Example reflection - Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I work as a User Experience designer in a telecommunication company . My job is to make sure that   the applications we develop are user centered , meaning that they help the user achieve their tasks   effectively . I need to research and understand how our users do their daily jobs , what their workflow   is , what their pains are , and then I need to create visual designs on how our application would look .   So in summary I am a human centered person with visual skills and need of communication through   visual media . 

 On the other hand , my coworkers come from technical background , mostly with network and IT   engineering domains . They think and communicate differently . If I wanted to super simplify the   situation , I would say that they are left - brained ( analytical ) , and I am right - brained ( creative ) . 

 During the meetings I always feel the need to stand up and start drawing on the whiteboard . My   challenge is to move them out of their comfort zone , stand up , take a pen and use visual tools for the   discussions . I believe that using visual methods can enhance the discussion and can lead to a   common understanding faster . This is why I chose this visualization tool . 

 Application 

 I found different ways on how to approach people and how to encourage them to start drawing .   Some people are just scared or lazy or have n’t even thought of starting to draw or sketch , for them I   think if somebody starts then they will eventually join . Some people think they are not good at   drawing , for them you need to show that you are not good at drawing either . It is not about how   realistic your stick figure is and they need to understand that . So what I usually do is that I start   drawing and if somebody has something to fix or add , I hand over the pen and they can do their part   on the drawing . I also encourage them verbally and make positive reflection comments ( e.g. “ Aaaah ,   now I understand , I pictured it in a different way ) that proves them that it is indeed a very powerful   tool . 

 Insight 

 My general impression is that once people start using visuals to supplement their verbal or written   information , they get the hang of it . After a while they do not care if the drawings are childish or too   simply , or look ugly , or not colorful . My feeling is that it is only difficult to start . 

 The bad news is that this does not stick . Even though we started using the whiteboard during   discussions in one meeting , on the next meeting it feels like it never happened , nobody remembered   and behaved like before : sitting . So maybe you can not change a person for good . Or maybe it takes   years . Not sure , we will need to see . 

 But I can say from the feedback I got from some of the coworkers is that they also found it very   useful to include more visual elements in the discussions because it did make things more   understandable , it brings up more ideas and more questions that need to be addressed . I believe this   is essential in a design thinking process . 

 Approach 

 I am a bit scared , but I should try the mind mapping method with the coworkers . I am very interested   in their reaction to this , if this is something they are shy at first but then get the hang of it , or it is   simply too much for a community of engineers . I hope that it lightens up their brains a little . 


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: Example reflection - Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I work as a User Experience designer in a telecommunication company . My job is to make sure that   the applications we develop are user centered , meaning that they help the user achieve their tasks   effectively . I need to research and understand how our users do their daily jobs , what their workflow   is , what their pains are , and then I need to create visual designs on how our application would look .   So in summary I am a human centered person with visual skills and need of communication through   visual media . 

 On the other hand , my coworkers come from technical background , mostly with network and IT   engineering domains . They think and communicate differently . If I wanted to super simplify the   situation , I would say that they are left - brained ( analytical ) , and I am right - brained ( creative ) . 

 During the meetings I always feel the need to stand up and start drawing on the whiteboard . My   challenge is to move them out of their comfort zone , stand up , take a pen and use visual tools for the   discussions . I believe that using visual methods can enhance the discussion and can lead to a   common understanding faster . This is why I chose this visualization tool . 

 Application 

 I found different ways on how to approach people and how to encourage them to start drawing .   Some people are just scared or lazy or have n’t even thought of starting to draw or sketch , for them I   think if somebody starts then they will eventually join . Some people think they are not good at   drawing , for them you need to show that you are not good at drawing either . It is not about how   realistic your stick figure is and they need to understand that . So what I usually do is that I start   drawing and if somebody has something to fix or add , I hand over the pen and they can do their part   on the drawing . I also encourage them verbally and make positive reflection comments ( e.g. “ Aaaah ,   now I understand , I pictured it in a different way ) that proves them that it is indeed a very powerful   tool . 

 Insight 

 My general impression is that once people start using visuals to supplement their verbal or written   information , they get the hang of it . After a while they do not care if the drawings are childish or too   simply , or look ugly , or not colorful . My feeling is that it is only difficult to start . 

 The bad news is that this does not stick . Even though we started using the whiteboard during   discussions in one meeting , on the next meeting it feels like it never happened , nobody remembered   and behaved like before : sitting . So maybe you can not change a person for good . Or maybe it takes   years . Not sure , we will need to see . 

 But I can say from the feedback I got from some of the coworkers is that they also found it very   useful to include more visual elements in the discussions because it did make things more   understandable , it brings up more ideas and more questions that need to be addressed . I believe this   is essential in a design thinking process . 

 Approach 

 I am a bit scared , but I should try the mind mapping method with the coworkers . I am very interested   in their reaction to this , if this is something they are shy at first but then get the hang of it , or it is   simply too much for a community of engineers . I hope that it lightens up their brains a little .
### Output: 