Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I have started working as business analyst for a new client in the insurance industry a couple of   months ago . They hired me to join a team who was asked to redesign an application for claims   management . The current application is a nightmare for business users as it is originally an access   database where a front end UI has been added . They have to manually enter loads of data , duplicate   data entry in many systems , go through an enormous number of clicks to complete a task , and many   other astonishing facts that made their work very inefficient . However , as many of these users were   working for the company for years , they all seemed to have found work around to their daily issue   and this what made our job very difficult . Indeed , we notice that people easily implement routines   that prevent them from stepping out of their comfort zone and bring innovative solutions to their   problems . So instead of starting from scratch in their mind , they were tweaking existing   functionalities . 

 As our job is to understand business processes and pinpoint their pain points , we need to step away   from very explanatory details and look at the big picture of ‘ why are they achieving this ? ’ to discover   the full lifecycle of a claim from its intake to its closure .   That way , we are reducing waste to provide   them with a great and efficient user experience . 

 We decided to use a visualization tool to make it easier for the business to follow us on their new   journey . After our first workshops with stakeholders , we started using Balsamic to create clickable   mock - ups that could be directly tested by our users . It is a great tool that enable people to already   have a feel of how their new application could look like . 

 Application 

 Once we have gathered the data that we needed , we started to cluster our requirements and   prioritized them depending on their business value . Before going back to the business with our   findings and our potential solutions , we wanted to make a visual interpretation of our big picture , of   where we wanted to take them . We believed , from what we have seen , that it would have been   much more difficult to convince them with bullet points in a powerpoint presentation . So we took   our 3 best ideas that regrouped the majority of their individual needs and created mock - ups that   represented the new screens of their application . As Balsamic allows you to link one screen to   another , it makes it easy to create the feeling of a real experience , providing useful insights and   greater feedback . 

 Once we had enough details in these mockups , we organized a demo meeting with our stakeholders .   As our stakeholders are located in multiple countries , we did it over webex , allowing us to share our   screen to our audience and drive them through the screens . We covered each functionality end - to   end and asked them to note any idea / remarks that came to their mind while we were presenting . At   the end of the session , we used sli.do , a Q&A and polling platform , to collect their first impressions   on what they had just experienced and start the discussion . 

 Balsamic also offers the possibility to download your mock - ups in a clickable pdf and send it to your   users . So that is what we did . After our demo , we sent them the pdf with the user stories detailing   each step of the process for each new functionality . That way we could continue the discussion . They   loved the demo , and we never stopped using mock - ups during our collaboration : up to now , we have 

 regular workshops with our users to make sure the functionality we create answer their needs and   we use mock - ups for instant testing , feedback and iteration until the process includes all business   cases . 

 It has also allowed users to express their creativity and get an instant feel of the accuracy of their   idea . Once their idea becomes tangible , they allow us to challenge it and iterate it until , together , we   find our design criteria . 

 Besides , users just love to play around with the mock - ups . They would go back and forth in each of   the screens and think of something that could be improved or added . They make research on the   internet and speak to colleagues or friends to find out about innovative functionalities that exist in   similar systems . It ’s been an insightful experience . 

 Insight & Approach 

 Balsamic has allowed us to create a more collaborative way of working with our stakeholders . Now ,   instead of sending emails with bullet points , people call us directly on skype to share their thoughts .   We then share our screen with them so that they can drive us through their remark and we directly   apply changes where required . Together , we try different possibilities on the spot , challenge it , and   decide on which one to keep . 

 Without mock - ups , our agility would have been compromised as other available tools for business   analysts might sometimes be complex for someone with no IT background . Visualization has helped   users think broader in many aspects of their lives , but more importantly , it has helped our   communication and collaboration . People from different professional background might sometimes   encounter difficulties understanding one another . That is one of the reason why there are now   business analysts , people who translate business needs into actual IT requirements . After years of   having wasted time and money in functionalities or application that did n’t meet business needs ,   firms realized that their teams did n’t unsterdand each other jobs and therefore it creates massive   falls in their communication . Visualization removes this room for mistake as it allows people to speak   the same language . 

 Using mind mapping for our requirement gathering phase has also helped us navigate into our users ’   mind . After having collected and consolidated all our data , we have pinpointed patterns and similar   needs across different line of business and countries . We organized workshops in each country to   present our data and ask them to map what could be part of the same functionality . We then asked   them to select their top 3 functionalities and tell us why they really need it . That ’s how we get their   painpoints and start thinking about how we could solve them . 


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 – Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I have started working as business analyst for a new client in the insurance industry a couple of   months ago . They hired me to join a team who was asked to redesign an application for claims   management . The current application is a nightmare for business users as it is originally an access   database where a front end UI has been added . They have to manually enter loads of data , duplicate   data entry in many systems , go through an enormous number of clicks to complete a task , and many   other astonishing facts that made their work very inefficient . However , as many of these users were   working for the company for years , they all seemed to have found work around to their daily issue   and this what made our job very difficult . Indeed , we notice that people easily implement routines   that prevent them from stepping out of their comfort zone and bring innovative solutions to their   problems . So instead of starting from scratch in their mind , they were tweaking existing   functionalities . 

 As our job is to understand business processes and pinpoint their pain points , we need to step away   from very explanatory details and look at the big picture of ‘ why are they achieving this ? ’ to discover   the full lifecycle of a claim from its intake to its closure .   That way , we are reducing waste to provide   them with a great and efficient user experience . 

 We decided to use a visualization tool to make it easier for the business to follow us on their new   journey . After our first workshops with stakeholders , we started using Balsamic to create clickable   mock - ups that could be directly tested by our users . It is a great tool that enable people to already   have a feel of how their new application could look like . 

 Application 

 Once we have gathered the data that we needed , we started to cluster our requirements and   prioritized them depending on their business value . Before going back to the business with our   findings and our potential solutions , we wanted to make a visual interpretation of our big picture , of   where we wanted to take them . We believed , from what we have seen , that it would have been   much more difficult to convince them with bullet points in a powerpoint presentation . So we took   our 3 best ideas that regrouped the majority of their individual needs and created mock - ups that   represented the new screens of their application . As Balsamic allows you to link one screen to   another , it makes it easy to create the feeling of a real experience , providing useful insights and   greater feedback . 

 Once we had enough details in these mockups , we organized a demo meeting with our stakeholders .   As our stakeholders are located in multiple countries , we did it over webex , allowing us to share our   screen to our audience and drive them through the screens . We covered each functionality end - to   end and asked them to note any idea / remarks that came to their mind while we were presenting . At   the end of the session , we used sli.do , a Q&A and polling platform , to collect their first impressions   on what they had just experienced and start the discussion . 

 Balsamic also offers the possibility to download your mock - ups in a clickable pdf and send it to your   users . So that is what we did . After our demo , we sent them the pdf with the user stories detailing   each step of the process for each new functionality . That way we could continue the discussion . They   loved the demo , and we never stopped using mock - ups during our collaboration : up to now , we have 

 regular workshops with our users to make sure the functionality we create answer their needs and   we use mock - ups for instant testing , feedback and iteration until the process includes all business   cases . 

 It has also allowed users to express their creativity and get an instant feel of the accuracy of their   idea . Once their idea becomes tangible , they allow us to challenge it and iterate it until , together , we   find our design criteria . 

 Besides , users just love to play around with the mock - ups . They would go back and forth in each of   the screens and think of something that could be improved or added . They make research on the   internet and speak to colleagues or friends to find out about innovative functionalities that exist in   similar systems . It ’s been an insightful experience . 

 Insight & Approach 

 Balsamic has allowed us to create a more collaborative way of working with our stakeholders . Now ,   instead of sending emails with bullet points , people call us directly on skype to share their thoughts .   We then share our screen with them so that they can drive us through their remark and we directly   apply changes where required . Together , we try different possibilities on the spot , challenge it , and   decide on which one to keep . 

 Without mock - ups , our agility would have been compromised as other available tools for business   analysts might sometimes be complex for someone with no IT background . Visualization has helped   users think broader in many aspects of their lives , but more importantly , it has helped our   communication and collaboration . People from different professional background might sometimes   encounter difficulties understanding one another . That is one of the reason why there are now   business analysts , people who translate business needs into actual IT requirements . After years of   having wasted time and money in functionalities or application that did n’t meet business needs ,   firms realized that their teams did n’t unsterdand each other jobs and therefore it creates massive   falls in their communication . Visualization removes this room for mistake as it allows people to speak   the same language . 

 Using mind mapping for our requirement gathering phase has also helped us navigate into our users ’   mind . After having collected and consolidated all our data , we have pinpointed patterns and similar   needs across different line of business and countries . We organized workshops in each country to   present our data and ask them to map what could be part of the same functionality . We then asked   them to select their top 3 functionalities and tell us why they really need it . That ’s how we get their   painpoints and start thinking about how we could solve them .
### Output: 