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: 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: 