Design thinking application assignment     Challenge :   I am relating this assignment to a real - life possibility with awareness of the domain I specialize   in as a student . So the challenge in my case is the implementation of a new Performance   Management System ( PMS ) in an organization . The organization ( let ’s name it Innovate Ltd. )   has so far followed the traditional approach of PMS wherein the entire process takes place in a   paper - pen format . The employee fills out his own appraisal forms , hands it over to the manager   for review , they may have a discussion over the employee ’s performance during or post which   the manager fills in his comments in the employee ’s appraisal form and submits it to the higher   authority for approval or further discussion if needed before finalizing the performance rating .   Innovate Ltd. has lately been getting a lot of grievances from employees expressing   dissatisfaction with their performance ratings and hence wants to 

 1 . Figure out the root cause leading to dissatisfaction with the process   2 . Increase the level of transparency in the process , since the management feels the 

 employee will be a lot more aware of his possible ratings if he can see his manager ’s or   super - manager ’s comments on his performance 

 3 . Implement an easier and faster PMS which would replace the pen - paper process 

 Selection :   So for my challenge , I have decided to use two of the tools of design thinking at two different   stages of problem resolution . 

 1 . Mind Mapping : this tool would be used as a precursor to the whole PMS 

 transformation . As we know mind mapping helps us to explore the though process of our   customers ( in this case the employees ) in a very close manner . So the idea behind using   this tool is to understand the actual though process of our employees at Innovate with   regards to the existing PMS , its pros and cons , the challenges they face as its ultimate   stakeholders , their areas of concern and their expectations from the PMS . 

 2 . Learning Launch : Mind Mapping is going to give us a big homework here , and once 

 we have worked upon it and come out with something interesting during the homework   ( the prototype of our new PMS ) , Learning Launch will be used to validate the outcome of   our homework for its perceived effectiveness . Like the IBM trade show , we would go   about doing small tests to interact with our employees and gather their feedback on our   homework ’s output . 

 Application : 

 1 . To gather data on employee perception about existing and expected PMS , we chose to 

 use mind mapping . The Innovate workplace layout is arranged in the form of what we   can call bays . Each bay consists of seating arrangement for 6 employees connected to a   vertical common passage which leads to the exit of the bay - room . A bay room is a   collection of 5 bays . To use mind mapping , we pasted blank charts with “ PMS ” written on   the center in each bay before the official work hours for the day began . Next to the chart   we kept a short instruction sheet which stated the employees in one bay could use the   chart in their bay to write or draw anything that came to their mind about PMS . They   were given a time of 2 working days to fill up the chart . On the second day , we added an 

 additional message on the instruction sheet that post collection of all bay - charts at the   end of the deadline , the employees would get a set of surprises eventually .     Our idea behind the chart was to entice the creative thinking of our employees , get them   to put in their thoughts as they liked and as openly as possible by making it a group   effort and anonymous . Secondly the deadline was to ensure we had some closure on the   time - frame so that we could start working on our homework and finally the surprise   aspect , we felt , would encourage the employees to actively fill in their bay - charts   anticipating some reward / appreciation for their effort . 

 2 . After collection of all ideas and thought processes of our employees , we set forth on our 

 mission to develop a new PMS prototype incorporating all feasible expected aspects   stated by our employees in their charts and avoiding scope for repetition of any existing   challenge or con of the system in the new prototype . So we came up with the idea of an   online PMS portal which would enable all the stakeholders to view each other activity   subject to some restrictions by virtue of authority which we believed would increase the   transparency of the whole process . We decided to conduct learning launches of our   new prototype for which we developed a mini - PMS model and made a surprise launch   within a week of closure of the mind mapping activity .   The following week ’s first working day , we launched the prototype to our employees as a   default launch on system login . The employees had to work around the online system as   per the instructions and then rate the system on various parameters ( a smiley based   rating scale was used ) along with an open ended feedback section to detail further   possible improvements .   The launch feedback was also gathered through the concept of “ mystery shoppers ”   wherein we assigned two “ interns ” to each bay - room who had the task of gathering any   relevant aspect on PMS from the casual conversations among the employees in the room   during the launch test period . This feedback along with the feedback captured in the   system would be used to further enhance our PMS prototype . 

 Insight :   Our initial perception about the challenge was that we just needed to make the system more   transparent to reduce all grievances and this could be just done through an online system . We   however decided to go ahead and explore the “ blind - spots ” using design thinking tools o that the   investment of time and money we would make to put in place a new system was n’t a short term   win but a sustainable one .     So initially we realised during the mind mapping process that PMS is a very sensitive area and   extracting feedback about it would not be easy as one the first day of the chart activity hardly   any of the chart had any input from the employees . So we decided to play with the human mind   which is always in for surprises , by incentivizing the activity . ( 2 days after the closure of the   activity we awarded bay with most inputs and those with most creative inputs with goodies ) . We   need to always find ways to elicit participation from our customers .     Secondly we realised that any problem solving would be a lot easier when the ultimate customer   felt involved with the resolution process . By the launch the prototype within a week of the chart 

 activity closure , the employees felt they were a part of the whole activity and that they could add   value to building the PMS as their views were being sincerely worked upon . ( Again the best   suggestions for improvement in the launch feedback were recognised to encourage more open   suggestions ) .      Approach : We arrived at the final design of the PMS when we had a fair share or positive   employee feedback through our series of learning launches . While selection of the tools and   their application worked well in this case , I feel the learning launches iteration in cases of a   prototype of a system as big and significant as a PMS might not be “ fast and cheap ” under all   circumstances especially when rolling it out to every single employee and getting their feedback   to be worked upon . In such cases may be we could use a story telling system where in through   say a role - play workshop ( or similar kind ) we could convey our prototype to the employees and   openly harness their feedback instantaneously to make changes and validate it as well . 


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: Design thinking application assignment     Challenge :   I am relating this assignment to a real - life possibility with awareness of the domain I specialize   in as a student . So the challenge in my case is the implementation of a new Performance   Management System ( PMS ) in an organization . The organization ( let ’s name it Innovate Ltd. )   has so far followed the traditional approach of PMS wherein the entire process takes place in a   paper - pen format . The employee fills out his own appraisal forms , hands it over to the manager   for review , they may have a discussion over the employee ’s performance during or post which   the manager fills in his comments in the employee ’s appraisal form and submits it to the higher   authority for approval or further discussion if needed before finalizing the performance rating .   Innovate Ltd. has lately been getting a lot of grievances from employees expressing   dissatisfaction with their performance ratings and hence wants to 

 1 . Figure out the root cause leading to dissatisfaction with the process   2 . Increase the level of transparency in the process , since the management feels the 

 employee will be a lot more aware of his possible ratings if he can see his manager ’s or   super - manager ’s comments on his performance 

 3 . Implement an easier and faster PMS which would replace the pen - paper process 

 Selection :   So for my challenge , I have decided to use two of the tools of design thinking at two different   stages of problem resolution . 

 1 . Mind Mapping : this tool would be used as a precursor to the whole PMS 

 transformation . As we know mind mapping helps us to explore the though process of our   customers ( in this case the employees ) in a very close manner . So the idea behind using   this tool is to understand the actual though process of our employees at Innovate with   regards to the existing PMS , its pros and cons , the challenges they face as its ultimate   stakeholders , their areas of concern and their expectations from the PMS . 

 2 . Learning Launch : Mind Mapping is going to give us a big homework here , and once 

 we have worked upon it and come out with something interesting during the homework   ( the prototype of our new PMS ) , Learning Launch will be used to validate the outcome of   our homework for its perceived effectiveness . Like the IBM trade show , we would go   about doing small tests to interact with our employees and gather their feedback on our   homework ’s output . 

 Application : 

 1 . To gather data on employee perception about existing and expected PMS , we chose to 

 use mind mapping . The Innovate workplace layout is arranged in the form of what we   can call bays . Each bay consists of seating arrangement for 6 employees connected to a   vertical common passage which leads to the exit of the bay - room . A bay room is a   collection of 5 bays . To use mind mapping , we pasted blank charts with “ PMS ” written on   the center in each bay before the official work hours for the day began . Next to the chart   we kept a short instruction sheet which stated the employees in one bay could use the   chart in their bay to write or draw anything that came to their mind about PMS . They   were given a time of 2 working days to fill up the chart . On the second day , we added an 

 additional message on the instruction sheet that post collection of all bay - charts at the   end of the deadline , the employees would get a set of surprises eventually .     Our idea behind the chart was to entice the creative thinking of our employees , get them   to put in their thoughts as they liked and as openly as possible by making it a group   effort and anonymous . Secondly the deadline was to ensure we had some closure on the   time - frame so that we could start working on our homework and finally the surprise   aspect , we felt , would encourage the employees to actively fill in their bay - charts   anticipating some reward / appreciation for their effort . 

 2 . After collection of all ideas and thought processes of our employees , we set forth on our 

 mission to develop a new PMS prototype incorporating all feasible expected aspects   stated by our employees in their charts and avoiding scope for repetition of any existing   challenge or con of the system in the new prototype . So we came up with the idea of an   online PMS portal which would enable all the stakeholders to view each other activity   subject to some restrictions by virtue of authority which we believed would increase the   transparency of the whole process . We decided to conduct learning launches of our   new prototype for which we developed a mini - PMS model and made a surprise launch   within a week of closure of the mind mapping activity .   The following week ’s first working day , we launched the prototype to our employees as a   default launch on system login . The employees had to work around the online system as   per the instructions and then rate the system on various parameters ( a smiley based   rating scale was used ) along with an open ended feedback section to detail further   possible improvements .   The launch feedback was also gathered through the concept of “ mystery shoppers ”   wherein we assigned two “ interns ” to each bay - room who had the task of gathering any   relevant aspect on PMS from the casual conversations among the employees in the room   during the launch test period . This feedback along with the feedback captured in the   system would be used to further enhance our PMS prototype . 

 Insight :   Our initial perception about the challenge was that we just needed to make the system more   transparent to reduce all grievances and this could be just done through an online system . We   however decided to go ahead and explore the “ blind - spots ” using design thinking tools o that the   investment of time and money we would make to put in place a new system was n’t a short term   win but a sustainable one .     So initially we realised during the mind mapping process that PMS is a very sensitive area and   extracting feedback about it would not be easy as one the first day of the chart activity hardly   any of the chart had any input from the employees . So we decided to play with the human mind   which is always in for surprises , by incentivizing the activity . ( 2 days after the closure of the   activity we awarded bay with most inputs and those with most creative inputs with goodies ) . We   need to always find ways to elicit participation from our customers .     Secondly we realised that any problem solving would be a lot easier when the ultimate customer   felt involved with the resolution process . By the launch the prototype within a week of the chart 

 activity closure , the employees felt they were a part of the whole activity and that they could add   value to building the PMS as their views were being sincerely worked upon . ( Again the best   suggestions for improvement in the launch feedback were recognised to encourage more open   suggestions ) .      Approach : We arrived at the final design of the PMS when we had a fair share or positive   employee feedback through our series of learning launches . While selection of the tools and   their application worked well in this case , I feel the learning launches iteration in cases of a   prototype of a system as big and significant as a PMS might not be “ fast and cheap ” under all   circumstances especially when rolling it out to every single employee and getting their feedback   to be worked upon . In such cases may be we could use a story telling system where in through   say a role - play workshop ( or similar kind ) we could convey our prototype to the employees and   openly harness their feedback instantaneously to make changes and validate it as well .
### Output: 