Process efficiency – Visualization 

 Business case and challenge : 

 Few months back I was aligned to a new project where I had to improve the efficiency of processes . This   was a unique case where I could n’t find any reference or used case . Initial analysis with data driven   approach was not helpful in understanding the real process challenges , there were lot of divergent   thoughts coming from the team while defining the business challenge and develop a vision with right   inputs and agreement with relevant stakeholders . That ’s when I thought of using Design Thinking   “ Visualization ” tool to identify the challenges faced in the processes and develop probable solutions   collaboratively including diverse group of stakeholders . Visualization is a design thinking technique to   address challenges through generating ideas and outline concept designs . I had prepared set of focused   questions that would allow diverse group of stakeholders to start collaborative discussion that would help   in defining project scope , boundaries , setting targets , areas of improvements . 

 Application : 

 I started with empathize phase the goal was to understand the stakeholders by gathering   information about the roles and activities performed by them in the processes . During this I used   focused group discussion and noted their observations . The information gathered helped me to   understand that existing current process maps and documentations were not providing cross   functional end to end process understanding . To ensure everyone ’s ideas are heard I had   compiled list of relevant stakeholders to be involved in decision- making process keeping in mind   this group interacts with internal / external suppliers and customers that enable the organization   to provide services . During the interview with group I used 5 Why s technique to understand   “ What , How , Why ” for every issue / challenge in the process . The purpose was to do detailed root   cause analysis and discover the actual problems in the process but not symptoms that looked   superficial challenges initially .     In second stage I created persona journey , this would help in understanding the needs of end   users as it encourages understanding end users ’ requirements empathetically , better   understanding of activities stakeholders are aiming to complete . To start with graphics of the   problem offered great starting point this served as outside the box thinking instead of narrating   the overarching process challenges in a usual manner that was monotonous . This approach   helped to narrow down actual challenges end users face and the opportunities of improvement   could be identified via this activity . This helped to understand what features are missing in   applications , how does it impact the overall process efficiency , what customization needs to be   done in the application to meet need of the end users . During this phase I had completed   brainstorming sessions with the users , developed hypothesized solutions and kept the sessions   open to capture every possible idea that would be solution to very process challenges / pain   points . In the end I prepared user story map that would allow to categorize the end users , map   the themes . For each of the personas defined the set of activities and tasks that should be   completed during the journey . By doing this it helped quickly test ideas and understand if it meets   the end user ’s requirement and how fast could this be deployed as it was one of the success   criteria . 

 Third phase was focused on ideation where the teams collaborated to ideate real solutions using   the above gathered information through sessions like sketching , prototyping , voting . As the   saying goes there is no “ Best or Wrong ideas ” . The viable solution for each problem was finalized   as per majority voting . These solutions were then discussed to be implemented with end users   to test in the process if it addressed the pain points discussed in the beginning of the project and   envision success in the end .     The last phase was Testing and implementation , I did n’t keep the Testing phase till very end , but   it was more of a constant loop of incorporating any feedback received from the user like in a   sprint mode Agile methodology . At the end of each accomplished step , we tried to get feedback   from users to move on to the next phase . After the prototyping was complete , it was time to test   with the larger audience and check with them how effectively the solutions met their   requirements , understand their perception . In the end all the gathered information and   experiences were translated and locked as final solutions . The activities were outlined within user   story maps to maintain evidences as artifacts of the personas . Story maps were created with the   thoughts identifying the activities carried out , steps required to complete , and list of tasks   associated with each other . 

 Insight and approach : 

 At the beginning when I had started Design Thinking Visualization to solve the process challenge   was apprehensive as the approach was different from traditional data driven analysis and   hypothesis building which I had been doing from long time . But at the end of this project I was   delighted to see the solutions were actually implemented that helped to improve the process   efficiency also this was highly appreciated by stakeholders and end users as they were part of the   entire exercise from beginning , this approach was perceived as inclusiveness and empathetic that   the steps we have laid out have helped to achieve something that would have been very hard   otherwise . From Project methodology perspective Visualization has also helped to clearly define   project scope , prevent scope creep . For business this has served as Real value add by right   selection of solutions to solve the process challenges and pain points 

 My biggest learning from this exercise is that solution identification can be applied to solve real   business problems in my case it was to improve the process efficiency within stipulated   timeframe , thinking empathetically from users ’ point of view and bringing people together .   Instead of using traditional problem - solving approach in sequential steps , this was focused on   iterations as per user feedbacks following Empathizing , Defining , Ideating , Testing and   Implementing . 


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: Process efficiency – Visualization 

 Business case and challenge : 

 Few months back I was aligned to a new project where I had to improve the efficiency of processes . This   was a unique case where I could n’t find any reference or used case . Initial analysis with data driven   approach was not helpful in understanding the real process challenges , there were lot of divergent   thoughts coming from the team while defining the business challenge and develop a vision with right   inputs and agreement with relevant stakeholders . That ’s when I thought of using Design Thinking   “ Visualization ” tool to identify the challenges faced in the processes and develop probable solutions   collaboratively including diverse group of stakeholders . Visualization is a design thinking technique to   address challenges through generating ideas and outline concept designs . I had prepared set of focused   questions that would allow diverse group of stakeholders to start collaborative discussion that would help   in defining project scope , boundaries , setting targets , areas of improvements . 

 Application : 

 I started with empathize phase the goal was to understand the stakeholders by gathering   information about the roles and activities performed by them in the processes . During this I used   focused group discussion and noted their observations . The information gathered helped me to   understand that existing current process maps and documentations were not providing cross   functional end to end process understanding . To ensure everyone ’s ideas are heard I had   compiled list of relevant stakeholders to be involved in decision- making process keeping in mind   this group interacts with internal / external suppliers and customers that enable the organization   to provide services . During the interview with group I used 5 Why s technique to understand   “ What , How , Why ” for every issue / challenge in the process . The purpose was to do detailed root   cause analysis and discover the actual problems in the process but not symptoms that looked   superficial challenges initially .     In second stage I created persona journey , this would help in understanding the needs of end   users as it encourages understanding end users ’ requirements empathetically , better   understanding of activities stakeholders are aiming to complete . To start with graphics of the   problem offered great starting point this served as outside the box thinking instead of narrating   the overarching process challenges in a usual manner that was monotonous . This approach   helped to narrow down actual challenges end users face and the opportunities of improvement   could be identified via this activity . This helped to understand what features are missing in   applications , how does it impact the overall process efficiency , what customization needs to be   done in the application to meet need of the end users . During this phase I had completed   brainstorming sessions with the users , developed hypothesized solutions and kept the sessions   open to capture every possible idea that would be solution to very process challenges / pain   points . In the end I prepared user story map that would allow to categorize the end users , map   the themes . For each of the personas defined the set of activities and tasks that should be   completed during the journey . By doing this it helped quickly test ideas and understand if it meets   the end user ’s requirement and how fast could this be deployed as it was one of the success   criteria . 

 Third phase was focused on ideation where the teams collaborated to ideate real solutions using   the above gathered information through sessions like sketching , prototyping , voting . As the   saying goes there is no “ Best or Wrong ideas ” . The viable solution for each problem was finalized   as per majority voting . These solutions were then discussed to be implemented with end users   to test in the process if it addressed the pain points discussed in the beginning of the project and   envision success in the end .     The last phase was Testing and implementation , I did n’t keep the Testing phase till very end , but   it was more of a constant loop of incorporating any feedback received from the user like in a   sprint mode Agile methodology . At the end of each accomplished step , we tried to get feedback   from users to move on to the next phase . After the prototyping was complete , it was time to test   with the larger audience and check with them how effectively the solutions met their   requirements , understand their perception . In the end all the gathered information and   experiences were translated and locked as final solutions . The activities were outlined within user   story maps to maintain evidences as artifacts of the personas . Story maps were created with the   thoughts identifying the activities carried out , steps required to complete , and list of tasks   associated with each other . 

 Insight and approach : 

 At the beginning when I had started Design Thinking Visualization to solve the process challenge   was apprehensive as the approach was different from traditional data driven analysis and   hypothesis building which I had been doing from long time . But at the end of this project I was   delighted to see the solutions were actually implemented that helped to improve the process   efficiency also this was highly appreciated by stakeholders and end users as they were part of the   entire exercise from beginning , this approach was perceived as inclusiveness and empathetic that   the steps we have laid out have helped to achieve something that would have been very hard   otherwise . From Project methodology perspective Visualization has also helped to clearly define   project scope , prevent scope creep . For business this has served as Real value add by right   selection of solutions to solve the process challenges and pain points 

 My biggest learning from this exercise is that solution identification can be applied to solve real   business problems in my case it was to improve the process efficiency within stipulated   timeframe , thinking empathetically from users ’ point of view and bringing people together .   Instead of using traditional problem - solving approach in sequential steps , this was focused on   iterations as per user feedbacks following Empathizing , Defining , Ideating , Testing and   Implementing .
### Output: 