Reflection – Learning Launch 

 By : Rafaela Nasser 

 Challenge : A professional development organization had been hearing anecdotal feedback that   it was n’t communicating or sharing resources with its members effectively . The word on the   street was that they were sending way too many communications , often not even relevant to   the individual and that it was hard to find any useful resources on the existing platforms . Many   members were also younger generations and communications had not been optimized for   mobile devices ( where the majority of younger generations spend their time ) . A solution was   proposed to resolve this issue which consisted of implementing a new platform that was highly   personalized to the individual and optimized for mobile devices . This way members could   receive personalized information at their fingertips on their terms . 

 The project was viewed positively by internal staff , however minimal data existed to drive   decisions in designing the new platform . As the Project Manager , I was tasked with leading the   project team to test if these assumptions were accurate and design a platform that would add   value to members . But where should the project team start if minimal data existed to guide   decisions on design ? Also , some members of internal staff expected a big launch of the new   platform with only one chance to get it “ right ” . 

 Selection : As the project began , we realized the need to experiment and test key assumptions   given the lack of data and understanding of the membership base . I decided that a learning   launch was crucial to the success of the project . A learning launch is “ a small experiment that   tests your new idea in the real marketplace ” ( University of Darden ) . The project team had to   start somewhere and given the current environment ( lack of data , need to launch ASAP ) , the   team did not have time to gather additional data needed to drive the project . A learning launch   would allow the team to experiment with and test small ideas with actual members to gain the   insight they needed to add value for its members . In addition to engineering success on the   project , the learning launch would minimize the risk associated with a big bang launch and   allow the project team to “ fail fast ” instead of betting everything on getting it “ right ” the first   time . 

 Application : I lead the team through an effort to give some definition as to the goals of the   platform and the tactics we could use to accomplish those the goals . We then prioritized the   tactics by the value we thought they would deliver to our members . We used our best   judgement based on the data we did have . We then developed our idea in small incremental   stages of testable functionality . We rallied up a small group of members that represented 

 various age groups , backgrounds , specialty areas , genders , and demographics to conduct a   learning launch . The group of members was tasked with using the new platform . We observed   how they used the platform , analyzed data on usage , and surveyed the members after they   spent some time with the new platform . This allowed us to test our assumptions before putting   the new platform into the broader marketplace . 

 Insight : In conducting the learning launch , we realized that while we had provided value to a   specific segment of our membership base , we had not added value for a different segment of   our membership base . We realized we needed to hone in on the needs of these different   segments of members so that we could provide real value for all our members . We needed to   run additional experiments for these groups were neglected . Conducting the learning launch   made us realize that design needs may not always be universal and to really add value to our   members , we need to look at the needs of individuals and not just the group as whole . The   learning launch helped us see our members as people and allowed us to more deeply   understand their needs as humans . 

 Approach : While the learning launch was successful and allowed us to understand the needs of   various members more deeply , we realized that next time mind mapping at the beginning   would be useful . Mind mapping would help us organize ideas and needs of various segments so   that we could design with the segments of members in mind . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Rafaela Nasser
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 – Learning Launch 

 By : Rafaela Nasser 

 Challenge : A professional development organization had been hearing anecdotal feedback that   it was n’t communicating or sharing resources with its members effectively . The word on the   street was that they were sending way too many communications , often not even relevant to   the individual and that it was hard to find any useful resources on the existing platforms . Many   members were also younger generations and communications had not been optimized for   mobile devices ( where the majority of younger generations spend their time ) . A solution was   proposed to resolve this issue which consisted of implementing a new platform that was highly   personalized to the individual and optimized for mobile devices . This way members could   receive personalized information at their fingertips on their terms . 

 The project was viewed positively by internal staff , however minimal data existed to drive   decisions in designing the new platform . As the Project Manager , I was tasked with leading the   project team to test if these assumptions were accurate and design a platform that would add   value to members . But where should the project team start if minimal data existed to guide   decisions on design ? Also , some members of internal staff expected a big launch of the new   platform with only one chance to get it “ right ” . 

 Selection : As the project began , we realized the need to experiment and test key assumptions   given the lack of data and understanding of the membership base . I decided that a learning   launch was crucial to the success of the project . A learning launch is “ a small experiment that   tests your new idea in the real marketplace ” ( University of Darden ) . The project team had to   start somewhere and given the current environment ( lack of data , need to launch ASAP ) , the   team did not have time to gather additional data needed to drive the project . A learning launch   would allow the team to experiment with and test small ideas with actual members to gain the   insight they needed to add value for its members . In addition to engineering success on the   project , the learning launch would minimize the risk associated with a big bang launch and   allow the project team to “ fail fast ” instead of betting everything on getting it “ right ” the first   time . 

 Application : I lead the team through an effort to give some definition as to the goals of the   platform and the tactics we could use to accomplish those the goals . We then prioritized the   tactics by the value we thought they would deliver to our members . We used our best   judgement based on the data we did have . We then developed our idea in small incremental   stages of testable functionality . We rallied up a small group of members that represented 

 various age groups , backgrounds , specialty areas , genders , and demographics to conduct a   learning launch . The group of members was tasked with using the new platform . We observed   how they used the platform , analyzed data on usage , and surveyed the members after they   spent some time with the new platform . This allowed us to test our assumptions before putting   the new platform into the broader marketplace . 

 Insight : In conducting the learning launch , we realized that while we had provided value to a   specific segment of our membership base , we had not added value for a different segment of   our membership base . We realized we needed to hone in on the needs of these different   segments of members so that we could provide real value for all our members . We needed to   run additional experiments for these groups were neglected . Conducting the learning launch   made us realize that design needs may not always be universal and to really add value to our   members , we need to look at the needs of individuals and not just the group as whole . The   learning launch helped us see our members as people and allowed us to more deeply   understand their needs as humans . 

 Approach : While the learning launch was successful and allowed us to understand the needs of   various members more deeply , we realized that next time mind mapping at the beginning   would be useful . Mind mapping would help us organize ideas and needs of various segments so   that we could design with the segments of members in mind .
### Output: 