Hussain Mohammed ( ITALY ) 

 January 5rd 2019 

 Design Thinking for Process review 

 Challenge 

 I work in an aerospace company , in particular inside customer support and training department and my   responsibility is the exploration and development of new service solutions to generate new business as full   service provider . In the last two years the company has focused its attention on the digital services for   which me and my colleagues has started a dedicated project . After reinforcing the digital foundations and   current available digital tools ( to deliver new digital services ) , we have focused on the change management   and training stream in order to create the correct mindset in the company and proceed with an extensive   review of the internal processes . The population of the training has involved six hundred colleagues , on top   of which we have selected twenty - five change agents , so called evangelists , to create a community that ,   leveraging on the sponsorship of senior executives , can disseminate a digital transformation . In 2014 , we   did six sessions for our evangelists starting from a preliminary understanding of the major digital streams   that our top management is investing on ( digital roadmap ) , and then the creation of subgroups , whose   focus is the change of a subprocess , related to the digital roadmap , that can benefit from digital solutions .   We tried to expand what our evangelists feel important , as well as top management consider to be   inefficient or problematic and be improved adopting digital solutions . The project included the possibility to   interview customers of different product segments and different geographies and have dedicated   workshop with other companies from similar businesses and close markets . The tool we applied is learning   launch in workshop five in December 2020 . 

 Selection 

 In the first workshop we provided the overall digital roadmap and framework on which company wants to   commit on ; a brief illustration of the major achievements of the last year have been provided . Between the   two workshops , evangelists had the possibility to discuss through a sharing web platform the pain points ,   opportunities , potential constraints and enablers ( available or not ) to identify the sub - processes to attack .   They reviewed outcomes with their own managers in order to start disseminating a new digital mindset and   concepts ( and to understand if there were blocking points inside the organization ) . We followed a kind of   approach similar to the four questions to select the projects : what - is , what - if , what - wows , what - works .   Every single step was done to reach the learning launch : evangelists had the possibility to test the ideas   with stakeholders : few customers and senior managers . 

 Application 

 During the second workshop we focused on brain storming in sub groups . Questionnaire and post - it had   been the main tools required for the session . We were able to structure the tasks , grouping the projects   into five of them , and sub - processes in an effort to become feasible for part - time resources , which on top   of their company role spent effort for their evangelist journey . This tested both the current situation in   terms of preparation of the evangelists , and their managers to support such change mindset required ,   which we consider to be the main cause of our workflow inefficiencies , rather than lack of digital   technologies ( already available inside the company ) . The first two sessions were held in July and   September , while the total journey is expected to last 6 months timeframe . After the first two workshops ,   we had preliminary subgroups defined , project cards drafted , including benefits , KPIs to monitor the   success rate of the single project and a draft schedule . 

 The third workshop has been dedicated to understand much more from other markets ( data quantity and   quality ) , and similar businesses , in order to motivate the evangelists and to challenge them in following   different approaches taken by other companies which could inspire their own project . The sessions were   the opportunity to illustrate progress and achievements of the projects , issues and priorities for which an   internal escalation was required ( top management delegated digital champions to lead the digital   roadmap ) . Third workshop was dedicated to review the approach , discuss with other colleagues the pain   points and submit questionnaires , complemented by an anonymous survey to be conducted inside their   own department . The surveys included questions about as - is process , new proposed process , prioritization   of tasks , and feelings about the change mindset , to be conducted within a two - week timeframe . Between   the workshops the evangelists had to define private sessions in group , work on the projects , supported by   the external consultancy for the mapping of the as - is and to - be process . 

 Workshop four has been dedicated to learning launch . Evangelists had the possibility to interview external   customers ( invited in video call ) for those projects involving digital services for external customers , while   for internal processes internal stakeholders ( executives and top managers ) has been invited to test the as - is   process and to - be process . Cheap mock - ups were more than welcome in order to test if the project   benefits were the ones expected , if the major burning need of the customers were satisfied . The purpose   was not to prove to the community who were the best evangelists , but to get the truth about idea and   assumptions , at the cost of cancelling the project if not feasible or in scope . Therefore , confirmation bias , as   well as group - think and self - serving bias , were limited leaving short time to review the projects if required . 

 Workshop five and six will be dedicated in 2017 to refine the project and to have a mock - up ready , with the   support of the consultancy . In workshop six the evangelists will illustrate their own project to top   management ( managing director included ) to get the right and final sponsorship to enter into the execution   and deployment phase . After the final presentation our HR department will have a comprehensive view of   the single evangelists in order to improve their own career development plan and reorganize some   departments depending on the results of the projects , leveraging on the skills of the evangelists . 

 Insight & conclusion 

 Our hope was that the evangelists identified pain points ( identify the need with a lot of questions ) ,   brainstorm on potential ideas and solutions ( search for truth and not for winning ) , discover obstacles and   blocking points inside the organization and test these assumptions ( put not in scope ideas on the shelf ) .   Our major concern was related to the capability of the management to sustain these projects and embody   the real digital transformation : while evangelists are currently open to the process review , the key   stakeholders in the larger departments could raise some concerns or further constraints . Digital roadmap   therefore will have to take into account theses insights and incorporate it into future initiatives . 

 Evangelists had not attended any design thinking activities / tools relevant to the digital transformation yet ,   so preliminary results are not astonishing . However we are confident that after the first sessions , a new   learning launch tool before end of the training journey will be a useful and effective this time ( considering   also a new perception for all the managers about the digital transformation ) . Evangelists will need to   review the insight gained from the first session and be responsible to collaborate with management in   order to remove obstacles and deploy solutions / new processes , ready for full rollout . 

 Best Regards , 

 Hussain Mohammed 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Hussain Mohammed, Hussain Mohammed
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: Hussain Mohammed ( ITALY ) 

 January 5rd 2019 

 Design Thinking for Process review 

 Challenge 

 I work in an aerospace company , in particular inside customer support and training department and my   responsibility is the exploration and development of new service solutions to generate new business as full   service provider . In the last two years the company has focused its attention on the digital services for   which me and my colleagues has started a dedicated project . After reinforcing the digital foundations and   current available digital tools ( to deliver new digital services ) , we have focused on the change management   and training stream in order to create the correct mindset in the company and proceed with an extensive   review of the internal processes . The population of the training has involved six hundred colleagues , on top   of which we have selected twenty - five change agents , so called evangelists , to create a community that ,   leveraging on the sponsorship of senior executives , can disseminate a digital transformation . In 2014 , we   did six sessions for our evangelists starting from a preliminary understanding of the major digital streams   that our top management is investing on ( digital roadmap ) , and then the creation of subgroups , whose   focus is the change of a subprocess , related to the digital roadmap , that can benefit from digital solutions .   We tried to expand what our evangelists feel important , as well as top management consider to be   inefficient or problematic and be improved adopting digital solutions . The project included the possibility to   interview customers of different product segments and different geographies and have dedicated   workshop with other companies from similar businesses and close markets . The tool we applied is learning   launch in workshop five in December 2020 . 

 Selection 

 In the first workshop we provided the overall digital roadmap and framework on which company wants to   commit on ; a brief illustration of the major achievements of the last year have been provided . Between the   two workshops , evangelists had the possibility to discuss through a sharing web platform the pain points ,   opportunities , potential constraints and enablers ( available or not ) to identify the sub - processes to attack .   They reviewed outcomes with their own managers in order to start disseminating a new digital mindset and   concepts ( and to understand if there were blocking points inside the organization ) . We followed a kind of   approach similar to the four questions to select the projects : what - is , what - if , what - wows , what - works .   Every single step was done to reach the learning launch : evangelists had the possibility to test the ideas   with stakeholders : few customers and senior managers . 

 Application 

 During the second workshop we focused on brain storming in sub groups . Questionnaire and post - it had   been the main tools required for the session . We were able to structure the tasks , grouping the projects   into five of them , and sub - processes in an effort to become feasible for part - time resources , which on top   of their company role spent effort for their evangelist journey . This tested both the current situation in   terms of preparation of the evangelists , and their managers to support such change mindset required ,   which we consider to be the main cause of our workflow inefficiencies , rather than lack of digital   technologies ( already available inside the company ) . The first two sessions were held in July and   September , while the total journey is expected to last 6 months timeframe . After the first two workshops ,   we had preliminary subgroups defined , project cards drafted , including benefits , KPIs to monitor the   success rate of the single project and a draft schedule . 

 The third workshop has been dedicated to understand much more from other markets ( data quantity and   quality ) , and similar businesses , in order to motivate the evangelists and to challenge them in following   different approaches taken by other companies which could inspire their own project . The sessions were   the opportunity to illustrate progress and achievements of the projects , issues and priorities for which an   internal escalation was required ( top management delegated digital champions to lead the digital   roadmap ) . Third workshop was dedicated to review the approach , discuss with other colleagues the pain   points and submit questionnaires , complemented by an anonymous survey to be conducted inside their   own department . The surveys included questions about as - is process , new proposed process , prioritization   of tasks , and feelings about the change mindset , to be conducted within a two - week timeframe . Between   the workshops the evangelists had to define private sessions in group , work on the projects , supported by   the external consultancy for the mapping of the as - is and to - be process . 

 Workshop four has been dedicated to learning launch . Evangelists had the possibility to interview external   customers ( invited in video call ) for those projects involving digital services for external customers , while   for internal processes internal stakeholders ( executives and top managers ) has been invited to test the as - is   process and to - be process . Cheap mock - ups were more than welcome in order to test if the project   benefits were the ones expected , if the major burning need of the customers were satisfied . The purpose   was not to prove to the community who were the best evangelists , but to get the truth about idea and   assumptions , at the cost of cancelling the project if not feasible or in scope . Therefore , confirmation bias , as   well as group - think and self - serving bias , were limited leaving short time to review the projects if required . 

 Workshop five and six will be dedicated in 2017 to refine the project and to have a mock - up ready , with the   support of the consultancy . In workshop six the evangelists will illustrate their own project to top   management ( managing director included ) to get the right and final sponsorship to enter into the execution   and deployment phase . After the final presentation our HR department will have a comprehensive view of   the single evangelists in order to improve their own career development plan and reorganize some   departments depending on the results of the projects , leveraging on the skills of the evangelists . 

 Insight & conclusion 

 Our hope was that the evangelists identified pain points ( identify the need with a lot of questions ) ,   brainstorm on potential ideas and solutions ( search for truth and not for winning ) , discover obstacles and   blocking points inside the organization and test these assumptions ( put not in scope ideas on the shelf ) .   Our major concern was related to the capability of the management to sustain these projects and embody   the real digital transformation : while evangelists are currently open to the process review , the key   stakeholders in the larger departments could raise some concerns or further constraints . Digital roadmap   therefore will have to take into account theses insights and incorporate it into future initiatives . 

 Evangelists had not attended any design thinking activities / tools relevant to the digital transformation yet ,   so preliminary results are not astonishing . However we are confident that after the first sessions , a new   learning launch tool before end of the training journey will be a useful and effective this time ( considering   also a new perception for all the managers about the digital transformation ) . Evangelists will need to   review the insight gained from the first session and be responsible to collaborate with management in   order to remove obstacles and deploy solutions / new processes , ready for full rollout . 

 Best Regards , 

 Hussain Mohammed
### Output: 