Example Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge 

 I am an animation student and I am working on different projects and illustrations . My challenge for now   is to improve my workflow and concentration spawn in order to increase the quality of my projects and   decrease time spent on work . I will focus on trying to uncover what I consider to be effective or   problematic with regard to my workflow . I have used the technique of using a visualization of my schedule   and projects descriptions , domain with a set of questions to allow a diverse group of my friends to help   defining the scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships between elements to consider when   identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions . 

 Selection 

 The tool I used was the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to achieve clear understanding of my   problem space among a diverse group of people and me before attempting to identify and define possible   solutions to the problem . I use this approach often with myself , working on my animations and   commissions . I has already gone through several design thinking activities / tools , so I think I am ready to   try the Visualization tool for this task . 

 Application 

 I start the process by creating an approximate image of the problem domain . To develop this , I will draw   graphic from any existing material available to understand my environment . The existing material may be   my grades during different approaches and environment , training materials and my observations on my   mental and physical health . 

 The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Time and Value and a column on   the right to identify Quality , such university grades , my expectations , feelings , my friends ’ opinion , and   other entities that may add constraints to how I work . The straw man graphic is simple , using simple   shapes and icons available in Visio or on the Internet . If the front - stage / back - stage view does n’t work ,   then I will create a different type of visual , either based on a high - level process flow with swim lanes for   different stakeholders , or another format . 

 For the activity , I will make a group of 5 - 6 participants each representing a different area of interest . Each   participant receives a poster - size copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly , or use   sticky notes to make comments . I give them two - three questions to answer , such as : 1 ) What key elements   are missing from the graphic ? 2 ) What would you change about the graphic to make it more accurately   reflect problem space ? 3 ) What key insights do you have about the relationships between the entities in   your problem space ? I give them approximately 10 minutes to discuss the questions together with me   and mark up the graphic . Then I have each their report out on their answers to those three questions   while pointing to the mark - ups on their poster . As they report out , I record commonalities in the insights ,   and then additional insights that come from me . After the session , I digitize combined poster as an artifact ,   create a view that combines the shared and new insights from the group discussion , and then create a   renewed graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a group . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from carrying this exercise with several participants is that while the graphic –   especially the renewed graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing my   understanding of the problem I am working to solve , the more valuable aspect of the activity is the shared   insights and shared learning that occurs while I am working to define my problem space . The graphic gives   the diverse group of participants a valid point for discussion that allows them to share their perspectives   and develop insights into potential root causes of my problems . While I could create the graphic from a 

 blank slate in a collaborative manner , starting with a image jump starts the conversation for them . They   can quickly identify where they are in the graphic and can more quickly gain new insights about   relationships between key entities instead of taking time to identify them . I can also identify variables in   the problem space , it helps me to identify what I do n’t know , in what areas I need to obtain information   or skill to provide the values for the variables . 

 Since I discovered that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning , next time I would use   the visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities . 


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: Example Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge 

 I am an animation student and I am working on different projects and illustrations . My challenge for now   is to improve my workflow and concentration spawn in order to increase the quality of my projects and   decrease time spent on work . I will focus on trying to uncover what I consider to be effective or   problematic with regard to my workflow . I have used the technique of using a visualization of my schedule   and projects descriptions , domain with a set of questions to allow a diverse group of my friends to help   defining the scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships between elements to consider when   identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions . 

 Selection 

 The tool I used was the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to achieve clear understanding of my   problem space among a diverse group of people and me before attempting to identify and define possible   solutions to the problem . I use this approach often with myself , working on my animations and   commissions . I has already gone through several design thinking activities / tools , so I think I am ready to   try the Visualization tool for this task . 

 Application 

 I start the process by creating an approximate image of the problem domain . To develop this , I will draw   graphic from any existing material available to understand my environment . The existing material may be   my grades during different approaches and environment , training materials and my observations on my   mental and physical health . 

 The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Time and Value and a column on   the right to identify Quality , such university grades , my expectations , feelings , my friends ’ opinion , and   other entities that may add constraints to how I work . The straw man graphic is simple , using simple   shapes and icons available in Visio or on the Internet . If the front - stage / back - stage view does n’t work ,   then I will create a different type of visual , either based on a high - level process flow with swim lanes for   different stakeholders , or another format . 

 For the activity , I will make a group of 5 - 6 participants each representing a different area of interest . Each   participant receives a poster - size copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly , or use   sticky notes to make comments . I give them two - three questions to answer , such as : 1 ) What key elements   are missing from the graphic ? 2 ) What would you change about the graphic to make it more accurately   reflect problem space ? 3 ) What key insights do you have about the relationships between the entities in   your problem space ? I give them approximately 10 minutes to discuss the questions together with me   and mark up the graphic . Then I have each their report out on their answers to those three questions   while pointing to the mark - ups on their poster . As they report out , I record commonalities in the insights ,   and then additional insights that come from me . After the session , I digitize combined poster as an artifact ,   create a view that combines the shared and new insights from the group discussion , and then create a   renewed graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a group . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from carrying this exercise with several participants is that while the graphic –   especially the renewed graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing my   understanding of the problem I am working to solve , the more valuable aspect of the activity is the shared   insights and shared learning that occurs while I am working to define my problem space . The graphic gives   the diverse group of participants a valid point for discussion that allows them to share their perspectives   and develop insights into potential root causes of my problems . While I could create the graphic from a 

 blank slate in a collaborative manner , starting with a image jump starts the conversation for them . They   can quickly identify where they are in the graphic and can more quickly gain new insights about   relationships between key entities instead of taking time to identify them . I can also identify variables in   the problem space , it helps me to identify what I do n’t know , in what areas I need to obtain information   or skill to provide the values for the variables . 

 Since I discovered that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning , next time I would use   the visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities .
### Output: 