Reflection – Learning Launch     I do not have a challenge where I can apply this new knowledge on “ live ” at this time so I will   describe a challenge which I had before attending “ Design Thinking for Innovation ” course   and do a retrospective that , based on the knowledge gained from the course .      Challenge :    COVID-19 struck in February 2020 and there where a lock down and requirements for social   distancing at our company , just as in most other places . As time passed , we started to think   about how the returning to the office might be – would it be safe , how many people could   be at one location , how do we ensure that we could return to office in a safe way and   maintain social distance . My team , a group of eight people , was involved in the task to find a   way to do this . Could we create something that will help us plan the return in a safe way ?     Selection :   The group I work in is an innovation lab which do experiments with new technologies yet   used within our company . We are familiar with and using all the four tools or methods   mentioned in the assignment - Visualization , Storytelling , Mind mapping and Learning   Launch ( we use the term pilot at our company ) . For this challenge we used mostly   Visualization and Learning Launch1 . We use Visualization as one way to create greater   understanding of the subject area and drill down into details , but in this reflection I will only   describe the way we used Learning Launch . The development of the experiment was limited   to my group ’s resources , so we needed a way to continuously validate , further develop or   freeze the experiment . Learning Launch was a way for us to be able to use scarce resources   effectively . We needed users , which had limited time , to test our prototype to enable us to   quickly gain new knowledge and iterate the idea to see if it worked .      Application :   The approach we came up with after an initial ideation was to create a custom iPhone app .   As we work with fast experiments , we needed to test what functionality works for the users   and what does n’t . We also needed to evaluate the technology solution . We created a   prototype within two weeks together with our stakeholder ’s - workplace related services   and HR . We started a number of short continuous learning launches . The first learning   launch was based on an app where the users should check in manually and the app   visualised presence in the building . The prototype was more of a walking skeleton with few   features and we deployed the app to selected people in our vicinity . After looking at the   result and usage we soon realized that manual check - in was not the way to go – it was not a   user - friendly solution , the users forgot or did n’t check in and out - but the idea with an app   was still possible to further explore , so we needed automation . As my group had existed for   a couple of years , and had done quite a few technical experiments , we looked back and one   of the experiments related to near field sensors . That   experiment had been frozen , but we decided to return to   it and try the technology for this challenge .      In the next learning launch we had implemented sensors   which the app could register to a database though an API . 

 1 Learning Launch Tool ( https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-design-thinking-innovation/lecture/F04r6/learning-launch-tool ) 

 We had selected a few users on different office floors in the building . The users would   automatically be checked in while passing a sensor . We tried different kinds of sensors and   after feedback and looking at the results we found a way to designing a technical solution   with IoT beacons . The test became more effective because the users did not have to spend   time testing , just carry around their phone . We also learned that we had to put additional   check - out sensors in certain common places that people used to leave the office space to   keep correct counting .      During the third learning and final learning launch we gained feedback from users that a   planning tool also was needed . So , we created the possibility to pre - schedule planned   presence in the office building for up to two weeks , enabling users to see planned presence   and decide if it was appropriate to go to an office space a specific time . The final app was   implemented on all our colleagues work phones and is in use since late 2020 .     Insight :   Learning launches - pilots2 as we call them , are very useful to try different experiments on   real users and other stakeholders . In the course I gained a more comprehensive view of   Learning Launches , at the time I had n’t attended this course but appreciated the method as   we used it . Now I ’m realizing what potential strength this tool has , especially in combination   with the other tools mentioned in the course .   Parts that we did n’t use - such as metrics   during the learning launches would be really useful . To ask questions like “ Under what   circumstances would this be a bad idea ” , “ Will the customer buy this ? ” etc . could be really   valuable . I think we had some of the parts as mentioned in the course , we learned and   iterated to create a solution that could meet the goal , we did it through small , fast   experiments and a fail - fast approach and evaluated if we should continue or drop the   experiment .      Approach :   Looking back , I realize we already used lots of tools and methods within design thinking but   in a more ad - hoc manner rather than as a flow . I think that the way design thinking works is   a well thought context of things , that by themselves are useful , but when used together   makes greater impact . I would definitely use term Learning Launch going forward instead of   pilot , but with the knowledge gained now I will do them more structured and well thought   out – not in an ad - hoc manner . This goes for the other tools within design thinking as well . I   have used visualization , describing the challenge , created customer journeys etc . I have   used storytelling to sell ideas or explaining - but I have not made a challenge into a cause ,   that is new to me and I find it extremely powerful and useful to drive change and gain   insights . I will definitely use design thinking and add the knowledge in this course to the   tools going forward . 

 2 The term pilot according to the course is more of a go - no go decision ( “ We prefer the term learning launch to the term pilot ” , IBM Story 10.38 ) 


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 – Learning Launch     I do not have a challenge where I can apply this new knowledge on “ live ” at this time so I will   describe a challenge which I had before attending “ Design Thinking for Innovation ” course   and do a retrospective that , based on the knowledge gained from the course .      Challenge :    COVID-19 struck in February 2020 and there where a lock down and requirements for social   distancing at our company , just as in most other places . As time passed , we started to think   about how the returning to the office might be – would it be safe , how many people could   be at one location , how do we ensure that we could return to office in a safe way and   maintain social distance . My team , a group of eight people , was involved in the task to find a   way to do this . Could we create something that will help us plan the return in a safe way ?     Selection :   The group I work in is an innovation lab which do experiments with new technologies yet   used within our company . We are familiar with and using all the four tools or methods   mentioned in the assignment - Visualization , Storytelling , Mind mapping and Learning   Launch ( we use the term pilot at our company ) . For this challenge we used mostly   Visualization and Learning Launch1 . We use Visualization as one way to create greater   understanding of the subject area and drill down into details , but in this reflection I will only   describe the way we used Learning Launch . The development of the experiment was limited   to my group ’s resources , so we needed a way to continuously validate , further develop or   freeze the experiment . Learning Launch was a way for us to be able to use scarce resources   effectively . We needed users , which had limited time , to test our prototype to enable us to   quickly gain new knowledge and iterate the idea to see if it worked .      Application :   The approach we came up with after an initial ideation was to create a custom iPhone app .   As we work with fast experiments , we needed to test what functionality works for the users   and what does n’t . We also needed to evaluate the technology solution . We created a   prototype within two weeks together with our stakeholder ’s - workplace related services   and HR . We started a number of short continuous learning launches . The first learning   launch was based on an app where the users should check in manually and the app   visualised presence in the building . The prototype was more of a walking skeleton with few   features and we deployed the app to selected people in our vicinity . After looking at the   result and usage we soon realized that manual check - in was not the way to go – it was not a   user - friendly solution , the users forgot or did n’t check in and out - but the idea with an app   was still possible to further explore , so we needed automation . As my group had existed for   a couple of years , and had done quite a few technical experiments , we looked back and one   of the experiments related to near field sensors . That   experiment had been frozen , but we decided to return to   it and try the technology for this challenge .      In the next learning launch we had implemented sensors   which the app could register to a database though an API . 

 1 Learning Launch Tool ( https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-design-thinking-innovation/lecture/F04r6/learning-launch-tool ) 

 We had selected a few users on different office floors in the building . The users would   automatically be checked in while passing a sensor . We tried different kinds of sensors and   after feedback and looking at the results we found a way to designing a technical solution   with IoT beacons . The test became more effective because the users did not have to spend   time testing , just carry around their phone . We also learned that we had to put additional   check - out sensors in certain common places that people used to leave the office space to   keep correct counting .      During the third learning and final learning launch we gained feedback from users that a   planning tool also was needed . So , we created the possibility to pre - schedule planned   presence in the office building for up to two weeks , enabling users to see planned presence   and decide if it was appropriate to go to an office space a specific time . The final app was   implemented on all our colleagues work phones and is in use since late 2020 .     Insight :   Learning launches - pilots2 as we call them , are very useful to try different experiments on   real users and other stakeholders . In the course I gained a more comprehensive view of   Learning Launches , at the time I had n’t attended this course but appreciated the method as   we used it . Now I ’m realizing what potential strength this tool has , especially in combination   with the other tools mentioned in the course .   Parts that we did n’t use - such as metrics   during the learning launches would be really useful . To ask questions like “ Under what   circumstances would this be a bad idea ” , “ Will the customer buy this ? ” etc . could be really   valuable . I think we had some of the parts as mentioned in the course , we learned and   iterated to create a solution that could meet the goal , we did it through small , fast   experiments and a fail - fast approach and evaluated if we should continue or drop the   experiment .      Approach :   Looking back , I realize we already used lots of tools and methods within design thinking but   in a more ad - hoc manner rather than as a flow . I think that the way design thinking works is   a well thought context of things , that by themselves are useful , but when used together   makes greater impact . I would definitely use term Learning Launch going forward instead of   pilot , but with the knowledge gained now I will do them more structured and well thought   out – not in an ad - hoc manner . This goes for the other tools within design thinking as well . I   have used visualization , describing the challenge , created customer journeys etc . I have   used storytelling to sell ideas or explaining - but I have not made a challenge into a cause ,   that is new to me and I find it extremely powerful and useful to drive change and gain   insights . I will definitely use design thinking and add the knowledge in this course to the   tools going forward . 

 2 The term pilot according to the course is more of a go - no go decision ( “ We prefer the term learning launch to the term pilot ” , IBM Story 10.38 )
### Output: 