Reflection – Mind Mapping 

 Challenge & Selection 

 I was auditing this course to get some pointers on product design while I was working with three of   my friends / ex - colleagues on an ecommerce product idea that we felt would be relevant for one of   the developing countries in Asia . This idea involved passing on the maximum of the profit margins to   the customers in a structured manner ( in form of cashback ) . 

 At the initial stage , we had interviewed few users in various age / income group(s ) to get a view on   their needs while they shop online / offline for daily needs , many times observing how they use the   existing products and how they give importance to specific functions as well as issues they are   facing . We also use the rival products ourselves and related to our shopping experiences to get   insights on what could be missing or can be improved . 

 In the next stage , while we are working on possible features to be included in the prototype   ( minimum viable product ) , we agreed on using mind mapping technique . Rationale for this decision   was that this technique , we felt , would help us to put in perspective the data that we had collected   to collectively agree on the unstated needs of the personas we spoke to and come up with   innovative ideas to fulfil theses needs . Our ultimate aim was to agree on top priority features that   we need to include in our prototype to test it with our ‘ key users ’ . I could related to the solution that   we were looking for in ‘ Module 3 ’ of the course where the trainer mentioned that mind mapping   technique can be used for identifying patterns & themes from your data . 

 Application 

 We started this process by gathering in our work room ( spare room that we had used to put story   boards during our data collection stage ) . Most of the data was available on boards that we have   captured during interviews , research as well as discussions we had done within the team , and it was   spread un - mapped across various boards . 

 We then asked the team members ( total 6 – four team members and 2 developer interns ) to go   through each board and note down the ideas / pointers that they feel would help to form new   patterns or innovative features for the personas we have studied . We allowed 45 mins for this step . 

 We then took a short break and gathered again to create a mind map of the ideas / themes that we   have noted down individually . This was done as per the guidelines given in the course module 3 –   one of the team member started with a theme and placing his notes related to the theme on the   mind - mapping board . This was followed by other team members placing their notes to the same   theme . This was followed by the next member presenting a theme and he and everyone placing   their notes for this theme on the board . We allowed the concept of theme and feature to be   interchangeable as our aim was to come up with key features to be included in our prototype . We   took two hours for this step . 

 Once this step was completed , we worked together to come up with a one sentence description of   each theme or feature into a key product feature that we can related to the product that we plan to   build . Each of the product features that were put in the mind - map was then rated by each team   member as either - High , Medium and Low which helped us to come with a prioritized product   backlog of key new / innovative features that we could include in our prototype . The highest - ranking   features could be included in the minimum viable product ( MVP ) . 

 Insights & Approach 

 While we did this mind mapping exercise together as a team , we learned that using this technique is   more efficient and a structural way to process the huge amount of data that we had collected to   come up with key themes and ideas than the erstwhile linear / brain storming methods that we had   early to achieve the same purpose . Processing the data can be a quiet time consuming and stressful   task and get un - productive if a collaborative approach is not used hence killing the creativity of the   team while working on a new product idea . We found this technique efficient in coming up with   innovative themes at the same keeping shared understating between the team members . 

 Design thinking techniques , as a whole , we found that is about following a structured way to   innovative on the problems faced by customers , or fulfilling underlying needs that they have and   mind mapping is very effective to get creative heads together to achieve this goal by keeping shared   understanding at the base . 

 If I get an opportunity to apply mind mapping techniques again with my team or the organization   that I am working in as lead Business Analyst , I would try to get a bigger and diverse team of   ‘ shoppers ’ to do participate in exercise to ensure to get more creative ideas / themes to the problem   that we are trying to solve , and come up with clear design criteria for the product / solution that we   are trying to build . 


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 & Selection 

 I was auditing this course to get some pointers on product design while I was working with three of   my friends / ex - colleagues on an ecommerce product idea that we felt would be relevant for one of   the developing countries in Asia . This idea involved passing on the maximum of the profit margins to   the customers in a structured manner ( in form of cashback ) . 

 At the initial stage , we had interviewed few users in various age / income group(s ) to get a view on   their needs while they shop online / offline for daily needs , many times observing how they use the   existing products and how they give importance to specific functions as well as issues they are   facing . We also use the rival products ourselves and related to our shopping experiences to get   insights on what could be missing or can be improved . 

 In the next stage , while we are working on possible features to be included in the prototype   ( minimum viable product ) , we agreed on using mind mapping technique . Rationale for this decision   was that this technique , we felt , would help us to put in perspective the data that we had collected   to collectively agree on the unstated needs of the personas we spoke to and come up with   innovative ideas to fulfil theses needs . Our ultimate aim was to agree on top priority features that   we need to include in our prototype to test it with our ‘ key users ’ . I could related to the solution that   we were looking for in ‘ Module 3 ’ of the course where the trainer mentioned that mind mapping   technique can be used for identifying patterns & themes from your data . 

 Application 

 We started this process by gathering in our work room ( spare room that we had used to put story   boards during our data collection stage ) . Most of the data was available on boards that we have   captured during interviews , research as well as discussions we had done within the team , and it was   spread un - mapped across various boards . 

 We then asked the team members ( total 6 – four team members and 2 developer interns ) to go   through each board and note down the ideas / pointers that they feel would help to form new   patterns or innovative features for the personas we have studied . We allowed 45 mins for this step . 

 We then took a short break and gathered again to create a mind map of the ideas / themes that we   have noted down individually . This was done as per the guidelines given in the course module 3 –   one of the team member started with a theme and placing his notes related to the theme on the   mind - mapping board . This was followed by other team members placing their notes to the same   theme . This was followed by the next member presenting a theme and he and everyone placing   their notes for this theme on the board . We allowed the concept of theme and feature to be   interchangeable as our aim was to come up with key features to be included in our prototype . We   took two hours for this step . 

 Once this step was completed , we worked together to come up with a one sentence description of   each theme or feature into a key product feature that we can related to the product that we plan to   build . Each of the product features that were put in the mind - map was then rated by each team   member as either - High , Medium and Low which helped us to come with a prioritized product   backlog of key new / innovative features that we could include in our prototype . The highest - ranking   features could be included in the minimum viable product ( MVP ) . 

 Insights & Approach 

 While we did this mind mapping exercise together as a team , we learned that using this technique is   more efficient and a structural way to process the huge amount of data that we had collected to   come up with key themes and ideas than the erstwhile linear / brain storming methods that we had   early to achieve the same purpose . Processing the data can be a quiet time consuming and stressful   task and get un - productive if a collaborative approach is not used hence killing the creativity of the   team while working on a new product idea . We found this technique efficient in coming up with   innovative themes at the same keeping shared understating between the team members . 

 Design thinking techniques , as a whole , we found that is about following a structured way to   innovative on the problems faced by customers , or fulfilling underlying needs that they have and   mind mapping is very effective to get creative heads together to achieve this goal by keeping shared   understanding at the base . 

 If I get an opportunity to apply mind mapping techniques again with my team or the organization   that I am working in as lead Business Analyst , I would try to get a bigger and diverse team of   ‘ shoppers ’ to do participate in exercise to ensure to get more creative ideas / themes to the problem   that we are trying to solve , and come up with clear design criteria for the product / solution that we   are trying to build .
### Output: 