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 . 

 Policy modelling lacks visualisation techniques able to navigate through text , analyse large text   repositories , analyse opinions , and to interactively simulate policy decisions ( Kohlhammer et al . ,   201043 ) . New tools like the Word Tree44 , Treemap , Tag Cloud and Bubble Chart45 are available but lack   interactivity . Another possible challenge is to adapt existing techniques to policy modeling : - CirVis3D46 ,   which can visualize clustered opinion snippets as well as display time series in order to show the opinion   trends over time - RelaNet47 , which displays the network relations and thereby is able to show the   connections and co - variances of the different opinions overtime 

 Current research 

 . Close the loop of information selection , preparation and visualization 

 •   Simultaneous multiple visualization 

 •   Integration of visualisation with comments / wiki / blogs 

 •   Collaborative platform display 

 •   Interaction between visualisation and models 

 •   Mobile visual analytics tools•   Geo - visualisation of government data 

 •   Integration with opinion mining and participatory sensing 

 •   Evaluation framework for visualisation effectiveness•   Visualisation infrastructures for policy   modelling issues 

 • Future research : long term and short term issues Short - term research   Re - usable , mashable tools for   visual analytics 

 •   Tighter integration between automatic computation and interactive visualization 

 •   Bias identification and signalling in visualization 

 •   Perceptual , cognitive and graphical principles 

 •   Efficiency of the visualisation techniques to enable interactive exploration interaction 

 • techniques such as focus & context   Impact evaluation of visual analytics on policy choices 

 Long - term research 

 . Learning adaptive algorithm for users intent 

 •   Advanced visual analytics interfaces 

 •   Intuitive affordable visual analytics interface for citizens 

 •   Development of novel interaction algorithms incorporating machine recognition of the 

 • actual user intent and appropriate adaptation of main display parameters such as the level of detail ,   data selection , etc . by which the data is presented 

 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 . 

 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 graphics that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference   tool for their remainder 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 . 

 Policy modelling lacks visualisation techniques able to navigate through text , analyse large text   repositories , analyse opinions , and to interactively simulate policy decisions ( Kohlhammer et al . ,   201043 ) . New tools like the Word Tree44 , Treemap , Tag Cloud and Bubble Chart45 are available but lack   interactivity . Another possible challenge is to adapt existing techniques to policy modeling : - CirVis3D46 ,   which can visualize clustered opinion snippets as well as display time series in order to show the opinion   trends over time - RelaNet47 , which displays the network relations and thereby is able to show the   connections and co - variances of the different opinions overtime 

 Current research 

 . Close the loop of information selection , preparation and visualization 

 •   Simultaneous multiple visualization 

 •   Integration of visualisation with comments / wiki / blogs 

 •   Collaborative platform display 

 •   Interaction between visualisation and models 

 •   Mobile visual analytics tools•   Geo - visualisation of government data 

 •   Integration with opinion mining and participatory sensing 

 •   Evaluation framework for visualisation effectiveness•   Visualisation infrastructures for policy   modelling issues 

 • Future research : long term and short term issues Short - term research   Re - usable , mashable tools for   visual analytics 

 •   Tighter integration between automatic computation and interactive visualization 

 •   Bias identification and signalling in visualization 

 •   Perceptual , cognitive and graphical principles 

 •   Efficiency of the visualisation techniques to enable interactive exploration interaction 

 • techniques such as focus & context   Impact evaluation of visual analytics on policy choices 

 Long - term research 

 . Learning adaptive algorithm for users intent 

 •   Advanced visual analytics interfaces 

 •   Intuitive affordable visual analytics interface for citizens 

 •   Development of novel interaction algorithms incorporating machine recognition of the 

 • actual user intent and appropriate adaptation of main display parameters such as the level of detail ,   data selection , etc . by which the data is presented 

 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 . 

 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 graphics that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference   tool for their remainder work .
### Output: 