Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 Visualization is a tool I have used for many years . My role is “ innovation catalyst ” at a major utility   ( energy provider ) . That mission covers the generation of new product for our customers ( like solar   panels , new tariff schemes for electricity , connected services for heating like thermostat or   maintenance contract ) . Bringing such products to the market usually require the intervention of   many stakeholders & teams : marketing , finance , legal , IT , operations , customer service … The   challenge for me is to make sure that different teams in different steps of the product design or   business creation have a common understanding . 

 Today I chose to write about Visualization because I think it is very intuitive and powerful to help   create a common understanding and bring real collaboration . Unlike in the course ( module one ) in   “ the good kitchen ” example where Visualization is used for the intended final users of the service , I   have used Visualization in internal communications context but with the same type of outcome = a   clear and common understanding . 

 Last but not least , as a very practical and simple tool to use , Visualization can play a positive role in   different situations ( idea generation , coordination between different teams , etc . ) , here are two   example on how it can apply . 

 Application 

 I often find myself standing up at a paperboard . The power of simple drawing _ even as simple as   words , boxes and arrows _ is very big for catching the attention of an audience , keeping focus on the   topic of the meeting . I have used Visualization tool in many contexts and with different objectives . 

 One first example during an exploratory phase for regulatory innovation experiment . Following an   invitation from the national energy regulation agency , my company was to come up with ideas on   how to suggest experiments targeted at helping the regulator design future regulation . The team   around the table was made up economists , energy policy analysts , legal department representatives   and of course marketeers . The topic was quite open and I had to deal with different level of   understanding around the table . I used simple drawing on the paperboard to settle a common   framework for the “ base case business scheme ” . I asked the to the people in the room to come to   the board and explain their ideas for experiment schemes detailing what piece of the previous set up   they would change or if they would change the whole arrangement and how it would look like then . 

 Another example during a meeting dedicated at improving customer experience . A solar panel   installation business had been launched few months before and it was time to capitalize on   experience and simplify the process . Different teams came up with their respective “ scope of duty ”   representing different “ touch points ” with the customer ( acquisition , qualification , sales , installation   and admin support ) . We used a common flow chart type of visualization to build the whole customer   journey and used this to improve the overall experience , merge some messaging ( emails to   customer ) , identify “ hot zones ” where things usually did not go as planned , reduced some un- necessary waiting times by doing thing in parallel instead of one after the other . 

 Insight & Approach 

 In both examples the big and obvious gain was the common understanding . In the first case , the   main insight would be to bring clarity in a complex topic . Understanding how energy policy and 

 regulation affects tariffs and how to tweak it is not an easy thing . Drawing little pictures , blocks and   arrows made it just more clear for everyone . 

 In the second case , I would say the main insight was that visualization helped see the big picture , the   tool helped reveal optimization opportunities or things that could be made more simple to improve   customer experience . 

 In terms of approach I would think that the Visualization tool applied in the cases presented was   relevant and useful , for the first case I would tend to complement internal brainstorming with “ real   outside world ” research using learning launch and try to collect more data based on real facts and   customer interaction . 


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 

 Visualization is a tool I have used for many years . My role is “ innovation catalyst ” at a major utility   ( energy provider ) . That mission covers the generation of new product for our customers ( like solar   panels , new tariff schemes for electricity , connected services for heating like thermostat or   maintenance contract ) . Bringing such products to the market usually require the intervention of   many stakeholders & teams : marketing , finance , legal , IT , operations , customer service … The   challenge for me is to make sure that different teams in different steps of the product design or   business creation have a common understanding . 

 Today I chose to write about Visualization because I think it is very intuitive and powerful to help   create a common understanding and bring real collaboration . Unlike in the course ( module one ) in   “ the good kitchen ” example where Visualization is used for the intended final users of the service , I   have used Visualization in internal communications context but with the same type of outcome = a   clear and common understanding . 

 Last but not least , as a very practical and simple tool to use , Visualization can play a positive role in   different situations ( idea generation , coordination between different teams , etc . ) , here are two   example on how it can apply . 

 Application 

 I often find myself standing up at a paperboard . The power of simple drawing _ even as simple as   words , boxes and arrows _ is very big for catching the attention of an audience , keeping focus on the   topic of the meeting . I have used Visualization tool in many contexts and with different objectives . 

 One first example during an exploratory phase for regulatory innovation experiment . Following an   invitation from the national energy regulation agency , my company was to come up with ideas on   how to suggest experiments targeted at helping the regulator design future regulation . The team   around the table was made up economists , energy policy analysts , legal department representatives   and of course marketeers . The topic was quite open and I had to deal with different level of   understanding around the table . I used simple drawing on the paperboard to settle a common   framework for the “ base case business scheme ” . I asked the to the people in the room to come to   the board and explain their ideas for experiment schemes detailing what piece of the previous set up   they would change or if they would change the whole arrangement and how it would look like then . 

 Another example during a meeting dedicated at improving customer experience . A solar panel   installation business had been launched few months before and it was time to capitalize on   experience and simplify the process . Different teams came up with their respective “ scope of duty ”   representing different “ touch points ” with the customer ( acquisition , qualification , sales , installation   and admin support ) . We used a common flow chart type of visualization to build the whole customer   journey and used this to improve the overall experience , merge some messaging ( emails to   customer ) , identify “ hot zones ” where things usually did not go as planned , reduced some un- necessary waiting times by doing thing in parallel instead of one after the other . 

 Insight & Approach 

 In both examples the big and obvious gain was the common understanding . In the first case , the   main insight would be to bring clarity in a complex topic . Understanding how energy policy and 

 regulation affects tariffs and how to tweak it is not an easy thing . Drawing little pictures , blocks and   arrows made it just more clear for everyone . 

 In the second case , I would say the main insight was that visualization helped see the big picture , the   tool helped reveal optimization opportunities or things that could be made more simple to improve   customer experience . 

 In terms of approach I would think that the Visualization tool applied in the cases presented was   relevant and useful , for the first case I would tend to complement internal brainstorming with “ real   outside world ” research using learning launch and try to collect more data based on real facts and   customer interaction .
### Output: 