Design Thinking for Innovation Application : Visualization 

 Chris Martinez 

 Challenge   My entire team was laid off two weeks ago so I do not have a work challenge to leverage for this design   thinking activity . I wanted to get the most out of practicing design thinking though , so I selected a   challenge that ’s real and immediate for me : Identifying the essence of a role I ’d love to do so I can more   effectively recognize it when I see it .     The challenge for me is that I do n’t have an exact position I ’m targeting . I have facilitated training and   developed courses for over 20 years , have facilitated cross - functional teams and have coached people in   a variety of roles . I love that work yet am ready to do something new .      Positions I ’ve considered include managing a training and/or instructional design team , program   managing learning and development programs and coaching people in instructional design .   At the same   time , I am drawn to other creative roles like working in an innovation lab co - designing and developing   new products . Innovation and design thinking are very exciting arenas for me .     Fortunately , I do n’t have to take the first position I am offered . I have financial flexibility , so I ’m using   this transition as an opportunity to obtain a position I ’ll love .      Selection    For this activity , I selected the visualization tool . We use this tool by putting concepts into visual form   with colors , shapes , symbols and images . We can create maps , sketches , videos , photos , PowerPoint   graphics and more .      My understanding is the primary purpose of visualization from an individual perspective is to access the   non - linear parts of our brains , and for a group is to foster a common understanding . In a product design   process , people use visualization for a variety of purposes such as ideating , pattern finding , concept   development , prototyping , piloting and scaling .      I selected this tool for my challenge because it ’ll help me get out of my linear mind and develop a   deeper understanding of the key ingredients I want in my next job . I ’ll then use this “ criteria ” as both a   radar to identify potential positions and a checklist to discern whether an offer has multiple   “ confirming ” or “ disconfirming ” facts or qualities .      Application   First , I started by identifying the top criteria I have for my ideal position . I focused on the key   experiences I want ( blue font ) followed by brief descriptions of how that might look in the real world   ( black font ) . I identified 32 different experiences . A few examples : 

    I exercise my creativity regularly . I frequently brainstorm , vision , design and build . 

    I work at a strategic , programmatic level . I envision and build new programs , develop strategic   approaches . 

    We synergize a lot . We collaborate incredibly well . Together we create results far better than   we can imagine . 

    We are very innovative . The atmosphere and work we do is very open and creative . We use DT ,   agile and more . 

 As suggested in Module 4 , I then curated the 32 experiences down to 6 core experiences I want in my   next position : 

    Creativity ( frequent opportunities to ideate , vision , design ) 

    Learning ( skills , knowledge and attitudes I value such as design thinking ) 

    Synergizing with my “ tribe ” ( people who are innovative , curious , willing , engaged , “ yes - and ” ) 

    Ease ( short commute , excellent compensation and benefits package ) 

    Success ( my company , colleagues and I all create quality and competence ) 

    Freedom and joy ( a sense of expansiveness in my heart ) 

 Once I had these core experiences , I created sketches of what I would see or feel when I ’m having these   experiences . Here ’s a picture : 

 Insights   A few insights I discovered : 

    I am much more relaxed with fewer criteria . 

    I can better discern the experience I would have in a role ( feel it vs. trying to figure it out ) . 

    The criteria I created are subjective . Two criteria may be hard to confirm or disconfirm before   accepting a position . Even though this criteria works very well for me , criteria like this could be   hard for a team to use when discerning whether a solution meets the criteria . 

    Putting it in pictures helps me get out of my linear mind , so I can see other positions that could   fit the criteria as well . 

    I expect that as I talk with people and learn about various positions , I will discover numerous   tangible examples of the criteria . This could lead to my refining the criteria as well . 

 Regarding design thinking , this activity has increased my respect for the process . I have a better   understanding why people consider design thinking “ messy ” ( it can be so creative and non - linear ) and   also how it can help teams generate new , out - of - the - box ideas that have never been identified before .      Approach   If I were to use visualization on a different project , I expect I would want more concrete , less subjective   criteria . For example , “ provides….information ” or “ arrives at answer in less than 3 clicks . ” Objective   criteria wo n’t be the only useful criteria though . For example , descriptions of desired customer   experiences could be subjective .      I could also do this process with a group of people . If everyone were job hunting , we could interview   each other and gain insights we might not notice on our own . We could then create visuals that   represent these richer criteria . Another option would be to start with some images and use them to   elicit a more in - depth discussion of what we ’re looking for in a role . This could help us define our criteria   even better .     I also would want to test using more and less detailed images to see what type of impact they ’d have on   the depth and type of discussion elicited from participants .       I am very pleased with this activity as it ’s been very helpful for me . I ’m going to post the pictures in my   home for both inspiration and focus throughout my search . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Chris Martinez
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 Application : Visualization 

 Chris Martinez 

 Challenge   My entire team was laid off two weeks ago so I do not have a work challenge to leverage for this design   thinking activity . I wanted to get the most out of practicing design thinking though , so I selected a   challenge that ’s real and immediate for me : Identifying the essence of a role I ’d love to do so I can more   effectively recognize it when I see it .     The challenge for me is that I do n’t have an exact position I ’m targeting . I have facilitated training and   developed courses for over 20 years , have facilitated cross - functional teams and have coached people in   a variety of roles . I love that work yet am ready to do something new .      Positions I ’ve considered include managing a training and/or instructional design team , program   managing learning and development programs and coaching people in instructional design .   At the same   time , I am drawn to other creative roles like working in an innovation lab co - designing and developing   new products . Innovation and design thinking are very exciting arenas for me .     Fortunately , I do n’t have to take the first position I am offered . I have financial flexibility , so I ’m using   this transition as an opportunity to obtain a position I ’ll love .      Selection    For this activity , I selected the visualization tool . We use this tool by putting concepts into visual form   with colors , shapes , symbols and images . We can create maps , sketches , videos , photos , PowerPoint   graphics and more .      My understanding is the primary purpose of visualization from an individual perspective is to access the   non - linear parts of our brains , and for a group is to foster a common understanding . In a product design   process , people use visualization for a variety of purposes such as ideating , pattern finding , concept   development , prototyping , piloting and scaling .      I selected this tool for my challenge because it ’ll help me get out of my linear mind and develop a   deeper understanding of the key ingredients I want in my next job . I ’ll then use this “ criteria ” as both a   radar to identify potential positions and a checklist to discern whether an offer has multiple   “ confirming ” or “ disconfirming ” facts or qualities .      Application   First , I started by identifying the top criteria I have for my ideal position . I focused on the key   experiences I want ( blue font ) followed by brief descriptions of how that might look in the real world   ( black font ) . I identified 32 different experiences . A few examples : 

    I exercise my creativity regularly . I frequently brainstorm , vision , design and build . 

    I work at a strategic , programmatic level . I envision and build new programs , develop strategic   approaches . 

    We synergize a lot . We collaborate incredibly well . Together we create results far better than   we can imagine . 

    We are very innovative . The atmosphere and work we do is very open and creative . We use DT ,   agile and more . 

 As suggested in Module 4 , I then curated the 32 experiences down to 6 core experiences I want in my   next position : 

    Creativity ( frequent opportunities to ideate , vision , design ) 

    Learning ( skills , knowledge and attitudes I value such as design thinking ) 

    Synergizing with my “ tribe ” ( people who are innovative , curious , willing , engaged , “ yes - and ” ) 

    Ease ( short commute , excellent compensation and benefits package ) 

    Success ( my company , colleagues and I all create quality and competence ) 

    Freedom and joy ( a sense of expansiveness in my heart ) 

 Once I had these core experiences , I created sketches of what I would see or feel when I ’m having these   experiences . Here ’s a picture : 

 Insights   A few insights I discovered : 

    I am much more relaxed with fewer criteria . 

    I can better discern the experience I would have in a role ( feel it vs. trying to figure it out ) . 

    The criteria I created are subjective . Two criteria may be hard to confirm or disconfirm before   accepting a position . Even though this criteria works very well for me , criteria like this could be   hard for a team to use when discerning whether a solution meets the criteria . 

    Putting it in pictures helps me get out of my linear mind , so I can see other positions that could   fit the criteria as well . 

    I expect that as I talk with people and learn about various positions , I will discover numerous   tangible examples of the criteria . This could lead to my refining the criteria as well . 

 Regarding design thinking , this activity has increased my respect for the process . I have a better   understanding why people consider design thinking “ messy ” ( it can be so creative and non - linear ) and   also how it can help teams generate new , out - of - the - box ideas that have never been identified before .      Approach   If I were to use visualization on a different project , I expect I would want more concrete , less subjective   criteria . For example , “ provides….information ” or “ arrives at answer in less than 3 clicks . ” Objective   criteria wo n’t be the only useful criteria though . For example , descriptions of desired customer   experiences could be subjective .      I could also do this process with a group of people . If everyone were job hunting , we could interview   each other and gain insights we might not notice on our own . We could then create visuals that   represent these richer criteria . Another option would be to start with some images and use them to   elicit a more in - depth discussion of what we ’re looking for in a role . This could help us define our criteria   even better .     I also would want to test using more and less detailed images to see what type of impact they ’d have on   the depth and type of discussion elicited from participants .       I am very pleased with this activity as it ’s been very helpful for me . I ’m going to post the pictures in my   home for both inspiration and focus throughout my search .
### Output: 