Design Thinking for Innovation – End of Course Reflection 

 Learning Launch for India IIT(ISM Unit In - processing 

 Challenge       I am currently a Battalion Staff member within the LVMH . We have been 

 struggling recently with our Soldier in - processing system . Whenever a new Soldier shows up to   an Army unit , after their initial entry training ( think Basic training ) , they go through a system   known as in - processing . This is some sort of checklist or procedure where the new Soldier   checks in with all of the staff sections ( the civilian equivalent to areas such as HR , operations ,   tech support , office managers , orientation , on - boarding , etc . ) and important unit   locations / people / sections to give them their name and information so they can be added to the   necessary systems , and then that section can introduce themselves and provide the new Soldier   with all of the necessary information to successfully inculcate into the unit .     The problem lies in the fact that in an under - staffed unit , the people responsible for in- 

 processing these Soldiers also have a multitude of other duties that often pull them out of the   office for hours on end . Vehicle maintenance , meetings , coordination with external units , you   name it – we ca n’t be present in the office at all times . Consequently , these in - processing   Soldiers fall through the cracks and begin their daily life in the unit without having been   properly on - boarded to all the necessary systems , and then they are n’t being tracked . Our   challenge is to develop a system that can ensure all these Soldiers receive the on - boarding they   require , but leave the staff sections with the flexibility to not feel tied down to the office . Also ,   to make it even more complicated , none of these new Soldiers have computer accounts , so   leveraging technology is not an option . We need to innovate a solution with little to no tech   involvement – we need to pull this value out of the tools and systems that we already have in   place .     Selection       The Digital Dialogues does not have the luxury of a financial bottom - line to drive efficiency 

 and success at the unit level . All improvements are derived straight from the character , hard   work , and fulfillment of duty of those who serve . The most applicable tool discussed in this   course is definitely the learning launch . It fits for a couple of key reasons .     First , we do not have a lot of time , energy , focus , money , or resources to devote to this 

 problem . The problem is just big enough to cause an organizational / operational inconvenience ,   but nobody gets hurt , and the issues get found and corrected eventually , so it also does n’t raise   enough flags to become the target of a Commander who has the power to act quickly and   correct the problem swiftly . 

 Second , we have a constant stream of users that can be individually tracked . We have 

 probably an average of two to seven new Soldiers show up to the unit every week . This means   that we have a consistent source for user - driven feedback , and we can make many small   changes after each new Soldier provides feedback until the feedback levels out at our most   efficient solution . 

 Design Thinking for Innovation – End of Course Reflection 

 Lastly , there are many areas of the in - processing checklist that could be changed or 

 improved . This means we need a large data pool to find the inefficiencies . 

 All of these factors point to the learning launch . It will be a user - driven , iterative , fail- 

 fast - and - cheap way to work out the kinks of the in - processing system without losing any   productivity , letting any Soldier get seriously misguided , and all for the cost of about 15   minutes of my time reviewing the Soldier ’s notes about the in - processing checklist .     Application     As previously stated , we needed a quick and easy way to address this problem . Our 

 product in this scenario is the in - processing checklist , a sheet of paper that guides the Soldier to   the right locations , informs them of the right people and systems they need to check in with ,   and then closes the loop by requiring signatures from each of these locations so that they can   prove they completed it .     Our application of this learning launch was simple – we made the checklist more of a 

 conversation – more interactive . We added areas for feedback throughout the checklist , so the   Soldier could take notes of the most important points of friction or helpful things throughout   the process . When a new Soldier arrived , I sent them out with the checklist and let them   interact with it , conversing with each section , giving and receiving what each party needed , and   then asked for comments about their experience .     Although not as glamorous as other innovations , this implementation of the learning 

 launch was very effective .     Insight 

 With each new Soldier that came back into my office , I would quickly open the Word 

 document , make the adjustments recommended by the previous Soldier , and then send the   next Soldier out with the improved document . This costed me almost no time – all and all   probably 30 minutes of updates per week . If a Soldier came back and had missed something   due to a hole in the system , it only took me 5 minutes to walk them over to the correct location   and manually correct the error , before permanently correcting it on the sheet for the next   Soldier . 

 This iterative process for the learning launch was critical – it allowed us to fail quickly 

 and fail very small . Improvements were made over time , and the product will never be perfect ,   but this is where we leveraged one of the last points made by Professor Liedtka – be   comfortable with leaving things unfinished . Our application of the learning launch leaves room   for this continual improvement – and ensures it always stays the best it can be . If we become   obsessed with a final product – we will establish one of these iterations as the final product ,   and then it stops getting better , which is the last thing we want .     Approach     I think because of what I have described above , any future attempts to improve this 

 system should also utilize the learning launch or a similar process . It is by far the best way to   improve a system such as this one . The implementation can be improved , however , in the   following way . 

 Design Thinking for Innovation – End of Course Reflection         One of the biggest problems with the original checklist was lack of user interaction . It 

 made an inherently human process inhuman . Shaking hands , saying hello , and seeing faces   became a piece of inanimate paper . I think to further improve the system , we need a learning   launch of a system that re - integrates the human into in - processing . It is the Soldier ’s first   experience at the unit , and it sets the tone for everything else . A survey is not the warmest   welcome . I think to take it a step further even , combining the learning launch and the   storytelling strategies to humanize the process could be an interesting experiment . 


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: Design Thinking for Innovation – End of Course Reflection 

 Learning Launch for India IIT(ISM Unit In - processing 

 Challenge       I am currently a Battalion Staff member within the LVMH . We have been 

 struggling recently with our Soldier in - processing system . Whenever a new Soldier shows up to   an Army unit , after their initial entry training ( think Basic training ) , they go through a system   known as in - processing . This is some sort of checklist or procedure where the new Soldier   checks in with all of the staff sections ( the civilian equivalent to areas such as HR , operations ,   tech support , office managers , orientation , on - boarding , etc . ) and important unit   locations / people / sections to give them their name and information so they can be added to the   necessary systems , and then that section can introduce themselves and provide the new Soldier   with all of the necessary information to successfully inculcate into the unit .     The problem lies in the fact that in an under - staffed unit , the people responsible for in- 

 processing these Soldiers also have a multitude of other duties that often pull them out of the   office for hours on end . Vehicle maintenance , meetings , coordination with external units , you   name it – we ca n’t be present in the office at all times . Consequently , these in - processing   Soldiers fall through the cracks and begin their daily life in the unit without having been   properly on - boarded to all the necessary systems , and then they are n’t being tracked . Our   challenge is to develop a system that can ensure all these Soldiers receive the on - boarding they   require , but leave the staff sections with the flexibility to not feel tied down to the office . Also ,   to make it even more complicated , none of these new Soldiers have computer accounts , so   leveraging technology is not an option . We need to innovate a solution with little to no tech   involvement – we need to pull this value out of the tools and systems that we already have in   place .     Selection       The Digital Dialogues does not have the luxury of a financial bottom - line to drive efficiency 

 and success at the unit level . All improvements are derived straight from the character , hard   work , and fulfillment of duty of those who serve . The most applicable tool discussed in this   course is definitely the learning launch . It fits for a couple of key reasons .     First , we do not have a lot of time , energy , focus , money , or resources to devote to this 

 problem . The problem is just big enough to cause an organizational / operational inconvenience ,   but nobody gets hurt , and the issues get found and corrected eventually , so it also does n’t raise   enough flags to become the target of a Commander who has the power to act quickly and   correct the problem swiftly . 

 Second , we have a constant stream of users that can be individually tracked . We have 

 probably an average of two to seven new Soldiers show up to the unit every week . This means   that we have a consistent source for user - driven feedback , and we can make many small   changes after each new Soldier provides feedback until the feedback levels out at our most   efficient solution . 

 Design Thinking for Innovation – End of Course Reflection 

 Lastly , there are many areas of the in - processing checklist that could be changed or 

 improved . This means we need a large data pool to find the inefficiencies . 

 All of these factors point to the learning launch . It will be a user - driven , iterative , fail- 

 fast - and - cheap way to work out the kinks of the in - processing system without losing any   productivity , letting any Soldier get seriously misguided , and all for the cost of about 15   minutes of my time reviewing the Soldier ’s notes about the in - processing checklist .     Application     As previously stated , we needed a quick and easy way to address this problem . Our 

 product in this scenario is the in - processing checklist , a sheet of paper that guides the Soldier to   the right locations , informs them of the right people and systems they need to check in with ,   and then closes the loop by requiring signatures from each of these locations so that they can   prove they completed it .     Our application of this learning launch was simple – we made the checklist more of a 

 conversation – more interactive . We added areas for feedback throughout the checklist , so the   Soldier could take notes of the most important points of friction or helpful things throughout   the process . When a new Soldier arrived , I sent them out with the checklist and let them   interact with it , conversing with each section , giving and receiving what each party needed , and   then asked for comments about their experience .     Although not as glamorous as other innovations , this implementation of the learning 

 launch was very effective .     Insight 

 With each new Soldier that came back into my office , I would quickly open the Word 

 document , make the adjustments recommended by the previous Soldier , and then send the   next Soldier out with the improved document . This costed me almost no time – all and all   probably 30 minutes of updates per week . If a Soldier came back and had missed something   due to a hole in the system , it only took me 5 minutes to walk them over to the correct location   and manually correct the error , before permanently correcting it on the sheet for the next   Soldier . 

 This iterative process for the learning launch was critical – it allowed us to fail quickly 

 and fail very small . Improvements were made over time , and the product will never be perfect ,   but this is where we leveraged one of the last points made by Professor Liedtka – be   comfortable with leaving things unfinished . Our application of the learning launch leaves room   for this continual improvement – and ensures it always stays the best it can be . If we become   obsessed with a final product – we will establish one of these iterations as the final product ,   and then it stops getting better , which is the last thing we want .     Approach     I think because of what I have described above , any future attempts to improve this 

 system should also utilize the learning launch or a similar process . It is by far the best way to   improve a system such as this one . The implementation can be improved , however , in the   following way . 

 Design Thinking for Innovation – End of Course Reflection         One of the biggest problems with the original checklist was lack of user interaction . It 

 made an inherently human process inhuman . Shaking hands , saying hello , and seeing faces   became a piece of inanimate paper . I think to further improve the system , we need a learning   launch of a system that re - integrates the human into in - processing . It is the Soldier ’s first   experience at the unit , and it sets the tone for everything else . A survey is not the warmest   welcome . I think to take it a step further even , combining the learning launch and the   storytelling strategies to humanize the process could be an interesting experiment .
### Output: 