Peer - graded Assignment : Reflection 

 Challenge & Selection 

 As a manager in a global consulting firm focused on assisting companies manage their   global workforce , I interact daily with a multitude of stakeholders . These include client   HR Mobility professionals and expatriate employees , third party relocation and   immigration vendors , colleagues across 100 + countries , my own direct team as well as   our offshore compliance team . All of which with different perspectives and reality   leading to different inputs and expectations throughout the entire process . 

 Although moving employees abroad is n’t a new phenomenon , the globalization that   started in the early 90 ’s and the advancements in technology created opportunities for   companies of all sizes to venture into new markets , therefore increasing exponentially   the need for employee relocations in traditional and new locations . This brings me to the   challenge we faced – our 15 year - old system became outdated and inefficient despite a   few ad - hoc attempts over the years to fix it and integrate it . It was clear to me that the   conventional linear analysis would neither properly identify the underlying problems nor   arrive at a solution that would resolve it effectively and wow all of us . 

 I used the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to gain a deep understanding of the   current system ’s capabilities and shortfalls and the possible solutions . I knew I needed a   compelling story to gain support at all levels of my organization and secure resources   and the team was key . 

 Application 

 The initial phase consisted of reaching out to senior leadership and request the   nomination of potential candidates from the various business units and service lines .   These were all top performers with proven records , different background and expertise . 

 I hand - picked the stakeholders based on their background , experience , levels and   positions , particularly looked for individuals that have used many hats before such as   former clients , transfers from foreign offices , different industry experts working with   clients at all sizes and geographical locations . 

 The activity consisted of groups of 4 - 6 participants that were challenged with a series of   questions and scenarios . Each team received a large board and stick notes to make   comments . After each question and scenario , each team presented their thoughts   where everyone could agree or disagree and add their opinions .   The best ideas were   then added to group board where we created collective mind mapping , all other ideas   were kept on a “ parking lot ” for future consideration . 

 The intent was to gain a deep understanding of the current reality in terms of system   capabilities and shortfalls , needs and expectations , usage of the system amongst   others . I ensured the scope of our focus was not too narrow in a way that could   eventually eliminate innovation opportunities at the onset of the project . All ideas were   considered and properly categorized and I functioned as a facilitator . We identified a   few low hanging fruits of quick changes of the current system that require   minimal effort   so the firm could rip some benefits right away while the new system is being created . 

 Insight and Approach 

 It became clear to me that the system was being used in many different ways , some   completely entirely different from each other , based on user experience , role , location ,   seniority , business units , etc . Additionally , I learned that over the years some areas   developed training materials for existing employees and new hires while others allowed   the employees to learn on the job , thus creating inconsistencies and knowledge gap . 

 As a result , I used the concept of creating personas with name , photo , role , description   and motivation so we could put ourselves on their shoes to understand their customer   experiences . Each persona promoted an in - depth dive with a total different perspective   and how these interact and connect with each other . 

 After a few rounds of meetings , the need for an integrated and robust global   management and workflow system was clear . Such capabilities of global access ,   structured framework with user configured dashboards , capable of tracking and control ,   multi - year reporting and with possibility to scale upon demand . We had a few iterations   of pilot system designs that were reviewed as a team and adjusted based on feedback .   We ’re now close to launch the prototype system and test it in a limited environment . 

 Looking back at the onset of this project , with the knowledge and experience acquired , I   would have introduced the concept of creating personas at the very beginning to be   able to gain the various insights from different user roles . Although it was done   successful later on when the need arose , it would have saved us some time if initiated   earlier – on the positive side , the open discussions allowed for true unhidden feedback   and desires which was also valuable . 

 Raffaele Passalacqua 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Raffaele Passalacqua
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: Peer - graded Assignment : Reflection 

 Challenge & Selection 

 As a manager in a global consulting firm focused on assisting companies manage their   global workforce , I interact daily with a multitude of stakeholders . These include client   HR Mobility professionals and expatriate employees , third party relocation and   immigration vendors , colleagues across 100 + countries , my own direct team as well as   our offshore compliance team . All of which with different perspectives and reality   leading to different inputs and expectations throughout the entire process . 

 Although moving employees abroad is n’t a new phenomenon , the globalization that   started in the early 90 ’s and the advancements in technology created opportunities for   companies of all sizes to venture into new markets , therefore increasing exponentially   the need for employee relocations in traditional and new locations . This brings me to the   challenge we faced – our 15 year - old system became outdated and inefficient despite a   few ad - hoc attempts over the years to fix it and integrate it . It was clear to me that the   conventional linear analysis would neither properly identify the underlying problems nor   arrive at a solution that would resolve it effectively and wow all of us . 

 I used the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to gain a deep understanding of the   current system ’s capabilities and shortfalls and the possible solutions . I knew I needed a   compelling story to gain support at all levels of my organization and secure resources   and the team was key . 

 Application 

 The initial phase consisted of reaching out to senior leadership and request the   nomination of potential candidates from the various business units and service lines .   These were all top performers with proven records , different background and expertise . 

 I hand - picked the stakeholders based on their background , experience , levels and   positions , particularly looked for individuals that have used many hats before such as   former clients , transfers from foreign offices , different industry experts working with   clients at all sizes and geographical locations . 

 The activity consisted of groups of 4 - 6 participants that were challenged with a series of   questions and scenarios . Each team received a large board and stick notes to make   comments . After each question and scenario , each team presented their thoughts   where everyone could agree or disagree and add their opinions .   The best ideas were   then added to group board where we created collective mind mapping , all other ideas   were kept on a “ parking lot ” for future consideration . 

 The intent was to gain a deep understanding of the current reality in terms of system   capabilities and shortfalls , needs and expectations , usage of the system amongst   others . I ensured the scope of our focus was not too narrow in a way that could   eventually eliminate innovation opportunities at the onset of the project . All ideas were   considered and properly categorized and I functioned as a facilitator . We identified a   few low hanging fruits of quick changes of the current system that require   minimal effort   so the firm could rip some benefits right away while the new system is being created . 

 Insight and Approach 

 It became clear to me that the system was being used in many different ways , some   completely entirely different from each other , based on user experience , role , location ,   seniority , business units , etc . Additionally , I learned that over the years some areas   developed training materials for existing employees and new hires while others allowed   the employees to learn on the job , thus creating inconsistencies and knowledge gap . 

 As a result , I used the concept of creating personas with name , photo , role , description   and motivation so we could put ourselves on their shoes to understand their customer   experiences . Each persona promoted an in - depth dive with a total different perspective   and how these interact and connect with each other . 

 After a few rounds of meetings , the need for an integrated and robust global   management and workflow system was clear . Such capabilities of global access ,   structured framework with user configured dashboards , capable of tracking and control ,   multi - year reporting and with possibility to scale upon demand . We had a few iterations   of pilot system designs that were reviewed as a team and adjusted based on feedback .   We ’re now close to launch the prototype system and test it in a limited environment . 

 Looking back at the onset of this project , with the knowledge and experience acquired , I   would have introduced the concept of creating personas at the very beginning to be   able to gain the various insights from different user roles . Although it was done   successful later on when the need arose , it would have saved us some time if initiated   earlier – on the positive side , the open discussions allowed for true unhidden feedback   and desires which was also valuable . 

 Raffaele Passalacqua
### Output: 