Challenge & Selection 

 I have found storytelling to be an invaluable tool in working with IT engineers at a large private   university . I work with many gifted technologists , but have found that quite often , the individual focuses   on the technologies , even at the expense of the problems we are trying to solve . We have tried other   tools in the past – use case diagrams , detailed requirements documents and stakeholder interviews –   with limited success . My experience is that many of the engineers have only a superficial understanding   of the problem , but possess a high level of understanding of available technologies . This has often led to   products and solutions that may function well , but do n’t adequately address the stated problem . 

 I am able to recognize times when storytelling would be helpful by listening for statements like , “ You   said the requirement was _ _ _ _ , and I delivered that . You never said it had to do _ _ _ _ . ” These types of   responses indicate that there was not a comprehensive understanding of the problem – a perfect setting   for storytelling . 

 Application 

 I use storytelling regularly . When I feel that brainstorming is losing its focus on the real problem , I look   for stories that will help bring the focus back to the problem . Sometime , I use a hypothetical story ,   starting with , “ Imagine if you were … ” While not as effective as a true story , it still sets context around   the problem statement and requirements . 

 A recent example of this happened in a design meeting for our networking team . We were reviewing a   request for some changes to the network that would allow for presenters in our classrooms to connect   and present to our projectors wirelessly . There was concern about the many systems that would need to   be reconfigured , and we had spent the previous 30 minutes on a tangential discussion . The conversation   seemed to be brought to a halt when a senior engineer responded that he did n’t see how this could be   successful , and he proposed a policy that we do n’t allow this type of connectivity on our network :   clearly the opposite outcome from the request . 

 I asked if I could share a story from a faculty member that I knew . This individual is legally blind , though   he can see things if held very close to his eyes . He had called me one time to help him with a lecture he   was doing , and asked if I could help set up this presentation for him . After much setup and   reconfiguration , I was able to help him do this presentation . Afterwards , he told me how life changing it   was for him to be able to carry his tablet and walk around the classroom , and interact with the students ,   instead of being anchored to the podium where he had to squint behind his computer screen . By   carrying his tablet , he could hold it close to his face when he needed , but he could also be close to the   students that he was teaching . He described it as being a turning point in his teaching career , and   reached out to me to help make it a more permanent design . 

 As we talked about that story , it made an emotional connection to the others in the room . It also helped   them to understand the context . This naturally answered some of the subsequent questions . “ Would he   need to be able to present wirelessly to a projector in a different room ? Not likely , since the goal was to   be closer to the students . ” It kept us focused on the problem at hand , instead of deviating to developing   a policy that was contrary to the request . 

 Insight & Approach 

 Storytelling has been a powerful way to deepen understanding of the problem .   Presenting the problem   statement as a narrative helps analytical individuals to understand the problem in context . This , in turn   allows them to evaluate many of the small decisions in the ecosystem in which it will be utilized .   Reviewing the final solution against the stories allows a more comprehensive analysis , because it   naturally incorporates the surrounding context . 

 One should use discretion in storytelling is to carefully choose and relate stories . Too many details ,   unrelated incidents or lack of organization can actually detract from the intended purpose . Instead of   setting the context , it can introduce too many outside considerations , or it can waste time and energy . 

 While proper storytelling is very useful for helping these individuals understand the problem context , I   find that it has the potential to go much deeper . Presenting these narratives also connects the   individuals emotionally . When hearing a story about a blind professor walking among the students , the   engineers connect emotionally , and want to engage to improve this person ’s quality of life – not merely   solve a technical problem . This brings a new level of incentive and motivation to the problem solving . 


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: Challenge & Selection 

 I have found storytelling to be an invaluable tool in working with IT engineers at a large private   university . I work with many gifted technologists , but have found that quite often , the individual focuses   on the technologies , even at the expense of the problems we are trying to solve . We have tried other   tools in the past – use case diagrams , detailed requirements documents and stakeholder interviews –   with limited success . My experience is that many of the engineers have only a superficial understanding   of the problem , but possess a high level of understanding of available technologies . This has often led to   products and solutions that may function well , but do n’t adequately address the stated problem . 

 I am able to recognize times when storytelling would be helpful by listening for statements like , “ You   said the requirement was _ _ _ _ , and I delivered that . You never said it had to do _ _ _ _ . ” These types of   responses indicate that there was not a comprehensive understanding of the problem – a perfect setting   for storytelling . 

 Application 

 I use storytelling regularly . When I feel that brainstorming is losing its focus on the real problem , I look   for stories that will help bring the focus back to the problem . Sometime , I use a hypothetical story ,   starting with , “ Imagine if you were … ” While not as effective as a true story , it still sets context around   the problem statement and requirements . 

 A recent example of this happened in a design meeting for our networking team . We were reviewing a   request for some changes to the network that would allow for presenters in our classrooms to connect   and present to our projectors wirelessly . There was concern about the many systems that would need to   be reconfigured , and we had spent the previous 30 minutes on a tangential discussion . The conversation   seemed to be brought to a halt when a senior engineer responded that he did n’t see how this could be   successful , and he proposed a policy that we do n’t allow this type of connectivity on our network :   clearly the opposite outcome from the request . 

 I asked if I could share a story from a faculty member that I knew . This individual is legally blind , though   he can see things if held very close to his eyes . He had called me one time to help him with a lecture he   was doing , and asked if I could help set up this presentation for him . After much setup and   reconfiguration , I was able to help him do this presentation . Afterwards , he told me how life changing it   was for him to be able to carry his tablet and walk around the classroom , and interact with the students ,   instead of being anchored to the podium where he had to squint behind his computer screen . By   carrying his tablet , he could hold it close to his face when he needed , but he could also be close to the   students that he was teaching . He described it as being a turning point in his teaching career , and   reached out to me to help make it a more permanent design . 

 As we talked about that story , it made an emotional connection to the others in the room . It also helped   them to understand the context . This naturally answered some of the subsequent questions . “ Would he   need to be able to present wirelessly to a projector in a different room ? Not likely , since the goal was to   be closer to the students . ” It kept us focused on the problem at hand , instead of deviating to developing   a policy that was contrary to the request . 

 Insight & Approach 

 Storytelling has been a powerful way to deepen understanding of the problem .   Presenting the problem   statement as a narrative helps analytical individuals to understand the problem in context . This , in turn   allows them to evaluate many of the small decisions in the ecosystem in which it will be utilized .   Reviewing the final solution against the stories allows a more comprehensive analysis , because it   naturally incorporates the surrounding context . 

 One should use discretion in storytelling is to carefully choose and relate stories . Too many details ,   unrelated incidents or lack of organization can actually detract from the intended purpose . Instead of   setting the context , it can introduce too many outside considerations , or it can waste time and energy . 

 While proper storytelling is very useful for helping these individuals understand the problem context , I   find that it has the potential to go much deeper . Presenting these narratives also connects the   individuals emotionally . When hearing a story about a blind professor walking among the students , the   engineers connect emotionally , and want to engage to improve this person ’s quality of life – not merely   solve a technical problem . This brings a new level of incentive and motivation to the problem solving .
### Output: 