Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to achieve a shared understanding 

 of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting to identify and define 

 possible solutions to the problem . I use this approach often with our customers , who are government 

 agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize their mission or the delivery of their 

 services to their customer , which may be U.S. citizens , businesses , and non - citizens . I have used the 

 technique of using a straw man visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for 

 discussion to allow a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining 

 the scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships between elements to consider when identifying 

 pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions . 

 Application 

 I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain . To develop the straw man 

 graphic , I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment . The existing 

 material may be operational or procedural documents , training materials , marketing materials , GAO or 

 other auditing reports . If materials are not available , then I conduct informal interviews with one - three 

 of the stakeholders who serve as my main points of contact on the initiative . 

 If appropriate to the situation , I will borrow the concept to “ front - stage / back - stage ” from previous 

 research , and discussed in David Gray ’s book , “ The Connected Company ” . The front - stage / back - stage 

 approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an internal service – has customers 

 with whom the service provider interacts and internal processes that enable the organization to provide 

 the service . The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value 

 Chain Providers and a column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations , such as Congress , GAO , 

 labor unions , advocacy groups , and other entities that may add constraints to how the organization 

 operates . 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 divide the stakeholders into groups of 5 - 6 participants each representing a 

 different organization or area of interest . Each group 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 your problem space ? 3 ) What key insights 

 do you have about the relationships between the entities in your problem space ? I give them 

 approximately 20 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic . Then I have each group 

 report out on their answers to those three questions while pointing to the mark - ups on their poster . As 

 each group reports out , I record commonalities in the insights of each group , and then additional 

 insights that come from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic . After the session , I 

 digitize each group ’s poster as an artifact , create a view that combines the shared and new insights from 

 the group discussion , and then create a revised graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed 

 changes that they agreed to as a group . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the graphic – 

 especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing their 

 understanding of the problem they are working to solve , the more valuable aspect of the activity is the 

 shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are working to define their problem 

 space . The graphic gives the diverse group of stakeholders a focal point for discussion that allows them 

 to share their perspectives and develop insights into potential root causes of their problems . While they 

 could create the graphic from a blank slate in a collaborative manner , starting with a straw man jump 

 starts the conversation for them . They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they are 

 missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key entities instead of 

 taking time to identify them . They can also identify variables in the problem space – that is , it helps 

 them to identify what they do n’t know , in what areas they need to obtain information or data 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 . Then the revised 

 graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool throughout the 

 remainder of their work 


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: Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to achieve a shared understanding 

 of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting to identify and define 

 possible solutions to the problem . I use this approach often with our customers , who are government 

 agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize their mission or the delivery of their 

 services to their customer , which may be U.S. citizens , businesses , and non - citizens . I have used the 

 technique of using a straw man visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for 

 discussion to allow a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining 

 the scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships between elements to consider when identifying 

 pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions . 

 Application 

 I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain . To develop the straw man 

 graphic , I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment . The existing 

 material may be operational or procedural documents , training materials , marketing materials , GAO or 

 other auditing reports . If materials are not available , then I conduct informal interviews with one - three 

 of the stakeholders who serve as my main points of contact on the initiative . 

 If appropriate to the situation , I will borrow the concept to “ front - stage / back - stage ” from previous 

 research , and discussed in David Gray ’s book , “ The Connected Company ” . The front - stage / back - stage 

 approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an internal service – has customers 

 with whom the service provider interacts and internal processes that enable the organization to provide 

 the service . The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value 

 Chain Providers and a column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations , such as Congress , GAO , 

 labor unions , advocacy groups , and other entities that may add constraints to how the organization 

 operates . 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 divide the stakeholders into groups of 5 - 6 participants each representing a 

 different organization or area of interest . Each group 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 your problem space ? 3 ) What key insights 

 do you have about the relationships between the entities in your problem space ? I give them 

 approximately 20 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic . Then I have each group 

 report out on their answers to those three questions while pointing to the mark - ups on their poster . As 

 each group reports out , I record commonalities in the insights of each group , and then additional 

 insights that come from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic . After the session , I 

 digitize each group ’s poster as an artifact , create a view that combines the shared and new insights from 

 the group discussion , and then create a revised graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed 

 changes that they agreed to as a group . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the graphic – 

 especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing their 

 understanding of the problem they are working to solve , the more valuable aspect of the activity is the 

 shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are working to define their problem 

 space . The graphic gives the diverse group of stakeholders a focal point for discussion that allows them 

 to share their perspectives and develop insights into potential root causes of their problems . While they 

 could create the graphic from a blank slate in a collaborative manner , starting with a straw man jump 

 starts the conversation for them . They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they are 

 missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key entities instead of 

 taking time to identify them . They can also identify variables in the problem space – that is , it helps 

 them to identify what they do n’t know , in what areas they need to obtain information or data 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 . Then the revised 

 graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool throughout the 

 remainder of their work
### Output: 