Design Thinking for Innovation Assignment   Mind Mapping for Recycling Contamination   Note : Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak , it is not possible to actually apply these design thinking   tools at the moment . The following is a plan for how the tools could be applied to a real problem . The   problem I am describing is a real one . 

 Miami - Dade County ’s Department of Solid Waste Management ( DSWM ) provides solid waste collection   services to over 330,000 households in the County ’s unincorporated area as well as contracted   municipalities . This includes biweekly curbside collection of recyclable materials such as paper , cans ,   bottles , cartons , and cardboard . The materials are placed together in a large , wheeled cart with a lid and   collected by a collection vehicle with a mechanical “ arm . ”   Recycling collection is currently outsourced to   a private vendor , who pays the County a portion of the revenue received from the sale of recyclable   materials . 

 A major problem currently facing DSWM , and solid waste entities nationwide , is a high rate of   contamination in residents ’ carts . Contamination occurs when residents place materials in the cart that   are not recyclable , such as diapers or food waste . Another form of contamination occurs when residents   place materials that might be recyclable under certain conditions , but not through the curbside   collection program . This is often known as “ aspirational recycling ” and examples include the placement   of egg cartons or plastic bags in the bin ; these products are commonly recyclable at local grocery stores ,   but not curbside . Unfortunately , a high contamination rate results in less material being recycled and   presents risks of revenue reductions or even service disruptions ( if the service is no longer profitable ) .   DSWM has expended considerable resources on resident education , but the problem has persisted . 

 Design thinking is often useful for problems involving complex human behaviors , like the recycling   contamination problem , which arises from individuals ’ motivations , beliefs and behaviors surrounding   recycling . The design question could be framed as “ How might Miami - Dade County provide services that   result in successful residential recycling ? ” The Mind Mapping tool could be used in this process to   synthesize findings from customer research . 

 I would use preexisiting research conducted by DSWM several years ago , when a consultant was hired to   conduct customer focus groups regarding their recycling habits . Ideally , I would complement this prior   study by conducting several ethnographic interviews with residents , taking care to ensure ethnic , gender   and age diversity among the interviewees . ( Because the majority of County residents were born outside   of the United States , ensuring ethnic diversity is extremely important . ) 

 I would schedule a work session with project team members , who would optimally include   representatives of both the DSWM and recycling contractor administration and operations teams , as   well as representatives from the organizations ’ information / customer service work units . If possible ,   representatives from other regional solid waste organizations and from other local businesses that   provide certain recycling services ( such as grocery or electronic stores ) would be invited as well .   At the   work session , participants would be invited to use the “ sticky note ” method of writing down key   observations from research material posted on the wall . Through facilitation , these observations would   be sorted into groupings of similar ideas ; these groupings would then be refined into insights and ,   ultimately , design criteria . A key facilitation question would be the one noted in the Mind Mapping   video from Week 3 : “ If anything were possible , what criteria would our new design meet ? ” 

 The insights I have gained regarding this tool include : 

 •   The Mind Mapping tools is very similar to a tool I have previously used called the “ affinity   process ” for developing customer satisfaction survey questions . In the affinity process , teams   identify “ favorable customer outcomes ” for specific process touch points . Team members   write the outcomes on sticky notes , group them into categories , and use the groupings to   develop survey questions . It is exciting to learn a new and more expansive use of the “ sticky   note ” method . By a ) focusing initially on “ what is ” and b ) not limiting the exercise to specific   process touch points , a wider range of insights may be possible . 

 •   In the traditional Lean Six Sigma methodology , team members ask the question “ why ? ”   iteratively in order to identify the root causes of problems . The iterative use of the question   “ so what ? ” in the Mind Mapping technique resonates with me as a similar method of getting   to the heart of an issue . 

 Without actually facilitating a Mind Mapping work session , it ’s difficult to guess what I might do   differently the next time . Key things I would watch for during the session include : 

 •   Did the participants appear comfortable and engaged ? 

 •   Did the room layout and setup allow for participants to move comfortably ? Were the materials   on the walls easily visible ? 

 •   Did the work session feel too short or too long ? 

 •   How successful ( or unsuccessful ) was I as a facilitator in leading the team to develop insights and   design criteria ? What factors contributed ? 

 The answers to these questions would inform lessons learned and lead to adjustments in future work   sessions . 


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 Assignment   Mind Mapping for Recycling Contamination   Note : Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak , it is not possible to actually apply these design thinking   tools at the moment . The following is a plan for how the tools could be applied to a real problem . The   problem I am describing is a real one . 

 Miami - Dade County ’s Department of Solid Waste Management ( DSWM ) provides solid waste collection   services to over 330,000 households in the County ’s unincorporated area as well as contracted   municipalities . This includes biweekly curbside collection of recyclable materials such as paper , cans ,   bottles , cartons , and cardboard . The materials are placed together in a large , wheeled cart with a lid and   collected by a collection vehicle with a mechanical “ arm . ”   Recycling collection is currently outsourced to   a private vendor , who pays the County a portion of the revenue received from the sale of recyclable   materials . 

 A major problem currently facing DSWM , and solid waste entities nationwide , is a high rate of   contamination in residents ’ carts . Contamination occurs when residents place materials in the cart that   are not recyclable , such as diapers or food waste . Another form of contamination occurs when residents   place materials that might be recyclable under certain conditions , but not through the curbside   collection program . This is often known as “ aspirational recycling ” and examples include the placement   of egg cartons or plastic bags in the bin ; these products are commonly recyclable at local grocery stores ,   but not curbside . Unfortunately , a high contamination rate results in less material being recycled and   presents risks of revenue reductions or even service disruptions ( if the service is no longer profitable ) .   DSWM has expended considerable resources on resident education , but the problem has persisted . 

 Design thinking is often useful for problems involving complex human behaviors , like the recycling   contamination problem , which arises from individuals ’ motivations , beliefs and behaviors surrounding   recycling . The design question could be framed as “ How might Miami - Dade County provide services that   result in successful residential recycling ? ” The Mind Mapping tool could be used in this process to   synthesize findings from customer research . 

 I would use preexisiting research conducted by DSWM several years ago , when a consultant was hired to   conduct customer focus groups regarding their recycling habits . Ideally , I would complement this prior   study by conducting several ethnographic interviews with residents , taking care to ensure ethnic , gender   and age diversity among the interviewees . ( Because the majority of County residents were born outside   of the United States , ensuring ethnic diversity is extremely important . ) 

 I would schedule a work session with project team members , who would optimally include   representatives of both the DSWM and recycling contractor administration and operations teams , as   well as representatives from the organizations ’ information / customer service work units . If possible ,   representatives from other regional solid waste organizations and from other local businesses that   provide certain recycling services ( such as grocery or electronic stores ) would be invited as well .   At the   work session , participants would be invited to use the “ sticky note ” method of writing down key   observations from research material posted on the wall . Through facilitation , these observations would   be sorted into groupings of similar ideas ; these groupings would then be refined into insights and ,   ultimately , design criteria . A key facilitation question would be the one noted in the Mind Mapping   video from Week 3 : “ If anything were possible , what criteria would our new design meet ? ” 

 The insights I have gained regarding this tool include : 

 •   The Mind Mapping tools is very similar to a tool I have previously used called the “ affinity   process ” for developing customer satisfaction survey questions . In the affinity process , teams   identify “ favorable customer outcomes ” for specific process touch points . Team members   write the outcomes on sticky notes , group them into categories , and use the groupings to   develop survey questions . It is exciting to learn a new and more expansive use of the “ sticky   note ” method . By a ) focusing initially on “ what is ” and b ) not limiting the exercise to specific   process touch points , a wider range of insights may be possible . 

 •   In the traditional Lean Six Sigma methodology , team members ask the question “ why ? ”   iteratively in order to identify the root causes of problems . The iterative use of the question   “ so what ? ” in the Mind Mapping technique resonates with me as a similar method of getting   to the heart of an issue . 

 Without actually facilitating a Mind Mapping work session , it ’s difficult to guess what I might do   differently the next time . Key things I would watch for during the session include : 

 •   Did the participants appear comfortable and engaged ? 

 •   Did the room layout and setup allow for participants to move comfortably ? Were the materials   on the walls easily visible ? 

 •   Did the work session feel too short or too long ? 

 •   How successful ( or unsuccessful ) was I as a facilitator in leading the team to develop insights and   design criteria ? What factors contributed ? 

 The answers to these questions would inform lessons learned and lead to adjustments in future work   sessions .
### Output: 