Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge 

 I ’m working in IT department of one of global leaders of FMCG industry . During all my career in IT function   I led multiple projects of software deployment as well as developing tools and applications enabling   requested business capabilities in the company . At certain point of time I started observing that almost   every project has a ‘ requirements are not clear and not complete ’ statement in a list of lessons learnt .   The problem is explained by a fact that business requirements normally captured in a text that explains   the business need from a business perspective and as good described as business requester can . Then   software developer or supplier reads the text and understands requirements as good as can being   grounded to own knowledge and past experience . And usually there is a difference between what   requested and what understood . Just because both requester and developer have different functional   and professional backgrounds . Of cause typically application developer or IT supplier asks extra questions   trying to clarify what is requested . This improves situation but not dramatically . At the end of the game   this drives extra cost to rework and overall frustration on both sides . 

 Selection 

 To improve situation further I demanded to add a visualization ( or visual design in particular ) to every   medium and high complexity requirements as a mandatory component . In addition to verbal visual design   or thinking allowed project team to think and communicate in nonverbal way and tap into a single picture   of what is requested . Depending on the type of project it could be a visualization of either process map   reflecting a vision of how future business process should flow or sketch of dashboard or visualization of   user interface ( UI ) . For the last one ( UI ) I found mockup tools available in internet that simplify building   visuals every time when new UI should emerge or existing UI should be updated . 

 Application 

 Another day I led project that aimed to upgrade frontline tool for customer representative ( CR ) who visits   store , takes orders and does many other things at store to grow sales . The problem we tried to solve is   legacy handheld application was outdated using old devices with bad user experience . The user   experience of legacy app ca n’t allow to improve in store performance of CRs locking them down to spend   too much time dealing with application typing data or navigating through app rather executing value   added activity e.g. developing store . 

 To build new frontline tool we applied design thinking technique . We run what is analysis , spend many   hours in a field with our CRs , observing how they interact with current tool . We completed ethnographic   research and finally had several mind mapping sessions that ended up with design criteria for new app   where successful user experience was in the core . When we approached concepts development we built   a lot of visualizations including sketching and mockups of end user interfaces . Running such visual thinking   exercise we were able to identify and visualize many critical business capabilities that we ’ve never seen   and thought off before . The capabilities that made user experience with the new app extremely   successful . Out of tons of visuals we selected several prototypes of a new tool that we tested then within   our end user community ( with CRs who will be using new app ) . As a result we ’ve been able to validate   new design of our frontline tool with targeted audience without writing any code but just using   visualization and mockups . 

 Once we developed a new app the end users ( CRs ) got exactly the tool they dreamed off . They got it   straightway from the first try without following redesign and rework we got used to before we started   practicing design thinking techniques and tools like visualization . 

 Insights & Approach 

 First of all using visuals of new app screens and forms allowed us to bring all stakeholders including   ultimate users to the same ground of understanding of what we were trying to do . With visualization we   did it much faster and effectively than if we would try to explain it verbally . It was amazing how fast   visualization connects different people and mindsets . At the end of the game with visuals and screen   prototypes we ’ve been able to speed up overall application development process excluding further   rework and rebuild as it was before that saved our time and efforts and finally built a trust between IT   and business community 

 Another observation is using sketches , graphics and mockups unlocked different part of our brains adding   creativity to the team work . It allowed us to identify and imagine and then to sketch and draw many   simple creative things that improved user experience of our future app tremendously . Such small but   creative features transformed a perception of the team to the work from transactional and mechanical to   creative one . Everyone felt him / herself like a painter or art producer that added unexpected value to the   team work . 

 Going forward I will keep using and fostering others to use visualization in our work and projects in the   future . But it does not come alone . In combination of other tools e.g. mind mapping it bring high value . 


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 

 I ’m working in IT department of one of global leaders of FMCG industry . During all my career in IT function   I led multiple projects of software deployment as well as developing tools and applications enabling   requested business capabilities in the company . At certain point of time I started observing that almost   every project has a ‘ requirements are not clear and not complete ’ statement in a list of lessons learnt .   The problem is explained by a fact that business requirements normally captured in a text that explains   the business need from a business perspective and as good described as business requester can . Then   software developer or supplier reads the text and understands requirements as good as can being   grounded to own knowledge and past experience . And usually there is a difference between what   requested and what understood . Just because both requester and developer have different functional   and professional backgrounds . Of cause typically application developer or IT supplier asks extra questions   trying to clarify what is requested . This improves situation but not dramatically . At the end of the game   this drives extra cost to rework and overall frustration on both sides . 

 Selection 

 To improve situation further I demanded to add a visualization ( or visual design in particular ) to every   medium and high complexity requirements as a mandatory component . In addition to verbal visual design   or thinking allowed project team to think and communicate in nonverbal way and tap into a single picture   of what is requested . Depending on the type of project it could be a visualization of either process map   reflecting a vision of how future business process should flow or sketch of dashboard or visualization of   user interface ( UI ) . For the last one ( UI ) I found mockup tools available in internet that simplify building   visuals every time when new UI should emerge or existing UI should be updated . 

 Application 

 Another day I led project that aimed to upgrade frontline tool for customer representative ( CR ) who visits   store , takes orders and does many other things at store to grow sales . The problem we tried to solve is   legacy handheld application was outdated using old devices with bad user experience . The user   experience of legacy app ca n’t allow to improve in store performance of CRs locking them down to spend   too much time dealing with application typing data or navigating through app rather executing value   added activity e.g. developing store . 

 To build new frontline tool we applied design thinking technique . We run what is analysis , spend many   hours in a field with our CRs , observing how they interact with current tool . We completed ethnographic   research and finally had several mind mapping sessions that ended up with design criteria for new app   where successful user experience was in the core . When we approached concepts development we built   a lot of visualizations including sketching and mockups of end user interfaces . Running such visual thinking   exercise we were able to identify and visualize many critical business capabilities that we ’ve never seen   and thought off before . The capabilities that made user experience with the new app extremely   successful . Out of tons of visuals we selected several prototypes of a new tool that we tested then within   our end user community ( with CRs who will be using new app ) . As a result we ’ve been able to validate   new design of our frontline tool with targeted audience without writing any code but just using   visualization and mockups . 

 Once we developed a new app the end users ( CRs ) got exactly the tool they dreamed off . They got it   straightway from the first try without following redesign and rework we got used to before we started   practicing design thinking techniques and tools like visualization . 

 Insights & Approach 

 First of all using visuals of new app screens and forms allowed us to bring all stakeholders including   ultimate users to the same ground of understanding of what we were trying to do . With visualization we   did it much faster and effectively than if we would try to explain it verbally . It was amazing how fast   visualization connects different people and mindsets . At the end of the game with visuals and screen   prototypes we ’ve been able to speed up overall application development process excluding further   rework and rebuild as it was before that saved our time and efforts and finally built a trust between IT   and business community 

 Another observation is using sketches , graphics and mockups unlocked different part of our brains adding   creativity to the team work . It allowed us to identify and imagine and then to sketch and draw many   simple creative things that improved user experience of our future app tremendously . Such small but   creative features transformed a perception of the team to the work from transactional and mechanical to   creative one . Everyone felt him / herself like a painter or art producer that added unexpected value to the   team work . 

 Going forward I will keep using and fostering others to use visualization in our work and projects in the   future . But it does not come alone . In combination of other tools e.g. mind mapping it bring high value .
### Output: 