Design Thinking for Innovation   Final Assignment   March 20 , 2019 

 Challenge 

 As a consultant , I ’m constantly trying to learn more so I can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to   clients .   This course was particularly timely , as innovation has been top - of - mind for the financial services sector   ( my area of focus ) .   As the regulatory environment has lightened in recent years and digitally - born financial   companies rapidly emerge , the established players in the industry have been working hard to improve customer   experiences and introduce new products and services .   Equally as important has been a focus on improving   internal processes in areas like risk , compliance , technology , and operations .   This is where my challenge enters . 

 Scenario analysis – the process of thinking through severe “ what - if ” scenarios – is a common risk management   exercise at most financial institutions , yet it has remained largely unchanged for years in its current manual , time- consuming , arduous form .   Scenario analysis is a vital tool for executives to critically evaluate a bank ’s   preparedness in the event of a major risk event , however it ’s manual and subjective nature leave it open to   criticism and its effectiveness is often questioned .   I decided to apply a design thinking approach to the question of   how one can modernize scenario analysis and make it a more powerful and effective exercise .   This is my   challenge . 

 Selection 

 I chose Storytelling as my tool , because of how rudimentary it seemed , yet so different from a typical ideation tool   used in a business context .   It struck me as great way to think about a situation differently and potentially arrive at   a solution .   As Carlos Alvarez said in the video lecture , “ Every great product , every great service , every great   institution has a story behind it . ”   Perhaps through telling a story , one could create a great story to tell , and via that   story , find a way to a solution .   On that point , Martin ’s quote that “ Storytelling is the difference between solving a   problem and creating a cause ” also seemed quite prescient . 

 Application 

 I began the design thinking process by thinking about scenario analysis in its current form and asking the four key   questions of “ What Is ? ” , “ What If ? ” , “ What Wows ? ” , and “ What Works ? ” .   After getting the ideas flowing and   jotting down some thoughts on paper related to each of the four questions , I decided to take what I ’d written   down and present it in the form of a story to my colleagues . 

 I began by telling the story of a risk manager at National Institute   of Coffee , a large , systemically - important bank with a global footprint   and operational complexity .   From there , I described the scenario analysis process in its current form – one that is   time - consuming , highly - manual , and extremely administrative in nature , particularly at a large institution like Bank   X.   I then posed the question of “ what if ” – what if there was a better way for the risk manager to do his job ; a   better way to manage risk and think about risks in a more proactive , forward - looking manner . 

 From there , I continued by telling the story of a powerful , digital tool – one driven by artificial intelligence and   machine learning – that could intelligently identify emerging risks and pinpoint areas where scenario analysis   should be performed .   Although this is not something that currently exists , it created an extremely compelling   story and sparked excitement and a profound sense of awe among the team .   I ended the story on the question of   what works and what can we do to make this solution happen . 

 Insight 

 I gained immense insight from the storytelling tool .   It removed the constraints of ‘ traditional ’ thinking by allowing   me to tell an aspirational story which , in turn , revealed an aspirational solution to the problem of how one can   modernize scenario analysis .   I believe storytelling allows one to think in a more bold , provocative way since it is   about creating a compelling journey with a beginning , middle , and end .   Rather than simply creating a list of   potential solutions to a problem , storytelling gives one the freedom to be bold , daring , assertive , and   unconventional , all of which may reveal a possible solution . 

 Approach 

 If I were to use the storytelling tool again , I would try to think even more outside - of - the - box .   For example , rather   than telling a story about a risk manager at Bank X – one that is aspirational but practical – I would try to broaden   my thinking further and set a completely different scene in a different environment .   Perhaps tell the story of a   doctor in a hospital or a teacher in a school or a young child at home .   By expanding further outside of the box , I   believe further insights could reveal themselves that could easily be translated into a more practical , financial   services context . 


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   Final Assignment   March 20 , 2019 

 Challenge 

 As a consultant , I ’m constantly trying to learn more so I can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to   clients .   This course was particularly timely , as innovation has been top - of - mind for the financial services sector   ( my area of focus ) .   As the regulatory environment has lightened in recent years and digitally - born financial   companies rapidly emerge , the established players in the industry have been working hard to improve customer   experiences and introduce new products and services .   Equally as important has been a focus on improving   internal processes in areas like risk , compliance , technology , and operations .   This is where my challenge enters . 

 Scenario analysis – the process of thinking through severe “ what - if ” scenarios – is a common risk management   exercise at most financial institutions , yet it has remained largely unchanged for years in its current manual , time- consuming , arduous form .   Scenario analysis is a vital tool for executives to critically evaluate a bank ’s   preparedness in the event of a major risk event , however it ’s manual and subjective nature leave it open to   criticism and its effectiveness is often questioned .   I decided to apply a design thinking approach to the question of   how one can modernize scenario analysis and make it a more powerful and effective exercise .   This is my   challenge . 

 Selection 

 I chose Storytelling as my tool , because of how rudimentary it seemed , yet so different from a typical ideation tool   used in a business context .   It struck me as great way to think about a situation differently and potentially arrive at   a solution .   As Carlos Alvarez said in the video lecture , “ Every great product , every great service , every great   institution has a story behind it . ”   Perhaps through telling a story , one could create a great story to tell , and via that   story , find a way to a solution .   On that point , Martin ’s quote that “ Storytelling is the difference between solving a   problem and creating a cause ” also seemed quite prescient . 

 Application 

 I began the design thinking process by thinking about scenario analysis in its current form and asking the four key   questions of “ What Is ? ” , “ What If ? ” , “ What Wows ? ” , and “ What Works ? ” .   After getting the ideas flowing and   jotting down some thoughts on paper related to each of the four questions , I decided to take what I ’d written   down and present it in the form of a story to my colleagues . 

 I began by telling the story of a risk manager at National Institute   of Coffee , a large , systemically - important bank with a global footprint   and operational complexity .   From there , I described the scenario analysis process in its current form – one that is   time - consuming , highly - manual , and extremely administrative in nature , particularly at a large institution like Bank   X.   I then posed the question of “ what if ” – what if there was a better way for the risk manager to do his job ; a   better way to manage risk and think about risks in a more proactive , forward - looking manner . 

 From there , I continued by telling the story of a powerful , digital tool – one driven by artificial intelligence and   machine learning – that could intelligently identify emerging risks and pinpoint areas where scenario analysis   should be performed .   Although this is not something that currently exists , it created an extremely compelling   story and sparked excitement and a profound sense of awe among the team .   I ended the story on the question of   what works and what can we do to make this solution happen . 

 Insight 

 I gained immense insight from the storytelling tool .   It removed the constraints of ‘ traditional ’ thinking by allowing   me to tell an aspirational story which , in turn , revealed an aspirational solution to the problem of how one can   modernize scenario analysis .   I believe storytelling allows one to think in a more bold , provocative way since it is   about creating a compelling journey with a beginning , middle , and end .   Rather than simply creating a list of   potential solutions to a problem , storytelling gives one the freedom to be bold , daring , assertive , and   unconventional , all of which may reveal a possible solution . 

 Approach 

 If I were to use the storytelling tool again , I would try to think even more outside - of - the - box .   For example , rather   than telling a story about a risk manager at Bank X – one that is aspirational but practical – I would try to broaden   my thinking further and set a completely different scene in a different environment .   Perhaps tell the story of a   doctor in a hospital or a teacher in a school or a young child at home .   By expanding further outside of the box , I   believe further insights could reveal themselves that could easily be translated into a more practical , financial   services context .
### Output: 