Reflection : Learning Launch 

 Challenge : As part of my work I run an annual recruiting campaign to   identify twenty top leaders in the energy and climate space under the age of   thirty five to join a prestigious program at my institution . The selection   process depends on an open application and a merit - based review process .   Naturally , the more high - quality applications I receive , the more competitive   the process is , and ultimately , my annual cohort of twenty is higher caliber .   Therefore , each year I strive to increase the total reach of the campaign as   well as the average quality of the candidates . These two constraints are the   primary design criteria of this challenge .     Traditionally , our recruitment campaign centers on distributing a document   we refer to as our ‘ call - for - applications ’ through direct email , personal   networks , and social media . While this document is full of useful   information , the document medium itself is n’t very dynamic or interesting .   Based on data from previous campaigns , I knew that while we were reaching   many millions of potential applicants through our existing distribution   channels , a very small percentage were actually clicking any of the links in   the document , or even spending more than a few seconds reading it . The low   conversation rate had been a source of frustration for a number of   recruitment cycles . My operating hypothesis was that the format of the   application call was partially responsible for this low conversion percentage   – more dynamic content that communicated the idea in a shorter time span   and generated greater curiosity and interest , potentially at the expense of   detailed information , would , I surmised , likely lead to a better click - through   rate . So , the challenge : redesign our recruitment materials in a format other   than our traditional ‘ call - for - applications ’ document .     Selection and the Tool : This redesign involved the use of a number of   different tools to better understand the user - experience involved in applying   for our program , including journey mapping and interviews of previous   applicants . However , for the purposes of this reflection , I will focus on the   learning launch tool , which was used to pilot the different new formats and   content pieces we developed for our campaign this year . The learning launch   tool is employed near the end of the design thinking process , after designers   have already explored and answered the questions what is and what if , and   are searching for answers to the questions what works and what wows ? This   tool is deployed when designers have possible solution sets prepared and   ready to test in the market . Its hallmark , and where it differs from traditional 

 innovation processes , is its focus on placing small bets on a low - fidelity   prototypes with the potential to show success , but , perhaps most importantly ,   the ability to fail at a very low cost . Through low - cost failures in the learning   launch stage , the designer can test his assumptions quickly iterate and   experiment with multiple solutions , gathering key insights about the   feasibility of all his or her ideas in the real market while honing the solution .     Application of the Tool : This was the strategy employed for our   recruitment campaign . I piloted three low - cost advertising campaigns with   three new types of content , produced in - house at no cost , but also at a   relatively low production value . These included graphically designed “ image   tiles ” featuring images of past participants , activities , and other interesting   aspects of the program with short superimposed text emphasizing a unique ,   but limited - time only , opportunity ; short videos of former participants   discussing the program and offering testimonials , and finally , short video   clips of myself and my team discussing the program and its vision ( this   suggestion was actually generated by a colleague outside our team who was   invited to our brainstorming sessions specifically to offer an outside   perspective , thereby helping us account for our own “ blind spots ” and group   think ) . The learning launch included rolling out a small number of varieties   of each of these pieces of content towards targeted audiences via Facebook   and Twitter ad campaigns . We also published a traditional application call to   the same demographic groups as a control in our market experiment .      Insights : After a week of running the ads , our video testimonials and tiles   outperformed the application call , but our staff videos faired poorly . We   ultimately invested greater resources in the testimonial and graphic design   tiles to enhance and professionalize the production quality , and also   combined the two during later experiments , to roll out to our entire   distribution network . The final numbers not only exceeded our previous   recruitment campaign metrics , but they also delivered some unexpected   results – we captured more and better applicants , including a large number   from sub - categories in the broadly defined energy and climate space who we   had previously not considered or targeted : people working on software and   digital services for the energy industry .      I believe this type of unexpected discovery is one of the great benefits of the   learning launch tool and design thinking more generally . Once you   acknowledge and accept that you can not fully predict how a given solution   will play out in the market , you become more aware of possibilities and 

 insights that you might otherwise have missed because they were not part of   your initial criteria . In this case , we were not aiming to capture new types of   professional demographics , only enhance our engagement with or pre- defined target group . However , the discovery of an entirely new professional   demographic interested in our work that represents a complimentary sector   and perspective has been a revelation and offered a tremendous amount of   dynamism to our program . The connections between the two may not have   ever been exposed , let alone acted upon , had we not embarked on the   process of design thinking in pursuit of our original goal – to exceed annual   recruiting metrics .     Approach - What I Might Do Differently Next Time : Next time I will   devote more time and resources to socializing the concept of a learning   launch internally with my supervisors , especially those responsible for   managing our budget . The notion of a multi - pronged market experiment in   which a large percentage of my ideas will likely fail ( while these tests are   cheap , they are not free , and the gut reaction to the principle of “ wasting ”   money , no matter how little , is difficult to manage ) was received with   significant skepticism . The greatest asset I had to actually advance this   strategy was speed – I was able to move through the development and   testing of prototypes more quickly than supervisors could determine what   decision to make in response to my ideas . By the time this skepticism was   fully processed and I was told to take my ideas “ back to the drawing board ”   before publishing , I had already run multiple tests and had the data required   to make my case . I was fortunate to be in an environment in which I have   this latitude for independent action while also conducting a learning launch   uniquely well suited for speed . However , learning from this experience , in   the future I will take steps before launching to ensure I am prepared to move   faster than my bureaucracy and to ensure I have the appropriate “ overhead ”   cover because this tool does involve failures , which are always difficult to   justify .       Additionally , In the future I will make better use of the story telling tool in   developing this type of content . One of the reasons our staff videos   performed poorly is because they did n’t do a good job telling a story , but   were based to closely off the original application call . In future iterations of   this recruitment campaign , I believe there is a way to leverage staff videos   and story telling to enhance the overall efficacy of the program . 


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: Reflection : Learning Launch 

 Challenge : As part of my work I run an annual recruiting campaign to   identify twenty top leaders in the energy and climate space under the age of   thirty five to join a prestigious program at my institution . The selection   process depends on an open application and a merit - based review process .   Naturally , the more high - quality applications I receive , the more competitive   the process is , and ultimately , my annual cohort of twenty is higher caliber .   Therefore , each year I strive to increase the total reach of the campaign as   well as the average quality of the candidates . These two constraints are the   primary design criteria of this challenge .     Traditionally , our recruitment campaign centers on distributing a document   we refer to as our ‘ call - for - applications ’ through direct email , personal   networks , and social media . While this document is full of useful   information , the document medium itself is n’t very dynamic or interesting .   Based on data from previous campaigns , I knew that while we were reaching   many millions of potential applicants through our existing distribution   channels , a very small percentage were actually clicking any of the links in   the document , or even spending more than a few seconds reading it . The low   conversation rate had been a source of frustration for a number of   recruitment cycles . My operating hypothesis was that the format of the   application call was partially responsible for this low conversion percentage   – more dynamic content that communicated the idea in a shorter time span   and generated greater curiosity and interest , potentially at the expense of   detailed information , would , I surmised , likely lead to a better click - through   rate . So , the challenge : redesign our recruitment materials in a format other   than our traditional ‘ call - for - applications ’ document .     Selection and the Tool : This redesign involved the use of a number of   different tools to better understand the user - experience involved in applying   for our program , including journey mapping and interviews of previous   applicants . However , for the purposes of this reflection , I will focus on the   learning launch tool , which was used to pilot the different new formats and   content pieces we developed for our campaign this year . The learning launch   tool is employed near the end of the design thinking process , after designers   have already explored and answered the questions what is and what if , and   are searching for answers to the questions what works and what wows ? This   tool is deployed when designers have possible solution sets prepared and   ready to test in the market . Its hallmark , and where it differs from traditional 

 innovation processes , is its focus on placing small bets on a low - fidelity   prototypes with the potential to show success , but , perhaps most importantly ,   the ability to fail at a very low cost . Through low - cost failures in the learning   launch stage , the designer can test his assumptions quickly iterate and   experiment with multiple solutions , gathering key insights about the   feasibility of all his or her ideas in the real market while honing the solution .     Application of the Tool : This was the strategy employed for our   recruitment campaign . I piloted three low - cost advertising campaigns with   three new types of content , produced in - house at no cost , but also at a   relatively low production value . These included graphically designed “ image   tiles ” featuring images of past participants , activities , and other interesting   aspects of the program with short superimposed text emphasizing a unique ,   but limited - time only , opportunity ; short videos of former participants   discussing the program and offering testimonials , and finally , short video   clips of myself and my team discussing the program and its vision ( this   suggestion was actually generated by a colleague outside our team who was   invited to our brainstorming sessions specifically to offer an outside   perspective , thereby helping us account for our own “ blind spots ” and group   think ) . The learning launch included rolling out a small number of varieties   of each of these pieces of content towards targeted audiences via Facebook   and Twitter ad campaigns . We also published a traditional application call to   the same demographic groups as a control in our market experiment .      Insights : After a week of running the ads , our video testimonials and tiles   outperformed the application call , but our staff videos faired poorly . We   ultimately invested greater resources in the testimonial and graphic design   tiles to enhance and professionalize the production quality , and also   combined the two during later experiments , to roll out to our entire   distribution network . The final numbers not only exceeded our previous   recruitment campaign metrics , but they also delivered some unexpected   results – we captured more and better applicants , including a large number   from sub - categories in the broadly defined energy and climate space who we   had previously not considered or targeted : people working on software and   digital services for the energy industry .      I believe this type of unexpected discovery is one of the great benefits of the   learning launch tool and design thinking more generally . Once you   acknowledge and accept that you can not fully predict how a given solution   will play out in the market , you become more aware of possibilities and 

 insights that you might otherwise have missed because they were not part of   your initial criteria . In this case , we were not aiming to capture new types of   professional demographics , only enhance our engagement with or pre- defined target group . However , the discovery of an entirely new professional   demographic interested in our work that represents a complimentary sector   and perspective has been a revelation and offered a tremendous amount of   dynamism to our program . The connections between the two may not have   ever been exposed , let alone acted upon , had we not embarked on the   process of design thinking in pursuit of our original goal – to exceed annual   recruiting metrics .     Approach - What I Might Do Differently Next Time : Next time I will   devote more time and resources to socializing the concept of a learning   launch internally with my supervisors , especially those responsible for   managing our budget . The notion of a multi - pronged market experiment in   which a large percentage of my ideas will likely fail ( while these tests are   cheap , they are not free , and the gut reaction to the principle of “ wasting ”   money , no matter how little , is difficult to manage ) was received with   significant skepticism . The greatest asset I had to actually advance this   strategy was speed – I was able to move through the development and   testing of prototypes more quickly than supervisors could determine what   decision to make in response to my ideas . By the time this skepticism was   fully processed and I was told to take my ideas “ back to the drawing board ”   before publishing , I had already run multiple tests and had the data required   to make my case . I was fortunate to be in an environment in which I have   this latitude for independent action while also conducting a learning launch   uniquely well suited for speed . However , learning from this experience , in   the future I will take steps before launching to ensure I am prepared to move   faster than my bureaucracy and to ensure I have the appropriate “ overhead ”   cover because this tool does involve failures , which are always difficult to   justify .       Additionally , In the future I will make better use of the story telling tool in   developing this type of content . One of the reasons our staff videos   performed poorly is because they did n’t do a good job telling a story , but   were based to closely off the original application call . In future iterations of   this recruitment campaign , I believe there is a way to leverage staff videos   and story telling to enhance the overall efficacy of the program .
### Output: 