Reflection – Visualization   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 does n’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 do n’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 . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Visualization   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 does n’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 do n’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 .
### Output: 