Reflection – Visualization 

 Course : Design Thinking for Innovation 

 Student : Randy Sanz 

 I.   Challenge 

 I was part of the A.T. Kearney account team for a Consumer Packaged Goods ( CPG ) customer in Lima , Perú . The   customer needed to implement a process to accelerate the time to market for new products . In order to do so   they needed to include all the steps required , from idea generation , through launch . 

 The customer had already selected the software they wanted to use which handled the core Product Lifecycle   Management ( PLM ) and engineering functions .   They wanted us to implement it for them . 

 As A.T. Kearney , we wanted to provide the customer additional value by proposing a more complete solution and   while doing so , include additional A.T. Kearney products . We needed to include these products in order get internal   approval since we were not allowed to sell and implement a non - A.T. Kearney product in isolation . 

 Our challenge was to design a solution that brought value to the customer by integrating a specific , third party   software with A.T. Kearney products . This software had never been integrated with the A.T. Kearney platform before . 

 II .   Selection 

 In Module 1 we reviewed a video by Angela Myer . In her video she tells us that visualization is applicable in   situations where we need to apply the right side of our brain , when we ’re dealing with a creative process and   when we ’re trying to figure out how to do something that has never done before .   We also learned that   visualization is an excellent tool for team collaboration . 

 In retrospect it made sense to apply visualization at this stage of our proposal development . We needed to gather   a diverse group : consulting , marketing , sales , technical specialists , and the software vendor ( Afterscool ) to build the   solution and we were trying to design something that had never been done before .   However , the reality was that   the choice was made as a matter of course , it seemed clear to all that we needed to whiteboard some ideas in   order to figure out the solution . 

 III .   Application 

 As the A.T. Kearney Consulting Services consultant on the team , it was my responsibility to lead the design . I basically   began with what we knew : the customer had already selected a specific product that needed to be included in the   solution . Based on this I drew a box in the middle of a blank whiteboard and we began to discuss different   possibilities . We started by trying to get an understanding of what the customer wanted to do with the software ,   how this fit within their overall processes related with product launches and who all the corresponding   stakeholders were within the company . 

 After many meetings lasting several hours , all of which began with either a version of the solution or a completely   blank whiteboard , we came up with a model that visually described the components of the solution and their   interactions . This is a simplified version of the solution we designed : 

 IV .   Insight 

 An interesting insight from having done this exercise was that in addition to our stated goal of coming up with a   design , we learned a lot about the customer ’s processes , its stakeholders , their interactions and ultimately about   the overall problem they wanted to solve . As a matter of fact , when we finally presented the solution to the   customer we realized that we not only added value by bringing a solution to the original customer problem but   that we helped the customer have an expanded view of the problem itself and the value they could gain .   The   customer did in the end decide to go ahead with the project which took 18 months to implement . Through these   18 months , the project followed almost completely , the design that we had come up with in those original   visualization meetings . 

 Having now gone through this course , this experience is a very personal proof point of how the design thinking   tools and processes can be applied in real world scenarios .   It also helps be feel more confident that with   additional research and practice , I can personally apply a design thinking approach in the future . 

 V.   Approach 

 The project was in the end successful by most measures ; however , I believe it would have been very valuable to   conduct a mind mapping exercise with the customer , prior to designing the solution . This exercise would have   allowed us to do an even better job at understanding what the customer wanted to accomplish , what core   business value they could ’ve attained .   With this improved understanding we might have been able to gain   additional insights and in turn proposed a better solution . We could have even been able to expand our   involvement to include additional critical areas of the business . By collaborating with the customer from the   beginning we would ’ve deepened our relationship and improved our positioning as a strategic vendor . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Randy Sanz
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 

 Course : Design Thinking for Innovation 

 Student : Randy Sanz 

 I.   Challenge 

 I was part of the A.T. Kearney account team for a Consumer Packaged Goods ( CPG ) customer in Lima , Perú . The   customer needed to implement a process to accelerate the time to market for new products . In order to do so   they needed to include all the steps required , from idea generation , through launch . 

 The customer had already selected the software they wanted to use which handled the core Product Lifecycle   Management ( PLM ) and engineering functions .   They wanted us to implement it for them . 

 As A.T. Kearney , we wanted to provide the customer additional value by proposing a more complete solution and   while doing so , include additional A.T. Kearney products . We needed to include these products in order get internal   approval since we were not allowed to sell and implement a non - A.T. Kearney product in isolation . 

 Our challenge was to design a solution that brought value to the customer by integrating a specific , third party   software with A.T. Kearney products . This software had never been integrated with the A.T. Kearney platform before . 

 II .   Selection 

 In Module 1 we reviewed a video by Angela Myer . In her video she tells us that visualization is applicable in   situations where we need to apply the right side of our brain , when we ’re dealing with a creative process and   when we ’re trying to figure out how to do something that has never done before .   We also learned that   visualization is an excellent tool for team collaboration . 

 In retrospect it made sense to apply visualization at this stage of our proposal development . We needed to gather   a diverse group : consulting , marketing , sales , technical specialists , and the software vendor ( Afterscool ) to build the   solution and we were trying to design something that had never been done before .   However , the reality was that   the choice was made as a matter of course , it seemed clear to all that we needed to whiteboard some ideas in   order to figure out the solution . 

 III .   Application 

 As the A.T. Kearney Consulting Services consultant on the team , it was my responsibility to lead the design . I basically   began with what we knew : the customer had already selected a specific product that needed to be included in the   solution . Based on this I drew a box in the middle of a blank whiteboard and we began to discuss different   possibilities . We started by trying to get an understanding of what the customer wanted to do with the software ,   how this fit within their overall processes related with product launches and who all the corresponding   stakeholders were within the company . 

 After many meetings lasting several hours , all of which began with either a version of the solution or a completely   blank whiteboard , we came up with a model that visually described the components of the solution and their   interactions . This is a simplified version of the solution we designed : 

 IV .   Insight 

 An interesting insight from having done this exercise was that in addition to our stated goal of coming up with a   design , we learned a lot about the customer ’s processes , its stakeholders , their interactions and ultimately about   the overall problem they wanted to solve . As a matter of fact , when we finally presented the solution to the   customer we realized that we not only added value by bringing a solution to the original customer problem but   that we helped the customer have an expanded view of the problem itself and the value they could gain .   The   customer did in the end decide to go ahead with the project which took 18 months to implement . Through these   18 months , the project followed almost completely , the design that we had come up with in those original   visualization meetings . 

 Having now gone through this course , this experience is a very personal proof point of how the design thinking   tools and processes can be applied in real world scenarios .   It also helps be feel more confident that with   additional research and practice , I can personally apply a design thinking approach in the future . 

 V.   Approach 

 The project was in the end successful by most measures ; however , I believe it would have been very valuable to   conduct a mind mapping exercise with the customer , prior to designing the solution . This exercise would have   allowed us to do an even better job at understanding what the customer wanted to accomplish , what core   business value they could ’ve attained .   With this improved understanding we might have been able to gain   additional insights and in turn proposed a better solution . We could have even been able to expand our   involvement to include additional critical areas of the business . By collaborating with the customer from the   beginning we would ’ve deepened our relationship and improved our positioning as a strategic vendor .
### Output: 