DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION- REFLECTION 

 TOOL SELECTED : Storytelling 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I opted for the tool of Visualization . Here ’s how : I am in the ICT department in my organization . I   work as the organization ’s first Data Analyst ever since its inception in the 70s . You may wonder how   this came about , how the job came up . In 2013 , I was in an Industry placement programme , which   was a requirement in my programme of study that determined progression into my final year . I got   accepted at one of the country ’s biggest insurance brokers and that felt like a big win . I joined the   ICT department as an attaché for a couple of months . My role there was not only to learn and adapt   to their processes , but also to add value to the company . This was challenging as I was wondering   how a young person could add value to such a huge established , part of a global company ? I mean ,   everything ICT related came from the global head office , so trying to implement something new   really must be impactful to the organization . I observed the processes over some a period of about   two months , and slowly studied client behaviour in telephone billing , printer usage , the highest and   lowest periods of demand and all . This is where it started . I then went to observing the pattern of   claims , loss ratio , customer retention strategy , and the whole company strategy . Guess what ,   everything there was manual . It took ages to get the information one would be looking for ,   therefore slowing down growth of the businesses . 

 Application 

 I sat down , presented a problem case in the form of a research paper , outlining how the business   has been performing , the problem at hand ( which they did not notice could have been a problem   until presented ) . I then pitched to them the value of having data & analytics in an organization by   using a demo of their already existing data and then showed them how it can be insightful to the   organization . This was all done after my attachment with them . I outlined the steps that the   organization would need to take to make that possible : Centralizing data through the development   of a Data Warehouse ; Digitization of 70%+ company processes ; Migrating physical copies of   information to digital platforms ; Formulating a concrete IT strategy that will guide implementation   and timelines of programme & finally ; Developing a Business Intelligence solution that is integrated   with the data warehouse . A couple of excel data extracts were used to demonstrate how data can be   leveraged to improve businesses internally . 

 A consultant was to be contracted to help formulate the ICT digitization strategy that was to outline   the steps required to have a seamless transition , a data warehouse development and business   intelligence team to be roped in to develop them , and a change management plan was to be created   to help colleagues adapt to the new ICT processes . Other simple processes that came from data &   analytics was cross selling- initially , this process was over - thought , but the role helped management   come with easier ways of implementing it . For the Business Intelligence Solution and data   warehouse development , Requirements specification elicitation workshop was held by the consulted   with the organization ’s different business units to get an in - depth understanding of their reporting .   A needs assessment was done to see what manual processes could be automated . System   requirements were outlined and purchase of a dedicated server for development was part of the 

 requirements . These were done post the company board of directors ’ approval of the sponsorship .   As the development is ongoing , there are weekly project team updates , where both sides share   progress on their deliverables , and monthly progress update meetings to keep stakeholders of the   project up to date . 

 Insight & Approach 

 My takeaway from this project has highlighted the importance of keeping stakeholders updated on   every step of every project . This promotes ownership of what is happening and gives assurance that   the investment is worthwhile . Using the data they could relate to created a vivid picture in their   heads and helped them understand and appreciate the value of this investment even more . Forming   a relationship with all stakeholders makes it easier to facilitate the project and acquire the relevant   details well in time , which could be time saving . Initiating the whole project opened my eyes up to   wanting to do this for more organizations , especially SMMEs and start ups that have no idea where   they are headed or what they need to do to find their feet . I acted as an inhouse consultant and   made me aware of the skills I was not aware I had . In future , a well detailed implementation plan   will be prepared in advance so that I know what will need to be done and how . I will also insist on   having a dedicated team to the project to avoid project stalling . 

 Selecting this tool was not easy . I had to write up my scenario first to understand what kind of design   thinker I am and after reading it , I decided that story telling is my best bet . Though I see nothing   wrong with having to select one , I believe that a person can use different tools at once , long as it   sends out the message . There are times when I prefer to use mind - mapping , especially coming up   with policy type of writings , times where I must use visualization for my data & analytics , depending   on the people I am approaching . The ability to use the different tools is a superpower that should   not be taken for granted . 


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- REFLECTION 

 TOOL SELECTED : Storytelling 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I opted for the tool of Visualization . Here ’s how : I am in the ICT department in my organization . I   work as the organization ’s first Data Analyst ever since its inception in the 70s . You may wonder how   this came about , how the job came up . In 2013 , I was in an Industry placement programme , which   was a requirement in my programme of study that determined progression into my final year . I got   accepted at one of the country ’s biggest insurance brokers and that felt like a big win . I joined the   ICT department as an attaché for a couple of months . My role there was not only to learn and adapt   to their processes , but also to add value to the company . This was challenging as I was wondering   how a young person could add value to such a huge established , part of a global company ? I mean ,   everything ICT related came from the global head office , so trying to implement something new   really must be impactful to the organization . I observed the processes over some a period of about   two months , and slowly studied client behaviour in telephone billing , printer usage , the highest and   lowest periods of demand and all . This is where it started . I then went to observing the pattern of   claims , loss ratio , customer retention strategy , and the whole company strategy . Guess what ,   everything there was manual . It took ages to get the information one would be looking for ,   therefore slowing down growth of the businesses . 

 Application 

 I sat down , presented a problem case in the form of a research paper , outlining how the business   has been performing , the problem at hand ( which they did not notice could have been a problem   until presented ) . I then pitched to them the value of having data & analytics in an organization by   using a demo of their already existing data and then showed them how it can be insightful to the   organization . This was all done after my attachment with them . I outlined the steps that the   organization would need to take to make that possible : Centralizing data through the development   of a Data Warehouse ; Digitization of 70%+ company processes ; Migrating physical copies of   information to digital platforms ; Formulating a concrete IT strategy that will guide implementation   and timelines of programme & finally ; Developing a Business Intelligence solution that is integrated   with the data warehouse . A couple of excel data extracts were used to demonstrate how data can be   leveraged to improve businesses internally . 

 A consultant was to be contracted to help formulate the ICT digitization strategy that was to outline   the steps required to have a seamless transition , a data warehouse development and business   intelligence team to be roped in to develop them , and a change management plan was to be created   to help colleagues adapt to the new ICT processes . Other simple processes that came from data &   analytics was cross selling- initially , this process was over - thought , but the role helped management   come with easier ways of implementing it . For the Business Intelligence Solution and data   warehouse development , Requirements specification elicitation workshop was held by the consulted   with the organization ’s different business units to get an in - depth understanding of their reporting .   A needs assessment was done to see what manual processes could be automated . System   requirements were outlined and purchase of a dedicated server for development was part of the 

 requirements . These were done post the company board of directors ’ approval of the sponsorship .   As the development is ongoing , there are weekly project team updates , where both sides share   progress on their deliverables , and monthly progress update meetings to keep stakeholders of the   project up to date . 

 Insight & Approach 

 My takeaway from this project has highlighted the importance of keeping stakeholders updated on   every step of every project . This promotes ownership of what is happening and gives assurance that   the investment is worthwhile . Using the data they could relate to created a vivid picture in their   heads and helped them understand and appreciate the value of this investment even more . Forming   a relationship with all stakeholders makes it easier to facilitate the project and acquire the relevant   details well in time , which could be time saving . Initiating the whole project opened my eyes up to   wanting to do this for more organizations , especially SMMEs and start ups that have no idea where   they are headed or what they need to do to find their feet . I acted as an inhouse consultant and   made me aware of the skills I was not aware I had . In future , a well detailed implementation plan   will be prepared in advance so that I know what will need to be done and how . I will also insist on   having a dedicated team to the project to avoid project stalling . 

 Selecting this tool was not easy . I had to write up my scenario first to understand what kind of design   thinker I am and after reading it , I decided that story telling is my best bet . Though I see nothing   wrong with having to select one , I believe that a person can use different tools at once , long as it   sends out the message . There are times when I prefer to use mind - mapping , especially coming up   with policy type of writings , times where I must use visualization for my data & analytics , depending   on the people I am approaching . The ability to use the different tools is a superpower that should   not be taken for granted .
### Output: 