Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge   As a Business Engineer I encounter a lot of different projects both with IT or non - IT impact . These   projects are based on different methodologies : mostly Agile or classical waterfall . It is always a nice   challenge for me to decide which set - up for a project fitting better . Here I do not have a receipt which   methodology to go with - often depends on different factors . There are only several examples but the   list can go on 

    the level of Agile knowledge in the whole company , 

    the degree to which employees and leaders are open for new concepts and approaches . 

 Currently I am engaged in a project with a railway company . They encountered a big challenge : the   employees feel need for changes but there is difficulty in isolating and describing all their needs . To the   moment I joint in the project , the company ’s IT department gathered already different kinds of ideas   for 

    new services , 

    improvement of existing services , 

    staying complaint with the federal law , 

    etc . 

 They received that through numerous different channels like eMail , during different breaks ( coffee ,   lunch ) , informal and formal meetings , official application or customer feedbacks . The IT department   could on one hand not keep track of all the different Input and on the other hand had no chance to   prioritize all the floating input according the given budget constraints . Therefore , the company more   often started failing keeping the internal and external customers happy . 

 My challenge was to create a process how to collect all the input , prioritize and finally implement it or   make it visible , why no implementation action had been taken . The requirement of the process solution   itself had to be easy to adapt in the company and so transparent to everyone , that it would not scare   people away because of an huge effort to formulate it or because the person felt not taken seriously .   Additionally , the costumer wanted total transparency transparent so that all the prioritizing decisions   were visible for everyone interested . 

 To summarize the problem situation , the following problem point occurred in the start 

    Different kind of input ( new services , improvements , complainants ) 

    Different channels to report the input ( email , meetings , coffee breaks , customer feedback ) 

    Unhappy situation between Business and IT 

 The goals were 

    To Create a process for the collection of the ideas 

    Total transparency 

 Selection   I like working with visualization and I use this method for quite some time now . I improved my skills by   taking part in a Visual Facilitation training . I like using this method during all phases of an assignment –   from the start by understanding the problem up to final solution documentation . 

 I choose this tool , because it extremely helps in multilingual teams , which I faced in the described   project ( stakeholers where of German , Italian and French mother tongue ) . In a graphical representation   no words are needed to be used and as Angela Meyer describes in her Lesson about Visualization that it   is important to achieve a common sense of agreement for solving problems . I experienced , like Angela   Meyers tells , that it is a great tool to illustrate something complex in a “ easy ” way . 

 For the above described assignment , during workshops , I draw on whiteboards and flip charts all the   problems , ideas and information provided by the stakeholders . Afterwards I draw a chart on my tablet   and use it for further discussions as well as to document the workshops . I realized that the chart creates   a better understanding of the problem / idea / solution and all stakeholders have a common   understanding of the situation . Further , the visualization is across languages , which is a big advantage in   multilingual teams . I would recommend it to everyone . Drawing skills are not the key success factor – it   is the courage to stand on the whiteboard and start painting . 

 Application   In the example explained in the challenge section , I started with a first workshop with the main   Business and IT stakeholders to illustrate the as - is process and to create a common understanding of   the actual problem and the needs of the Business and IT world . Here I used flip charts for visualizing the   initial situation to everyone and by visualizing the situation – the Business as well as the IT stakeholders   clearly understood the issue . 

 Afterwards , based on this as - is process picture , the team recognized areas , where improvements can be   implemented . During the improvement process it showed up , that there were not only issues on the   input side , but on the prioritizing and implementation side as well . Therefore , we have created a three- step process 

    Funnel 

    Analyze 

    Implement 

 Further it was agreed to use an adapted agile methodology for the solution , so that the Business start   using the IT language as well . For each process step we defined what need to be done and I drew the   ideas on white boards . When we were pleased with the outcome , I draw the results in a nice drawing of   the new created process and spread it to all stakeholders , to gather feedback . In a following workshop ,   we reviewed the process . The result was a new process called “ Ideensammlung ” ( idea collection ) .   Following you can find a drawing of the process ( in German ): 

 The following section describes each process phase in few words . It was decided to use the tool Jira   from the start till the end of the process for a trial period . 

 Section   Description 

 Funnel   Any Ideas are channeled on a central Backlog . No special form is   required , and it is not limited to IT . The Backlog is managed by the   CIO ( and team ) – he decides about IT impact and the steps ( further   Info needed , not done , parked ( or on other backlog if no IT impact )   or “ let ’s do it ” ) – the strategic fit is as well checked . 

 Analyze   The “ let ’s do it ” item are prioritized on an overall backlog and there   managed and put on a roadmap by the CIO . 

 “ Umsetzung ”   ( Implementation ) 

 The implementation of an item is either a separate project or a   EPIC , Feature or Story in an existing project . The agile approach fits   the project management methodology and the specification   approach is “ just in time specification ” . 

 The approach was highly effective in the end because after finding a common sense of understanding   based on the initial chart – all the stakeholders started talking about the same problem and solutions   appeared quickly ( see also section insight ) . I am sure , that with a text document we would n’t find the   same good ideas in the short period of time . 

 Insight   Visualization was an excellent tool to create a common understanding of the initial situation an it ’s   problems as well as to document the final solution on a high level . To create a graphical overview of the   initial problem situation helped the Business and IT Stakeholders to realize the source of the actual   problem . Further an understanding for both sides has been created why not everything was build or   fixed immediately . After the common understanding of the problem a good basic has been built to find   solutions . Stakeholders started to walk up to the drawing and started to add their need directly in the   picture – it was like an “ ice breaker ” . From this point in time my “ job ” started to be rather “ easy ” –   because all the stakeholder started themselves to find solution . The best thing was , that they started   painting into the initial situation and so the final process has been created with the customers own 

 symbols . The group dynamics was promoted , and we had fun in cooperating .   All I had to do in the end   was to feature it nicely . In a way to do so I implemented a few iterations to finalize the whole drawing . 

 After we have decided about the all over process all the set up had to be initialized and to be prepared .   I will leave these steps out from this reflection . 

 Even so I already used this tool during my work , this course approved my proceed about visualization .   Overall , I realized that we were directly to focused on the problem statement , instead of moving one   step back and thinking if we could involve external customer in the process as well as it was illustrated   in the “ good kitchen ” example . This could have improved the solution process . 

 Approach   As mentioned , visualization is a great tool to create a common understanding , finding solution and   document the all over solution . This course confirmed that this approach is useful and worth taking the   effort . Nevertheless , other tools have to be added to sharpen and document the final solution .   Examples are : 

  I used personas to find the need of each stakeholder ( and to check in the end if all those need were 

 fulfilled ) . 

  I used interviews with stakeholder from Business and IT department to be able to create these 

 personas and to identify their needs and problems . 

  The example , the graphic representation of the process covers only the big picture without going 

 into the details . The details were formulated in a text document including a description of each   process step , artifact , method and responsibilities . 

 Alternatively , I could have used the mind mapping tool . It helps in the process step “ what is ” ( in my   case initial situation ) to the “ what if ” .   In my opinion mind map is another great tool to make   information more readable instead of writing giant reports with a lot of pros and contras . Basically ,   because Mind mapping is as well a kind of visualization of given information . 


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   As a Business Engineer I encounter a lot of different projects both with IT or non - IT impact . These   projects are based on different methodologies : mostly Agile or classical waterfall . It is always a nice   challenge for me to decide which set - up for a project fitting better . Here I do not have a receipt which   methodology to go with - often depends on different factors . There are only several examples but the   list can go on 

    the level of Agile knowledge in the whole company , 

    the degree to which employees and leaders are open for new concepts and approaches . 

 Currently I am engaged in a project with a railway company . They encountered a big challenge : the   employees feel need for changes but there is difficulty in isolating and describing all their needs . To the   moment I joint in the project , the company ’s IT department gathered already different kinds of ideas   for 

    new services , 

    improvement of existing services , 

    staying complaint with the federal law , 

    etc . 

 They received that through numerous different channels like eMail , during different breaks ( coffee ,   lunch ) , informal and formal meetings , official application or customer feedbacks . The IT department   could on one hand not keep track of all the different Input and on the other hand had no chance to   prioritize all the floating input according the given budget constraints . Therefore , the company more   often started failing keeping the internal and external customers happy . 

 My challenge was to create a process how to collect all the input , prioritize and finally implement it or   make it visible , why no implementation action had been taken . The requirement of the process solution   itself had to be easy to adapt in the company and so transparent to everyone , that it would not scare   people away because of an huge effort to formulate it or because the person felt not taken seriously .   Additionally , the costumer wanted total transparency transparent so that all the prioritizing decisions   were visible for everyone interested . 

 To summarize the problem situation , the following problem point occurred in the start 

    Different kind of input ( new services , improvements , complainants ) 

    Different channels to report the input ( email , meetings , coffee breaks , customer feedback ) 

    Unhappy situation between Business and IT 

 The goals were 

    To Create a process for the collection of the ideas 

    Total transparency 

 Selection   I like working with visualization and I use this method for quite some time now . I improved my skills by   taking part in a Visual Facilitation training . I like using this method during all phases of an assignment –   from the start by understanding the problem up to final solution documentation . 

 I choose this tool , because it extremely helps in multilingual teams , which I faced in the described   project ( stakeholers where of German , Italian and French mother tongue ) . In a graphical representation   no words are needed to be used and as Angela Meyer describes in her Lesson about Visualization that it   is important to achieve a common sense of agreement for solving problems . I experienced , like Angela   Meyers tells , that it is a great tool to illustrate something complex in a “ easy ” way . 

 For the above described assignment , during workshops , I draw on whiteboards and flip charts all the   problems , ideas and information provided by the stakeholders . Afterwards I draw a chart on my tablet   and use it for further discussions as well as to document the workshops . I realized that the chart creates   a better understanding of the problem / idea / solution and all stakeholders have a common   understanding of the situation . Further , the visualization is across languages , which is a big advantage in   multilingual teams . I would recommend it to everyone . Drawing skills are not the key success factor – it   is the courage to stand on the whiteboard and start painting . 

 Application   In the example explained in the challenge section , I started with a first workshop with the main   Business and IT stakeholders to illustrate the as - is process and to create a common understanding of   the actual problem and the needs of the Business and IT world . Here I used flip charts for visualizing the   initial situation to everyone and by visualizing the situation – the Business as well as the IT stakeholders   clearly understood the issue . 

 Afterwards , based on this as - is process picture , the team recognized areas , where improvements can be   implemented . During the improvement process it showed up , that there were not only issues on the   input side , but on the prioritizing and implementation side as well . Therefore , we have created a three- step process 

    Funnel 

    Analyze 

    Implement 

 Further it was agreed to use an adapted agile methodology for the solution , so that the Business start   using the IT language as well . For each process step we defined what need to be done and I drew the   ideas on white boards . When we were pleased with the outcome , I draw the results in a nice drawing of   the new created process and spread it to all stakeholders , to gather feedback . In a following workshop ,   we reviewed the process . The result was a new process called “ Ideensammlung ” ( idea collection ) .   Following you can find a drawing of the process ( in German ): 

 The following section describes each process phase in few words . It was decided to use the tool Jira   from the start till the end of the process for a trial period . 

 Section   Description 

 Funnel   Any Ideas are channeled on a central Backlog . No special form is   required , and it is not limited to IT . The Backlog is managed by the   CIO ( and team ) – he decides about IT impact and the steps ( further   Info needed , not done , parked ( or on other backlog if no IT impact )   or “ let ’s do it ” ) – the strategic fit is as well checked . 

 Analyze   The “ let ’s do it ” item are prioritized on an overall backlog and there   managed and put on a roadmap by the CIO . 

 “ Umsetzung ”   ( Implementation ) 

 The implementation of an item is either a separate project or a   EPIC , Feature or Story in an existing project . The agile approach fits   the project management methodology and the specification   approach is “ just in time specification ” . 

 The approach was highly effective in the end because after finding a common sense of understanding   based on the initial chart – all the stakeholders started talking about the same problem and solutions   appeared quickly ( see also section insight ) . I am sure , that with a text document we would n’t find the   same good ideas in the short period of time . 

 Insight   Visualization was an excellent tool to create a common understanding of the initial situation an it ’s   problems as well as to document the final solution on a high level . To create a graphical overview of the   initial problem situation helped the Business and IT Stakeholders to realize the source of the actual   problem . Further an understanding for both sides has been created why not everything was build or   fixed immediately . After the common understanding of the problem a good basic has been built to find   solutions . Stakeholders started to walk up to the drawing and started to add their need directly in the   picture – it was like an “ ice breaker ” . From this point in time my “ job ” started to be rather “ easy ” –   because all the stakeholder started themselves to find solution . The best thing was , that they started   painting into the initial situation and so the final process has been created with the customers own 

 symbols . The group dynamics was promoted , and we had fun in cooperating .   All I had to do in the end   was to feature it nicely . In a way to do so I implemented a few iterations to finalize the whole drawing . 

 After we have decided about the all over process all the set up had to be initialized and to be prepared .   I will leave these steps out from this reflection . 

 Even so I already used this tool during my work , this course approved my proceed about visualization .   Overall , I realized that we were directly to focused on the problem statement , instead of moving one   step back and thinking if we could involve external customer in the process as well as it was illustrated   in the “ good kitchen ” example . This could have improved the solution process . 

 Approach   As mentioned , visualization is a great tool to create a common understanding , finding solution and   document the all over solution . This course confirmed that this approach is useful and worth taking the   effort . Nevertheless , other tools have to be added to sharpen and document the final solution .   Examples are : 

  I used personas to find the need of each stakeholder ( and to check in the end if all those need were 

 fulfilled ) . 

  I used interviews with stakeholder from Business and IT department to be able to create these 

 personas and to identify their needs and problems . 

  The example , the graphic representation of the process covers only the big picture without going 

 into the details . The details were formulated in a text document including a description of each   process step , artifact , method and responsibilities . 

 Alternatively , I could have used the mind mapping tool . It helps in the process step “ what is ” ( in my   case initial situation ) to the “ what if ” .   In my opinion mind map is another great tool to make   information more readable instead of writing giant reports with a lot of pros and contras . Basically ,   because Mind mapping is as well a kind of visualization of given information .
### Output: 