Said Catania 

 Peer - graded Assignment : Reﬂection 

 October 13 , 2020 

 Using Visualization 

 As a tool for improving our projects 

 To share an understanding of a problem or situation among a very diﬀerent group 

 or set of target audiences , I rely on Visualization . Having a Branding / Design 

 background , taking a Visual Thinking approach comes natural before attempting to 

 identify and deﬁne possible solutions to each problem presented . I use this approach 

 often with our internal customers / stakeholders , who are diﬀerent units working to 

 apply either technological or operational innovations to improve on their mission or 

 the delivery of the cluster of services to our customers . I work at The Panama Canal . 

 We cater to the Maritime Industry . Our clients are shippers of all kinds . To give you 

 some perspective , by providing a short , relatively inexpensive passageway between 

 these two great bodies of water , the Canal has inﬂuenced world trade patterns , 

 spurred growth in developed countries , and has been a primary impetus for economic 

 expansion in many remote areas of the world . For example , a vessel laden with coal 

 sailing from the east coast of the United States to Japan via the Panama Canal saves 

 about 4,800 kilometers ( 3,000 miles ) versus the shortest alternative all - water route , 

 and for a vessel laden with bananas sailing from Ecuador to Europe the distance saved 

 is about 8,000 kilometers ( 5,000 miles ) . I mainly doodle when it comes to the 

 visualization of a problem and bring forth a with a set of questions in order to prompt 

 PEER - GRADED ASSIGNMENT : REFLECTION 1 

 for discussion and allow a a diﬀerent group of stakeholders to learn from each other in 

 the process of deﬁning the scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships 

 between all the points to consider when identifying opportunities and pain points that 

 may give for improvements or solutions related to our main service which impacts 

 directly on Global Maritime Commerce . 

 Application 

 We use something similar to a straw man graphic for our layout . To develop the 

 graphic , we collect any existing material available to understand the environment . The 

 existing material may be from procedure docs to marketing communication material , 

 news , etc . If it provides additional help , we use previous research to reinforce the 

 notion that every service is tied together to interact and internal processes enable the 

 organization to provide our services eﬃciently . Then , a template is developed with a 

 column on the left to identify Partners and other players within our organization , labor 

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

 organization operates . While using a simple template and using simple shapes and 

 icons available in our design database or on the Internet . If this view does n’t work , then 

 I will create a diﬀerent type of visual that better suits our purpose . For the activity , I 

 create small clusters of 4 - 3 participants each representing a diﬀerent organization or 

 area of interest . Each group receives a poster - size copy of the template that they can 

 write on directly , or use sticky notes to make comments . I give them a couple of simple 

 questions to answer , such as : 1 ) What ’s missing 2 ) What would you change in order to 

 ﬁt your “ problem space ” ? 3 ) What key insights come as a result of this ? Then , I provide 

 15 - 20 minutes to discuss all the questions and mark up the spaces in the graph . Then I 

 have each group report out on their answers to those questions while pointing to the 

 PEER - GRADED ASSIGNMENT : REFLECTION 2 

 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 bring everything 

 together in order to create a revised layout that incorporates all feedback and 

 proposed changes that the group agreed to . 

 Insight & Approach 

 This is what I have learned from this experience regarding multiple groups : It ’s 

 crucial that they have a clear understanding of the situation they as a group are 

 working to solve , the more valuable aspect of the activity is found in shared insights 

 and shared learning that happens during the process . 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 . 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 . 

 They can also identify other variables – 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 . 

 Next time , I would switch it up and use the visualization activity as a starting point 

 for most of our design thinking activities . Then the revised end product that 

 incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a cool reference for current and 

 future work . This way , with every upcoming meeting or activity with the teams , they 

 have a better understanding of the process and even incorporate it to their work 

 culture . 

 PEER - GRADED ASSIGNMENT : REFLECTION 3 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Said Catania
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: Said Catania 

 Peer - graded Assignment : Reﬂection 

 October 13 , 2020 

 Using Visualization 

 As a tool for improving our projects 

 To share an understanding of a problem or situation among a very diﬀerent group 

 or set of target audiences , I rely on Visualization . Having a Branding / Design 

 background , taking a Visual Thinking approach comes natural before attempting to 

 identify and deﬁne possible solutions to each problem presented . I use this approach 

 often with our internal customers / stakeholders , who are diﬀerent units working to 

 apply either technological or operational innovations to improve on their mission or 

 the delivery of the cluster of services to our customers . I work at The Panama Canal . 

 We cater to the Maritime Industry . Our clients are shippers of all kinds . To give you 

 some perspective , by providing a short , relatively inexpensive passageway between 

 these two great bodies of water , the Canal has inﬂuenced world trade patterns , 

 spurred growth in developed countries , and has been a primary impetus for economic 

 expansion in many remote areas of the world . For example , a vessel laden with coal 

 sailing from the east coast of the United States to Japan via the Panama Canal saves 

 about 4,800 kilometers ( 3,000 miles ) versus the shortest alternative all - water route , 

 and for a vessel laden with bananas sailing from Ecuador to Europe the distance saved 

 is about 8,000 kilometers ( 5,000 miles ) . I mainly doodle when it comes to the 

 visualization of a problem and bring forth a with a set of questions in order to prompt 

 PEER - GRADED ASSIGNMENT : REFLECTION 1 

 for discussion and allow a a diﬀerent group of stakeholders to learn from each other in 

 the process of deﬁning the scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships 

 between all the points to consider when identifying opportunities and pain points that 

 may give for improvements or solutions related to our main service which impacts 

 directly on Global Maritime Commerce . 

 Application 

 We use something similar to a straw man graphic for our layout . To develop the 

 graphic , we collect any existing material available to understand the environment . The 

 existing material may be from procedure docs to marketing communication material , 

 news , etc . If it provides additional help , we use previous research to reinforce the 

 notion that every service is tied together to interact and internal processes enable the 

 organization to provide our services eﬃciently . Then , a template is developed with a 

 column on the left to identify Partners and other players within our organization , labor 

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

 organization operates . While using a simple template and using simple shapes and 

 icons available in our design database or on the Internet . If this view does n’t work , then 

 I will create a diﬀerent type of visual that better suits our purpose . For the activity , I 

 create small clusters of 4 - 3 participants each representing a diﬀerent organization or 

 area of interest . Each group receives a poster - size copy of the template that they can 

 write on directly , or use sticky notes to make comments . I give them a couple of simple 

 questions to answer , such as : 1 ) What ’s missing 2 ) What would you change in order to 

 ﬁt your “ problem space ” ? 3 ) What key insights come as a result of this ? Then , I provide 

 15 - 20 minutes to discuss all the questions and mark up the spaces in the graph . Then I 

 have each group report out on their answers to those questions while pointing to the 

 PEER - GRADED ASSIGNMENT : REFLECTION 2 

 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 bring everything 

 together in order to create a revised layout that incorporates all feedback and 

 proposed changes that the group agreed to . 

 Insight & Approach 

 This is what I have learned from this experience regarding multiple groups : It ’s 

 crucial that they have a clear understanding of the situation they as a group are 

 working to solve , the more valuable aspect of the activity is found in shared insights 

 and shared learning that happens during the process . 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 . 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 . 

 They can also identify other variables – 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 . 

 Next time , I would switch it up and use the visualization activity as a starting point 

 for most of our design thinking activities . Then the revised end product that 

 incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a cool reference for current and 

 future work . This way , with every upcoming meeting or activity with the teams , they 

 have a better understanding of the process and even incorporate it to their work 

 culture . 

 PEER - GRADED ASSIGNMENT : REFLECTION 3
### Output: 