Challenge & Selection    Part of my role as Program Partnership Development Specialist includes developing tools and processes   to create operational efficiency throughout our team . My team is comprised of 5 managers , 1 senior   manager , 7 staff members and 3 interns . We seem to have issues adopting and committing to new   processes or tools for accomplishment reporting . Our work requires various forms of reporting to   various audiences through multiple media , such as internal reports to leadership , newsletters to   external partners , public social media posts , program advertisements to university faculty and students ,   etc . 

 As a corporate requirement , teams meet weekly to discuss updates , project progress , accomplishments ,   any risks or issues , and current work . I decided to utilize this corporate reporting tool as the main source   for our accomplishment content . However , we were not receiving the type of relevant information we   typically need , or team members were not reporting accomplishments at all . 

 In order to best determine the path forward for our team , I decided to use the Visualization tool to   create a flow chart to map out the flow of our inputs , activities and outputs to present to the team .   Creating a flow chart allowed me to list all the existing tools , meetings , reporting mechanisms , and   communications products we currently have , and how they are all connected . My team is comprised of   mostly analytical members , so I hoped that seeing this flow visually would assist them in understanding   the importance of each tool and its usage . 

 Application   I started to create the information flow by first listing our communications products and reporting   requirements . These included items such as newsletters , Annual Collaboration Reports , press releases ,   management assurance reports , etc . From there , I listed our current sources of information , or inputs . I   organized these into high - level categories , such as information from researchers , outcomes of on- campus events , and engagements with other programs . I broke those inputs down further to show the   specific sources where we gather this information . I added our mechanisms ( or tools ) for how we collect   this information and because our program has members that fulfill multiple roles across teams , I   highlighted the area where high - level tasks lie , and marked specific actions those members would take   for reporting purposes . I then added arrows to connect all these pieces together to create the actual 

 flow . Finally , I added the activity through which that tool is used , such as meetings or actions a specific   team member takes to share information . 

 Figure 1 . Information Flow . Specific information removed for example/ sharing purposes . 

 Insight   Through applying the Visualization tool to address my challenge , I realized the problem I was trying to   address was not accurate and that my goal needed to be adjusted . Instead of creating a new process or   tool , I needed to convince my team members to begin to use each tool that already exists in a unique   way , and rely on all members of the team to report within their own role , which cut down on duplicate   requests for information and data calls . This also streamlined the way our Communications team   collects accomplishment information to use for our reporting products . 

 This was the first time I have used a tool like this in this capacity . Of course , I ’ve drawn on white boards   during meetings to solve a problem or provide clarity to team members , but I have n’t ever exerted this   much effort to understand all working parts that feed into a challenge or issue . Generally , my team will   jump into making changes to our processes or tools as a quick fix . By using this tool , I was able to   address the challenge and determine a path forward that did n’t require any extra work on anyone on   the team , rather just a shift in operations . 

 Approach   When I presented this to my team , they received it well . However , they did ask for additional charts   breaking down the different pieces of the flow ( inputs , outputs and mechanisms ) and an explanation of   their function and purpose in relation to our program as a whole . I plan to continue using visualization   tools in the future to address challenges , but I would prefer to work these charts out as a team rather   than individually . Although I enjoyed gaining an understanding of the big picture , I believe this would   serve as a great collaborative tool and the entire team could benefit from the activity as well . 


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 & Selection    Part of my role as Program Partnership Development Specialist includes developing tools and processes   to create operational efficiency throughout our team . My team is comprised of 5 managers , 1 senior   manager , 7 staff members and 3 interns . We seem to have issues adopting and committing to new   processes or tools for accomplishment reporting . Our work requires various forms of reporting to   various audiences through multiple media , such as internal reports to leadership , newsletters to   external partners , public social media posts , program advertisements to university faculty and students ,   etc . 

 As a corporate requirement , teams meet weekly to discuss updates , project progress , accomplishments ,   any risks or issues , and current work . I decided to utilize this corporate reporting tool as the main source   for our accomplishment content . However , we were not receiving the type of relevant information we   typically need , or team members were not reporting accomplishments at all . 

 In order to best determine the path forward for our team , I decided to use the Visualization tool to   create a flow chart to map out the flow of our inputs , activities and outputs to present to the team .   Creating a flow chart allowed me to list all the existing tools , meetings , reporting mechanisms , and   communications products we currently have , and how they are all connected . My team is comprised of   mostly analytical members , so I hoped that seeing this flow visually would assist them in understanding   the importance of each tool and its usage . 

 Application   I started to create the information flow by first listing our communications products and reporting   requirements . These included items such as newsletters , Annual Collaboration Reports , press releases ,   management assurance reports , etc . From there , I listed our current sources of information , or inputs . I   organized these into high - level categories , such as information from researchers , outcomes of on- campus events , and engagements with other programs . I broke those inputs down further to show the   specific sources where we gather this information . I added our mechanisms ( or tools ) for how we collect   this information and because our program has members that fulfill multiple roles across teams , I   highlighted the area where high - level tasks lie , and marked specific actions those members would take   for reporting purposes . I then added arrows to connect all these pieces together to create the actual 

 flow . Finally , I added the activity through which that tool is used , such as meetings or actions a specific   team member takes to share information . 

 Figure 1 . Information Flow . Specific information removed for example/ sharing purposes . 

 Insight   Through applying the Visualization tool to address my challenge , I realized the problem I was trying to   address was not accurate and that my goal needed to be adjusted . Instead of creating a new process or   tool , I needed to convince my team members to begin to use each tool that already exists in a unique   way , and rely on all members of the team to report within their own role , which cut down on duplicate   requests for information and data calls . This also streamlined the way our Communications team   collects accomplishment information to use for our reporting products . 

 This was the first time I have used a tool like this in this capacity . Of course , I ’ve drawn on white boards   during meetings to solve a problem or provide clarity to team members , but I have n’t ever exerted this   much effort to understand all working parts that feed into a challenge or issue . Generally , my team will   jump into making changes to our processes or tools as a quick fix . By using this tool , I was able to   address the challenge and determine a path forward that did n’t require any extra work on anyone on   the team , rather just a shift in operations . 

 Approach   When I presented this to my team , they received it well . However , they did ask for additional charts   breaking down the different pieces of the flow ( inputs , outputs and mechanisms ) and an explanation of   their function and purpose in relation to our program as a whole . I plan to continue using visualization   tools in the future to address challenges , but I would prefer to work these charts out as a team rather   than individually . Although I enjoyed gaining an understanding of the big picture , I believe this would   serve as a great collaborative tool and the entire team could benefit from the activity as well .
### Output: 