Linda Moore REFLECTION – VISUALIZATION 

 CHALLENGE 

 While working for my previous employer , a large defense contractor offering products and services from undersea   to outer space , I managed all tradeshow and sponsorship activity for a sector headquartered in Herndon , Virginia .   Before I arrived , each business unit was managing their own pool of funds , deciding which shows and sponsorships   in which to participate / contribute and there was no overall structure as to the total sector spend . Decisions were   being made with no regard to sector priorities , large contract bids or future bid considerations . Additionally , there   was no alignment on any of the branding and marketing material , and more than once different business units   from the same sector were appearing at trade shows , without knowledge the other was participating . There was   an immediate need to align the funds under one umbrella and to develop a unified approach to spend , messaging   and participation at tradeshows and with sponsorships . 

 SELECTION 

 For this exercise , I opted to apply the design thinking tool of visualization to first uncover the issue at hand . To help   with our fight to align the budget under one umbrella ( managed by me ) , I first needed to shine a light on just how   many unnecessary ( from a business perspective ) trade shows the business units were attending , how much in   sponsorship money was being dispersed , as well as the total sector spend in these areas . As we know , visualization   as a design tool ( as per slide five in the week one slides ) means to “ make it tangible and concrete ; to draw a   picture , tell a story , take a photo , make a map … ” By pulling together historical data about these spends , compiling   it into one location , making it colored - coded and easy - to - read / filter , I was able to get senior leadership to   understand what I was trying to accomplish and persuade them into what I was trying to do for the organization as   a whole by taking the budget ownership and participation management . 

 While the new tradeshow and sponsorship process would be an evolution beyond just shining the light on the   need ( identifying which to participate in and why , aligning objectives to meet customer and business needs , etc . ) ,   this first step was important in being able to secure buy - in . 

 APPLICATION 

 This was a larger undertaking than one might initially believe . After having initial conversations with each of the   business units , it was clear that not everyone was on the same page ; why would they be ? After all , it did appear as   if we were taking away their autonomy in this area . That was when it was apparent that visualization needed to be   used , in order for the larger picture to be seen . I started first by trying to wrap my head around just how many   tradeshows and sponsorships our business units were participating in and contributing to . Since this function was   never “ managed ” appropriately , there was little documentation and I had to rely on speaking directly to those   within each business unit ( three , in total ) , and digging into past financial history . They were a bit reluctant at first ,   but eventually , I was able to garner the insight I needed to begin pulling together all the data into one place . 

 I used Microsoft Excel to house the data , using different colors to identify the three business units . In doing this , I   was able to provide an all - up look at what tradeshows the sector was paying for exhibits and sending attendees ,   primary business objective for exhibiting / attending , what sponsorships were being purchased , dates / locations of   all activities and total spend for the sector . By using different colors for each business unit , it was easier for   leadership to sort and better understand if the selected events / activities aligned with the larger strategy for each   business unit . It also allowed me to keep everything in one place while having the ability to sort and filter to tailor   different conversations based on the audience . It may seem like a simple approach , but after uncovering that there   was participation in over 60 tradeshows , and contributions to more than 200 sponsorships , it was clear that to   start , all information needed to live in one place and leadership needed to see this visually . Since the budgets for   tradeshows was separate from that of sponsorships , I separated those entries on different tabs . 

 Below is a screen shot of the tradeshow list , with colors and some columns not shown , as to avoid potentially   sharing any proprietary information . The light green highlights shown reflect international tradeshows . 

 Linda Moore REFLECTION – VISUALIZATION 

 Linda Moore REFLECTION – VISUALIZATION 

 INSIGHT 

 This exercise turned out to be extremely valuable and was eye - opening for sector leadership . By being able to see   and sort all the data in one place , leadership was able to just how much money was being spent , and where each   business unit was deciding to focus their budget . In creating a common understanding , through the use of   visualization , eyes were open not only to the challenge the sector was facing , but that there were options and   opportunities to be better aligned and consistent with messaging and approach . Leadership was able to better   understand the problem itself and use data that was already available ( just now in one , organized place ) to begin   considering a more reasonable approach to managing this process . 

 APPROACH 

 This exercise taught me the value in keeping data such as this in a central , organized repository from the   beginning . If there had been better management of tradeshows and sponsorships prior to my starting with the   organization , this would be one step that could have been avoided in the process of identifying a new approach . I   have since taken this more detailed , structured approach , to a new organization with great success . With this   specific example , I would not choose a different design thinking tool based on what was uncovered by going   through this exercise . Visualization was the missing component to connect the dots for those further removed   from the process , and set the stage to use other design thinking tools further along the process to find a new ,   unified approach to managing these efforts . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Linda Moore, Linda Moore, Linda Moore
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: Linda Moore REFLECTION – VISUALIZATION 

 CHALLENGE 

 While working for my previous employer , a large defense contractor offering products and services from undersea   to outer space , I managed all tradeshow and sponsorship activity for a sector headquartered in Herndon , Virginia .   Before I arrived , each business unit was managing their own pool of funds , deciding which shows and sponsorships   in which to participate / contribute and there was no overall structure as to the total sector spend . Decisions were   being made with no regard to sector priorities , large contract bids or future bid considerations . Additionally , there   was no alignment on any of the branding and marketing material , and more than once different business units   from the same sector were appearing at trade shows , without knowledge the other was participating . There was   an immediate need to align the funds under one umbrella and to develop a unified approach to spend , messaging   and participation at tradeshows and with sponsorships . 

 SELECTION 

 For this exercise , I opted to apply the design thinking tool of visualization to first uncover the issue at hand . To help   with our fight to align the budget under one umbrella ( managed by me ) , I first needed to shine a light on just how   many unnecessary ( from a business perspective ) trade shows the business units were attending , how much in   sponsorship money was being dispersed , as well as the total sector spend in these areas . As we know , visualization   as a design tool ( as per slide five in the week one slides ) means to “ make it tangible and concrete ; to draw a   picture , tell a story , take a photo , make a map … ” By pulling together historical data about these spends , compiling   it into one location , making it colored - coded and easy - to - read / filter , I was able to get senior leadership to   understand what I was trying to accomplish and persuade them into what I was trying to do for the organization as   a whole by taking the budget ownership and participation management . 

 While the new tradeshow and sponsorship process would be an evolution beyond just shining the light on the   need ( identifying which to participate in and why , aligning objectives to meet customer and business needs , etc . ) ,   this first step was important in being able to secure buy - in . 

 APPLICATION 

 This was a larger undertaking than one might initially believe . After having initial conversations with each of the   business units , it was clear that not everyone was on the same page ; why would they be ? After all , it did appear as   if we were taking away their autonomy in this area . That was when it was apparent that visualization needed to be   used , in order for the larger picture to be seen . I started first by trying to wrap my head around just how many   tradeshows and sponsorships our business units were participating in and contributing to . Since this function was   never “ managed ” appropriately , there was little documentation and I had to rely on speaking directly to those   within each business unit ( three , in total ) , and digging into past financial history . They were a bit reluctant at first ,   but eventually , I was able to garner the insight I needed to begin pulling together all the data into one place . 

 I used Microsoft Excel to house the data , using different colors to identify the three business units . In doing this , I   was able to provide an all - up look at what tradeshows the sector was paying for exhibits and sending attendees ,   primary business objective for exhibiting / attending , what sponsorships were being purchased , dates / locations of   all activities and total spend for the sector . By using different colors for each business unit , it was easier for   leadership to sort and better understand if the selected events / activities aligned with the larger strategy for each   business unit . It also allowed me to keep everything in one place while having the ability to sort and filter to tailor   different conversations based on the audience . It may seem like a simple approach , but after uncovering that there   was participation in over 60 tradeshows , and contributions to more than 200 sponsorships , it was clear that to   start , all information needed to live in one place and leadership needed to see this visually . Since the budgets for   tradeshows was separate from that of sponsorships , I separated those entries on different tabs . 

 Below is a screen shot of the tradeshow list , with colors and some columns not shown , as to avoid potentially   sharing any proprietary information . The light green highlights shown reflect international tradeshows . 

 Linda Moore REFLECTION – VISUALIZATION 

 Linda Moore REFLECTION – VISUALIZATION 

 INSIGHT 

 This exercise turned out to be extremely valuable and was eye - opening for sector leadership . By being able to see   and sort all the data in one place , leadership was able to just how much money was being spent , and where each   business unit was deciding to focus their budget . In creating a common understanding , through the use of   visualization , eyes were open not only to the challenge the sector was facing , but that there were options and   opportunities to be better aligned and consistent with messaging and approach . Leadership was able to better   understand the problem itself and use data that was already available ( just now in one , organized place ) to begin   considering a more reasonable approach to managing this process . 

 APPROACH 

 This exercise taught me the value in keeping data such as this in a central , organized repository from the   beginning . If there had been better management of tradeshows and sponsorships prior to my starting with the   organization , this would be one step that could have been avoided in the process of identifying a new approach . I   have since taken this more detailed , structured approach , to a new organization with great success . With this   specific example , I would not choose a different design thinking tool based on what was uncovered by going   through this exercise . Visualization was the missing component to connect the dots for those further removed   from the process , and set the stage to use other design thinking tools further along the process to find a new ,   unified approach to managing these efforts .
### Output: 