Reflection – Mind Mapping       Challenge and Selection     A client was going through a transformation needed to redesign the structure of an IT   department to adjust to new challenges and upper management directives . The manager of   that department wanted to involve his 25 employees in the redesign of the structure in order   to bring everyone ’s input to the table , but also to achieve an aligned end - result that everybody   would buy into . Besides finding an overall structure which would outline responsibilities ,   communication mechanisms and tasks , some specific challenges needed to be addressed , such   as preparing for one colleagues ’ retirement , the relationship to surrounding departments , and   how to balance the maintenance of legacy IT with the development of new software . We also   wanted to look at both organizational issues as interpersonal relationships and team dynamics   within the department . I was asked to prepare a two - day workshop , at the end of which there   would be an action plan to implement the new structure .      The first day was spent on collecting and visualizing data ( i.e. the “ What Is ” phase of Design   Thinking ) . We presented upper management directives , milestones that the department would   have to face in the next 6 months , changes in team compositions , collected input from the   employees regarding their current situation , and gained insight from different exercises we did   on team dynamics . We decided that in order to consolidate all this data and use if to redesign   the structure , we would do a mind mapping exercise on the next day .     Application     On the morning of day two , I prepared the workshop room by hanging up all the data that we   had collected the previous day up on the wall so everything would be visible to the participants .   I then handed out post - it notes to every participant and invited them to walk around the   room , highlighting and adding comments to every piece of information that stood out to them .      After 30 minutes of this individual reflection , we moved on to an “ World Café ” approach : I   split the participants into four groups and each gave them an outline of the current structure   of the department , asking them to discuss based on the data they had seen three questions :   1 ) What do you think already works in the structure ? 2 ) What would you change ? 3 ) What   are we missing ? Each group focused on a specific part of the structure . After 20 minutes , we   would rotate the groups so that each group discussed every part of the structure , building on   the work of the previous group . In the last round , the last group would summarize and present   the discussion that they had to the plenum , consolidating their discussion to the 3 - 4 key   challenges and questions that they saw for that part of the structure .      After a short break , we clustered those challenges . Then , participants self - selected into   working groups that would develop solutions for each specific challenge . The mission was not   to come up with the best solution , but as many solutions as they could . They would note   down these solutions on post - its . After the group work phase , we came back into the plenum   and clustered solutions , prioritized and rated them and distributed responsibilities for   following them up after the workshop , which then was noted down as an action plan . 

 Insight and Approach     Having taken this course on Design Thinking , I would approach the workshop in a more   insight- and less solution - focused way , i.e. more clearly separating the “ What Is ” from the   “ What if ” phase of Design Thinking . While the first two steps ( collection of the data and   setting up the “ gallery ” for participants to view the data ) where in line with the mind mapping   approach , instead of formulating clear insights and design criteria , we looked at the existing   structure and very quickly moved into coming up with solutions . This narrowed the room for   innovative solutions too much and did n’t offer space for the most creative ideas . Therefore , I   would now alter the process with the new insights that I have gained from this course : 

 1 ) Instead of focusing on the existing structure in the “ World Café ” approach , I would 

 ask participants , in 4 - 5 groups , to come to a blank page and share and cluster the notes   they have taken of the data , truly drilling down to the key insights they have gained and   developing a real mind map . Having collected those key insights and visualized the   connections in the shape of a mind map , I would then in the big group formulate   concrete design criteria that the new structure would have to meet . 

 2 ) Instead of only inviting the employees and their manager to redesign their own 

 department , I would invest in diversifying the team , e.g. also inviting upper level   management , employees from neighboring departments and experts from outside the   company to participate in the workshop . This way alignment with upper management   would already be guaranteed and the results would not be limited by the narrow frame   in which the employees are moving , but allow for more innovation by including an   outside perspective . 

 3 ) Only after abstract design criteria were formulated , I would move into the 

 brainstorming of concrete ideas and solutions . I would then invite participants to   cluster those ideas and set up a new workshop for developing those ideas into   executable prototypes instead of leaving them with a diffuse and extensive action plan   that demanded a lot of additional time investment from the employees . 


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: Reflection – Mind Mapping       Challenge and Selection     A client was going through a transformation needed to redesign the structure of an IT   department to adjust to new challenges and upper management directives . The manager of   that department wanted to involve his 25 employees in the redesign of the structure in order   to bring everyone ’s input to the table , but also to achieve an aligned end - result that everybody   would buy into . Besides finding an overall structure which would outline responsibilities ,   communication mechanisms and tasks , some specific challenges needed to be addressed , such   as preparing for one colleagues ’ retirement , the relationship to surrounding departments , and   how to balance the maintenance of legacy IT with the development of new software . We also   wanted to look at both organizational issues as interpersonal relationships and team dynamics   within the department . I was asked to prepare a two - day workshop , at the end of which there   would be an action plan to implement the new structure .      The first day was spent on collecting and visualizing data ( i.e. the “ What Is ” phase of Design   Thinking ) . We presented upper management directives , milestones that the department would   have to face in the next 6 months , changes in team compositions , collected input from the   employees regarding their current situation , and gained insight from different exercises we did   on team dynamics . We decided that in order to consolidate all this data and use if to redesign   the structure , we would do a mind mapping exercise on the next day .     Application     On the morning of day two , I prepared the workshop room by hanging up all the data that we   had collected the previous day up on the wall so everything would be visible to the participants .   I then handed out post - it notes to every participant and invited them to walk around the   room , highlighting and adding comments to every piece of information that stood out to them .      After 30 minutes of this individual reflection , we moved on to an “ World Café ” approach : I   split the participants into four groups and each gave them an outline of the current structure   of the department , asking them to discuss based on the data they had seen three questions :   1 ) What do you think already works in the structure ? 2 ) What would you change ? 3 ) What   are we missing ? Each group focused on a specific part of the structure . After 20 minutes , we   would rotate the groups so that each group discussed every part of the structure , building on   the work of the previous group . In the last round , the last group would summarize and present   the discussion that they had to the plenum , consolidating their discussion to the 3 - 4 key   challenges and questions that they saw for that part of the structure .      After a short break , we clustered those challenges . Then , participants self - selected into   working groups that would develop solutions for each specific challenge . The mission was not   to come up with the best solution , but as many solutions as they could . They would note   down these solutions on post - its . After the group work phase , we came back into the plenum   and clustered solutions , prioritized and rated them and distributed responsibilities for   following them up after the workshop , which then was noted down as an action plan . 

 Insight and Approach     Having taken this course on Design Thinking , I would approach the workshop in a more   insight- and less solution - focused way , i.e. more clearly separating the “ What Is ” from the   “ What if ” phase of Design Thinking . While the first two steps ( collection of the data and   setting up the “ gallery ” for participants to view the data ) where in line with the mind mapping   approach , instead of formulating clear insights and design criteria , we looked at the existing   structure and very quickly moved into coming up with solutions . This narrowed the room for   innovative solutions too much and did n’t offer space for the most creative ideas . Therefore , I   would now alter the process with the new insights that I have gained from this course : 

 1 ) Instead of focusing on the existing structure in the “ World Café ” approach , I would 

 ask participants , in 4 - 5 groups , to come to a blank page and share and cluster the notes   they have taken of the data , truly drilling down to the key insights they have gained and   developing a real mind map . Having collected those key insights and visualized the   connections in the shape of a mind map , I would then in the big group formulate   concrete design criteria that the new structure would have to meet . 

 2 ) Instead of only inviting the employees and their manager to redesign their own 

 department , I would invest in diversifying the team , e.g. also inviting upper level   management , employees from neighboring departments and experts from outside the   company to participate in the workshop . This way alignment with upper management   would already be guaranteed and the results would not be limited by the narrow frame   in which the employees are moving , but allow for more innovation by including an   outside perspective . 

 3 ) Only after abstract design criteria were formulated , I would move into the 

 brainstorming of concrete ideas and solutions . I would then invite participants to   cluster those ideas and set up a new workshop for developing those ideas into   executable prototypes instead of leaving them with a diffuse and extensive action plan   that demanded a lot of additional time investment from the employees .
### Output: 