding existing challenges and roadblocks that create customer problems in the first place. Having this knowledge will be critical for the next step, the “what if” phase of the design thinking process that helps to identify how to modify the current situation for the better. Given the process nature of [NAME_STUDENT] customers calling into a center, workflows being used, then trouble tickets being recorded, and finally dispatching technicians to troubleshoot, the mind map seems like a good approach to help solve its technician/truck roll challenge.
APPLICATION
When applying the mind map to [NAME_STUDENT] ’s processes, I found the challenge to be overwhelming and decided that it might be best to focus on a specific type of reason for a technician/truck roll. I opted for a scenario about a broadband customer self-install kit. This kit is sent out to customers who order internet service, who want to install the equipment themselves. Quite often, something in the process breaks down and the customer is unable to complete the self- install. When that happens, the customer must call into a call center for help and this frequently requires a technician/truck roll to solve the problem.
In looking at the volume of calls into a call center, related to the customer self-install kit, I used a mind map to draw out the various process steps a customer goes through during the self-install. While there are instructions in the self-install kit, it became clear that many technician/truck rolls are related to issues outside of the equipment in the kit (e.g., modem/router, cables). I mapped out the entire customer process from call in to the call customer to place the order for a self- install kit, to receipt of it, opening the contents, reviewing the instructions through to install. I
noted potential pain points for the customer along the way, such as potential areas of confusion or instructions that relied heavily on technical “jargon” that were intended for a non-technical audience.
INSIGHT
The insight I had from mapping out all the steps a customer must go through to do the self- install, was that the information about which port to plug which cable into could be misconstrued. If a non-tech savvy customer was unable to determine an input vs. an output port on their own, the instructions provided would be of no help. My mind map showed a clear gap in the installation process. There were just too many options for a customer to use the cables to connect the router. This insight was likely the source of customer confusion and a failed self- install which would lead to a call to the call center and a potential technician/truck roll. This exercise also helped me to see why the “what is” phase of design thinking is crucial. It now seems obvious to me that this step demonstrates the problem in a clearer light so potential solutions in the “what if” phase that comes next can be addressed.
APPROACH
If I were to do this mind mapping exercise differently next time, I think I’d look more closely at the workflows used by customer care representatives. My mind map showed gaps in the clarity of the instructions. I think a care representative should be able to walk a customer through connecting a modem/router with the right cables and ports such that a technician/truck would not have to be dispatched. There may be more value (e.g., greater cost savings opportunities) in using mind mapping on the customer care representative workflows as opposed to the customer instructions.
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