Reflection – Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to achieve a shared   understanding of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting   to identify and define possible solutions to the problem . I use this approach often with our   customers , who are government agencies working to apply technology innovations to   modernize their mission or the delivery of their services to their customer , which may be   Indian citizens , businesses , and non - citizens . I have used the technique of using a straw man   visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for discussion to allow   a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining the   scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships between elements to consider when   identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions . 

 Application 

 I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain . To develop the   straw man graphic , I will draw from any existing material available to understand the   environment . The existing material may be operational or procedural documents , training   materials , marketing materials , GAO or other auditing reports . If materials are not available ,   then I conduct informal interviews with one - three of the stakeholders who serve as my   main points of contact on the initiative . 

 If appropriate to the situation , I will borrow the concept to “ front - stage / back - stage ” from   previous research , and discussed in David Gray ’s book , “ The Connected Company ” . The   front - stage / back - stage approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an   internal service – has customers with whom the service provider interacts and internal   processes that enable the organization to provide the service . The template I often start   with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value Chain Providers and a   column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations , such as Congress , GAO , labor   unions , advocacy groups , and other entities that may add constraints to how the   organization operates . The straw man graphic is simple , using simple shapes and icons   available in Visio or on the Internet . If the front - stage / back - stage view does n’t work , then I 

 Commented [ sc1 ] : 

 will create a different type of visual , either based on a high - level process flow with swim   lanes for different stakeholders , or another format . 

 For the activity , I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5 - 6 participants each   representing a different organization or area of interest . Each group receives a poster - size   copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly , or use sticky notes to make   comments . 

 I give them two - three questions to answer , such as : 1 ) What key elements are missing from   the graphic ? 2 ) What would you change about the graphic to make it more accurately   reflect your problem space ? 3 ) What key insights do you have about the relationships   between the entities in your problem space ? I give them approximately 20 minutes to   discuss the questions and mark up the graphic . Then I have each group report out on their   answers to those three questions while pointing to the 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 digitize each group ’s poster as an artifact , create a view that   combines the shared and new insights from the group discussion , and then create a revised   graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a   group . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the   graphic – especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for   reinforcing their understanding of the problem they are working to solve , the more valuable   aspect of the activity is the shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are   working to define their problem space . 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 . While they could create the graphic from a   blank slate in a collaborative manner , starting with a straw man jump starts the   conversation for them . They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they   are missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key   entities instead of taking time to identify them . They can also identify variables in the   problem space – 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 . Since I discovered   that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning , next time I would use the   visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities . Then the   revised graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool for   reminder . 


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 – Visualization 

 Challenge & Selection 

 The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization , or Visual Thinking , to achieve a shared   understanding of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting   to identify and define possible solutions to the problem . I use this approach often with our   customers , who are government agencies working to apply technology innovations to   modernize their mission or the delivery of their services to their customer , which may be   Indian citizens , businesses , and non - citizens . I have used the technique of using a straw man   visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for discussion to allow   a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining the   scope , boundaries , key elements , and relationships between elements to consider when   identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions . 

 Application 

 I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain . To develop the   straw man graphic , I will draw from any existing material available to understand the   environment . The existing material may be operational or procedural documents , training   materials , marketing materials , GAO or other auditing reports . If materials are not available ,   then I conduct informal interviews with one - three of the stakeholders who serve as my   main points of contact on the initiative . 

 If appropriate to the situation , I will borrow the concept to “ front - stage / back - stage ” from   previous research , and discussed in David Gray ’s book , “ The Connected Company ” . The   front - stage / back - stage approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an   internal service – has customers with whom the service provider interacts and internal   processes that enable the organization to provide the service . The template I often start   with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value Chain Providers and a   column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations , such as Congress , GAO , labor   unions , advocacy groups , and other entities that may add constraints to how the   organization operates . The straw man graphic is simple , using simple shapes and icons   available in Visio or on the Internet . If the front - stage / back - stage view does n’t work , then I 

 Commented [ sc1 ] : 

 will create a different type of visual , either based on a high - level process flow with swim   lanes for different stakeholders , or another format . 

 For the activity , I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5 - 6 participants each   representing a different organization or area of interest . Each group receives a poster - size   copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly , or use sticky notes to make   comments . 

 I give them two - three questions to answer , such as : 1 ) What key elements are missing from   the graphic ? 2 ) What would you change about the graphic to make it more accurately   reflect your problem space ? 3 ) What key insights do you have about the relationships   between the entities in your problem space ? I give them approximately 20 minutes to   discuss the questions and mark up the graphic . Then I have each group report out on their   answers to those three questions while pointing to the 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 digitize each group ’s poster as an artifact , create a view that   combines the shared and new insights from the group discussion , and then create a revised   graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a   group . 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the   graphic – especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for   reinforcing their understanding of the problem they are working to solve , the more valuable   aspect of the activity is the shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are   working to define their problem space . 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 . While they could create the graphic from a   blank slate in a collaborative manner , starting with a straw man jump starts the   conversation for them . They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they   are missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key   entities instead of taking time to identify them . They can also identify variables in the   problem space – 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 . Since I discovered   that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning , next time I would use the   visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities . Then the   revised graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool for   reminder .
### Output: 