Design Thinking for Innovation - University of Virginia 

 May - June 2020 

 Final Assignment – Reflection : Learning Launch 

 Challenge   I am the Chief Financial Officer of an onshore oil & gas production company in Brazil .   In   the oil & gas industry , innovation has traditionally focused on discovering and   maximizing reserves , but they have led to today ’s supply glut and low oil and gas prices .   In the current environment , incremental improvements in productivity will not be   enough . In that context , I was challenged by our CEO to put together a team to promote   digital transformation in such a century old industry as “ a path for creating value by   streamlining operations that promote access to energy that ’s safe for the environment   and that will strengthen the company ’s economic performance ” .   The main goals set by   our CEO were to , within the next 3 years : ( i ) improve productivity by 40 % , measured by   the number of employees per active well ; ( ii ) reduce the number of recordable spills by   80 % ; ( iii ) reduce our lifting costs per barrel by 25 % . These goals came from benchmarks   obtained from a sample of USA & Canada based exploration and production companies .     Selection   We put together a team with experienced employees with different backgrounds :   finance , petroleum engineering , process safety , IT , pumpers and mechanics . Some of   those individuals already had some familiarity with design thinking , but we had to   explain the main concepts to the whole group to put everyone on the same page . We   started by discussing What Is/ What If/ What Wows and after a few sections we realized   that a lot of good ideas quickly emerged and we were ready to try the learning launch   tool , which is an experiment conducted in real life quickly and inexpensively meant to   test an idea and prototype . This Learning Launch was our way of testing What Works .     Application   To properly apply the Learning Launch tool , we established some guiding principles : ( 1 )   Set tight boundaries : since this is a learning launch and not a pilot , it is important to plan   for it to end and we set concrete limits on key variables , such as time , geography and   number of variables to measure ; ( 2 ) Work in fast feedback cycles ; ( 3 ) Make it feel real .    For our first learning launch , we focused on testing some Digital Oilfield tools . Digital   Oilfield encompasses a wide range of innovations such as fleet management and   predictive maintenance . These innovations are a result of the maturing of enabling   technologies such as low - cost sensors , big data analytics and cloud computing . The   Digital Oilfield is not a technology play but the combination of several technologies in   innovative ways to utilize technology to drive productivity . In particular , we wanted to   test solutions that could automate field data collection , organization and basic analytics .   This way we expected to free up time from the operations teams , which spent about   40 % of their time just collecting data and checking for on - site spills from the hundreds   of well in our fields . Everyday each one of them would visit each well , but if we had 

 reliable data collected automatically , we would change the pumpers routine to a more   productive “ dispatch mode ” , where the pumpers would be dispatched to solve   problems already detected and pre - analyzed automatically .     We chose one of our 17 oil fields to run a prototype , a field which was close to our   headquarter and where a successful test would have a positive and significant impact in   the organization . We defined the key parameters we wanted to measure in each type   of well and selected the sensors . We also created a simple telecommunications   backbone to collect and transmit the data to our central offices . This first learning launch   which lasted about two weeks allowed us to figure out what worked well and what   needed to be redesigned . Our team went through a one - day assessment where we   invited the key stakeholders in the process and discussed some modifications required   to make it right . Some of the key takeaways were : ( i ) in order to be able to truly rely on   Digital Oilfield solutions resulting in a reduction of personnel going around the field to   collect data and check that everything was ok , we needed to be able to actually see what   was going on in the well sites , and : ( ii ) we needed the telecommunications system to be   extremely reliable , since we could not afford the risk of not noticing   early on an oil spill   or a high production well going offline for a long time . We also realized we needed to   work on the employee ’s feelings about the change and their preparation for the new   operating model to come .     We then launched a second prototype which addressed the key issues identified in the   first test and let it run for about a month . After that we collected the data and made a   presentation to the CEO and to the senior managerial staff in the Company , which   approved the launch of a broader scale initiative to implement the Digital Oilfield in all   the Company ’s fields .        Insight    By applying the learning launch tool , we created an experimentation environment   where it was ok to dream of a completely different operating model and where the   process of design - prototype - test - reassess - test again allowed people to get rid of the   fears involved in failing at a challenge outside of their comfort zones . Without the fear   of damaging one ’s reputation for failing and by applying the technique of fail often/ fail   fast ( and cheap ) we achieved a huge success in addressing the key strategic goals set by   our CEO . Another critical insight came from the realization that managing people ’s   concerns regarding change are as important as the technical aspects . A lot of resistance   ( and also some internal sabotage ) initially came from people ’s fear of not being capable   to adapt to a new operating model . We needed to invest a lot in training and coaching   to help some employees migrate from a physically intense/ repetitive tasks model to a   more analytical/ technical role . Only when these people realized that the Company   would invest in preparing them for a new operating model ( meaning they would not   lose their jobs ) did they really embrace the change . 

 Approach   This was one of our first design thinking initiatives in the Company and although some   team members had some theoretical knowledge of the tools , future launch designs   should incorporate some learnings from previous experiences . For instance , we should   be more careful in assembling the launch team incorporating some members with   experience in people management and communications , to make sure we properly   address human aspects of change management and do not let the group be dominated   by engineering and finance types . We should also spend more time early on in the   project aligning concepts and educating all member of the team with basic conceptual   knowledge of the Design Thinking for Innovation toolkit . 


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 for Innovation - University of Virginia 

 May - June 2020 

 Final Assignment – Reflection : Learning Launch 

 Challenge   I am the Chief Financial Officer of an onshore oil & gas production company in Brazil .   In   the oil & gas industry , innovation has traditionally focused on discovering and   maximizing reserves , but they have led to today ’s supply glut and low oil and gas prices .   In the current environment , incremental improvements in productivity will not be   enough . In that context , I was challenged by our CEO to put together a team to promote   digital transformation in such a century old industry as “ a path for creating value by   streamlining operations that promote access to energy that ’s safe for the environment   and that will strengthen the company ’s economic performance ” .   The main goals set by   our CEO were to , within the next 3 years : ( i ) improve productivity by 40 % , measured by   the number of employees per active well ; ( ii ) reduce the number of recordable spills by   80 % ; ( iii ) reduce our lifting costs per barrel by 25 % . These goals came from benchmarks   obtained from a sample of USA & Canada based exploration and production companies .     Selection   We put together a team with experienced employees with different backgrounds :   finance , petroleum engineering , process safety , IT , pumpers and mechanics . Some of   those individuals already had some familiarity with design thinking , but we had to   explain the main concepts to the whole group to put everyone on the same page . We   started by discussing What Is/ What If/ What Wows and after a few sections we realized   that a lot of good ideas quickly emerged and we were ready to try the learning launch   tool , which is an experiment conducted in real life quickly and inexpensively meant to   test an idea and prototype . This Learning Launch was our way of testing What Works .     Application   To properly apply the Learning Launch tool , we established some guiding principles : ( 1 )   Set tight boundaries : since this is a learning launch and not a pilot , it is important to plan   for it to end and we set concrete limits on key variables , such as time , geography and   number of variables to measure ; ( 2 ) Work in fast feedback cycles ; ( 3 ) Make it feel real .    For our first learning launch , we focused on testing some Digital Oilfield tools . Digital   Oilfield encompasses a wide range of innovations such as fleet management and   predictive maintenance . These innovations are a result of the maturing of enabling   technologies such as low - cost sensors , big data analytics and cloud computing . The   Digital Oilfield is not a technology play but the combination of several technologies in   innovative ways to utilize technology to drive productivity . In particular , we wanted to   test solutions that could automate field data collection , organization and basic analytics .   This way we expected to free up time from the operations teams , which spent about   40 % of their time just collecting data and checking for on - site spills from the hundreds   of well in our fields . Everyday each one of them would visit each well , but if we had 

 reliable data collected automatically , we would change the pumpers routine to a more   productive “ dispatch mode ” , where the pumpers would be dispatched to solve   problems already detected and pre - analyzed automatically .     We chose one of our 17 oil fields to run a prototype , a field which was close to our   headquarter and where a successful test would have a positive and significant impact in   the organization . We defined the key parameters we wanted to measure in each type   of well and selected the sensors . We also created a simple telecommunications   backbone to collect and transmit the data to our central offices . This first learning launch   which lasted about two weeks allowed us to figure out what worked well and what   needed to be redesigned . Our team went through a one - day assessment where we   invited the key stakeholders in the process and discussed some modifications required   to make it right . Some of the key takeaways were : ( i ) in order to be able to truly rely on   Digital Oilfield solutions resulting in a reduction of personnel going around the field to   collect data and check that everything was ok , we needed to be able to actually see what   was going on in the well sites , and : ( ii ) we needed the telecommunications system to be   extremely reliable , since we could not afford the risk of not noticing   early on an oil spill   or a high production well going offline for a long time . We also realized we needed to   work on the employee ’s feelings about the change and their preparation for the new   operating model to come .     We then launched a second prototype which addressed the key issues identified in the   first test and let it run for about a month . After that we collected the data and made a   presentation to the CEO and to the senior managerial staff in the Company , which   approved the launch of a broader scale initiative to implement the Digital Oilfield in all   the Company ’s fields .        Insight    By applying the learning launch tool , we created an experimentation environment   where it was ok to dream of a completely different operating model and where the   process of design - prototype - test - reassess - test again allowed people to get rid of the   fears involved in failing at a challenge outside of their comfort zones . Without the fear   of damaging one ’s reputation for failing and by applying the technique of fail often/ fail   fast ( and cheap ) we achieved a huge success in addressing the key strategic goals set by   our CEO . Another critical insight came from the realization that managing people ’s   concerns regarding change are as important as the technical aspects . A lot of resistance   ( and also some internal sabotage ) initially came from people ’s fear of not being capable   to adapt to a new operating model . We needed to invest a lot in training and coaching   to help some employees migrate from a physically intense/ repetitive tasks model to a   more analytical/ technical role . Only when these people realized that the Company   would invest in preparing them for a new operating model ( meaning they would not   lose their jobs ) did they really embrace the change . 

 Approach   This was one of our first design thinking initiatives in the Company and although some   team members had some theoretical knowledge of the tools , future launch designs   should incorporate some learnings from previous experiences . For instance , we should   be more careful in assembling the launch team incorporating some members with   experience in people management and communications , to make sure we properly   address human aspects of change management and do not let the group be dominated   by engineering and finance types . We should also spend more time early on in the   project aligning concepts and educating all member of the team with basic conceptual   knowledge of the Design Thinking for Innovation toolkit .
### Output: 