Challenge : 

 In one of my first projects as a professional engineer , I was asked to develop a lighting control 

 system for The Jefferson Memorial building in Washington , D.C.   The building was undergoing   renovations to clean and enhance the appearance , and my organization , a global lighting control   manufacturer was bidding to provide the lighting system .   As I approached this challenge , I wanted to   ensure that I was designing a product that served the needs of the National Parks Service who maintains   the property , but to also ensure that the system would delight visitors to the exhibit which would   number in the millions .   Even a “ backstage ” product like lighting can influence the mood of visitors ;   when it works you may never notice , but poor lighting will stand out when not designed well .   This was   an opportunity to drive a large sale for my company and improve a national landmark . 

 With this challenge , we understood that our existing product line might not be a perfect fit for 

 this situation , and we would need to evolve our product in addition to our pitch .   Our typical solution for   lighting controls was used in corporate office buildings , and we understood that enhancing our product   could lead to additional uses in the future . 

 Selection : 

 To evolve our product , and potentially enter a new type of application for our product , it was 

 important to get close to our customers , and understand their needs .   And , to truly get a sense for   “ What Wows ” , we needed a means to understand our customers as much as the challenges they faced ,   and to use the opportunity to brainstorm new opportunities . 

 For this challenge , I chose to implement the Storytelling tool where I on the design team would 

 meet with key stakeholders and ask them questions without jumping to the process of formed   conclusions .   My company afforded me the ability to travel to the Jefferson Memorial , and take the time   to speak with our prospective customer ( the National Parks Service ) to understand what challenges they   faced with their existing system .   Our stakeholders were responsible for the upkeep of the memorial ,   along with many other national sites and buildings .   Visiting the site also allowed for the ability to   engage tourists that were visiting the memorial to get additional perspectives on what they appreciated ,   and potential opportunities .   Meeting with stakeholders in their “ home ” environment allowed for   conversation to develop , and for these stakeholders to share their stories and experiences . 

 Application and Insight : 

 When you visit a historic site , or a national monument , the location itself has a story to tell .   In 

 addition to meeting with our stakeholders , I wanted to ensure that the site had an opportunity speak as   well .   The Jefferson Memorial sits on a tidal basin of the Potomac .   On my first sight visit , I noticed that   you could look across the basin and see the National Mall , with the White House in the distance .   The   large Thomas Jefferson statue within the memorial overlooks the basin focused directly on the White   House .   This along with other input was ultimately refined into an unexpressed need that the north side   needs to have openness and focus to allow visibility from other key landmarks . 

 When meeting with the National Parks Service onsite , the first think I observed was that we just 

 met on the steps of the memorial .   After asking questions about their roles , their support duties , their   commutes , etc . , I found out that each member of the service supported multiple locations , and their   office was in a separate location .   They had no onsite presence at the memorial , which they shared was 

 a point of frustration , especially when the site needed maintenance like changing a light bulb .   Further ,   the lights used at the memorial were the large gymnasium style bulbs , which required a special order to   obtain them .   For maintenance , this required periodic site visits to just check if the lights were on ( often   after hours for the staff ) , and then a subsequent visit to schedule and install the bulb once it had been   ordered . 

 We had used power metering technology in some of our lighting control products and thought 

 this would be a great application – when the lights turned on , calibrate the system to understand how   much power each circuit draws .   Then , monitor the power continuously to determine when the power   drops ( e.g. a bulb is burned out ) .   The system could maintain a database of power measurements and   the type of bulbs used , and email a member of the National Parks Service any time a power reduction   was observed , with the model number of the bulb needed to order .   This ultimately helped to reduce   the amount of time that it took for the National Parks Service to become aware of an issue , and to   ensure that the lighting was replated in a timely manner . 

 I also took the opportunity to speak with tourists in the area , at multiple times per day .   The 

 feedback from the tourist during the daytime was relatively positive , although nighttime exposed   different reactions , especially whin visiting other monuments at night .   When at the Lincoln Memorial , I   asked one tourist “ Will you be heading to the Jefferson Memorial tonight as well ” ?   The tourist indicated   that they had stopped there first , although left quickly because it was dimly lit and they did not feel safe   ( check ; need more lighting to aid the feeling of public safety ) . 

 Overall , the project was a resounding success .   Not only did we win the bid for lighting controls 

 because of our demonstration of power monitoring and proactive notifications when lights burned out ,   but the memorial saw an overall increase in tourist traffic , especially in the evening hours .   Shortly after   the project completed , there was a Monday Night NFL game broadcast .   Once feature shot was a flyover   of the Jefferson Memorial shining brightly against the D.C. backdrop . 

 Approach : 

 Overall , the approach worked very well .   The process of learning through story telling was the 

 right tool to discover potential pain points that were not evident in the original request for proposal .    Identifying these unmet unexpressed needs was the key to success in this project .   If anything were to   be done differently , I would say it would be worthwhile to expand the number of conversations held   with stakeholders identifying a broader base and more personas .   A large number of stories would help   to reinforce the themes discovered , and potentially develop additional personas or thems . 


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: Challenge : 

 In one of my first projects as a professional engineer , I was asked to develop a lighting control 

 system for The Jefferson Memorial building in Washington , D.C.   The building was undergoing   renovations to clean and enhance the appearance , and my organization , a global lighting control   manufacturer was bidding to provide the lighting system .   As I approached this challenge , I wanted to   ensure that I was designing a product that served the needs of the National Parks Service who maintains   the property , but to also ensure that the system would delight visitors to the exhibit which would   number in the millions .   Even a “ backstage ” product like lighting can influence the mood of visitors ;   when it works you may never notice , but poor lighting will stand out when not designed well .   This was   an opportunity to drive a large sale for my company and improve a national landmark . 

 With this challenge , we understood that our existing product line might not be a perfect fit for 

 this situation , and we would need to evolve our product in addition to our pitch .   Our typical solution for   lighting controls was used in corporate office buildings , and we understood that enhancing our product   could lead to additional uses in the future . 

 Selection : 

 To evolve our product , and potentially enter a new type of application for our product , it was 

 important to get close to our customers , and understand their needs .   And , to truly get a sense for   “ What Wows ” , we needed a means to understand our customers as much as the challenges they faced ,   and to use the opportunity to brainstorm new opportunities . 

 For this challenge , I chose to implement the Storytelling tool where I on the design team would 

 meet with key stakeholders and ask them questions without jumping to the process of formed   conclusions .   My company afforded me the ability to travel to the Jefferson Memorial , and take the time   to speak with our prospective customer ( the National Parks Service ) to understand what challenges they   faced with their existing system .   Our stakeholders were responsible for the upkeep of the memorial ,   along with many other national sites and buildings .   Visiting the site also allowed for the ability to   engage tourists that were visiting the memorial to get additional perspectives on what they appreciated ,   and potential opportunities .   Meeting with stakeholders in their “ home ” environment allowed for   conversation to develop , and for these stakeholders to share their stories and experiences . 

 Application and Insight : 

 When you visit a historic site , or a national monument , the location itself has a story to tell .   In 

 addition to meeting with our stakeholders , I wanted to ensure that the site had an opportunity speak as   well .   The Jefferson Memorial sits on a tidal basin of the Potomac .   On my first sight visit , I noticed that   you could look across the basin and see the National Mall , with the White House in the distance .   The   large Thomas Jefferson statue within the memorial overlooks the basin focused directly on the White   House .   This along with other input was ultimately refined into an unexpressed need that the north side   needs to have openness and focus to allow visibility from other key landmarks . 

 When meeting with the National Parks Service onsite , the first think I observed was that we just 

 met on the steps of the memorial .   After asking questions about their roles , their support duties , their   commutes , etc . , I found out that each member of the service supported multiple locations , and their   office was in a separate location .   They had no onsite presence at the memorial , which they shared was 

 a point of frustration , especially when the site needed maintenance like changing a light bulb .   Further ,   the lights used at the memorial were the large gymnasium style bulbs , which required a special order to   obtain them .   For maintenance , this required periodic site visits to just check if the lights were on ( often   after hours for the staff ) , and then a subsequent visit to schedule and install the bulb once it had been   ordered . 

 We had used power metering technology in some of our lighting control products and thought 

 this would be a great application – when the lights turned on , calibrate the system to understand how   much power each circuit draws .   Then , monitor the power continuously to determine when the power   drops ( e.g. a bulb is burned out ) .   The system could maintain a database of power measurements and   the type of bulbs used , and email a member of the National Parks Service any time a power reduction   was observed , with the model number of the bulb needed to order .   This ultimately helped to reduce   the amount of time that it took for the National Parks Service to become aware of an issue , and to   ensure that the lighting was replated in a timely manner . 

 I also took the opportunity to speak with tourists in the area , at multiple times per day .   The 

 feedback from the tourist during the daytime was relatively positive , although nighttime exposed   different reactions , especially whin visiting other monuments at night .   When at the Lincoln Memorial , I   asked one tourist “ Will you be heading to the Jefferson Memorial tonight as well ” ?   The tourist indicated   that they had stopped there first , although left quickly because it was dimly lit and they did not feel safe   ( check ; need more lighting to aid the feeling of public safety ) . 

 Overall , the project was a resounding success .   Not only did we win the bid for lighting controls 

 because of our demonstration of power monitoring and proactive notifications when lights burned out ,   but the memorial saw an overall increase in tourist traffic , especially in the evening hours .   Shortly after   the project completed , there was a Monday Night NFL game broadcast .   Once feature shot was a flyover   of the Jefferson Memorial shining brightly against the D.C. backdrop . 

 Approach : 

 Overall , the approach worked very well .   The process of learning through story telling was the 

 right tool to discover potential pain points that were not evident in the original request for proposal .    Identifying these unmet unexpressed needs was the key to success in this project .   If anything were to   be done differently , I would say it would be worthwhile to expand the number of conversations held   with stakeholders identifying a broader base and more personas .   A large number of stories would help   to reinforce the themes discovered , and potentially develop additional personas or thems .
### Output: 