Challenge & Selection 

 I work for a research and development lab for a company that specializes in making 

 temperature control equipment , and one of our goals is finding new applications of temperature   control in new markets and products . Once we ’ve found a potential avenue to pursue , our next   step is to find potential users and speak with them to determine if there exists an opportunity for   us to work with them . While eventually we ’ll have one on one interviews with potential users , we   first need to identify who our users are and intuit insights about their experiences . 

 After initial research into what pain points exist for the cohort of users , we construct 

 avatars that are potentially representative of one or more typical users . From there , we talk with   users in any setting we can : on the job , at a conference , through social media . What we want is   to determine how firm our grasp of the user is via the avatar . To that end , we will start by   describing to a potential user what we believe to be our avatar ’s experience with the product ,   service , or process that the user also uses or participates in . From there we have a discussion   about their experiences and their pain points and how similar or dissimilar theirs are compared   to the avatar . From there we can organically have discussions that lead to us determining what   solution can be developed that 

 What we ’ve found is that how we convey to the potential user the experience of the 

 avatar is critical to having engaging dialogue with them . Storytelling is the way we engage with   someone and form a connection with them in order to convey information to them effectively . A   simple presentation may seem like an efficient way to deliver information to a customer , like   product features and the value proposition it brings to them . But people do n’t engage very well   with a dry presentation like that . And when trying to bring people on board with our mission , we   need to get them to want to participate . And that ’s where good storytelling is crucial to our work .     Application 

 On a previous project , we were trying to find users of the prototype that we were actively 

 developing . Our first attempt to reach out to people involved preparing flyers detailing the   features of the product , how it could fit in their lives , and how they could contact us to be part of   our trial launch . We went to an event and approached people , flyers in hand , only to come away   empty handed and with no one willing to participate . We realized after that we had completely   failed to connect with people on an emotional level , and instead alienated them . 

 After that failure , we reassessed our approach . One of our engineers had a relative that 

 was a potential user of the product . And so after a conversation with them , we created an avatar   of a typical user of the product , based on the person we talked with . With that avatar at our   disposal , we tried again with much increasing success . By recounting the story of the avatar to   others , we were able use that as a jumping board to spur further conversation . People could   identify with the avatar , at least in part , and by them telling us how similar their experience was ,   they further opened up about the kind of problems they were having and together we could   come up with what qualities and features a solution would need to suit their situation . Each   discussion allowed us to refine the avatar , as well as come up with additional ones .     Insight 

 By making our process more human focused , people opened up to use more readily , 

 were more willing to participate in the tests and trials we ran , and most importantly they became   invested in the success of the project , some even reaching out to us for updates and asking   how else they can help . 

 What surprised us was that having the avatar as a vehicle not only made it easier to 

 connect with people , but just having it at all was enough to get them engaged . We were n’t very   skilled at the start with telling the story , but having the story at all made it easier . By refining our   technique , we found we did n't need a very elaborate story , just one that was easier to identify   with . Clearly laying out the experience of the avatar was all we really needed to get people on   board with us .     Approach 

 We are attempting a similar approach with our upcoming projects : creating avatars of 

 what we suspect are typical users . With the current environment , however , we are facing   challenges in telling the story . While we could tell the story of an avatar in a couple minutes in   person , a different approach is needed with more remote methods of communication . 

 We ’re trying to adapt the method to be used in online forums and via phone calls . Except 

 while it ’s relatively easy to reach out to people at events , since it ’s expected behavior , reaching   out to people online or through cold and warm calling has different expectations . Online is   proving exceptionally challenging , since it ’s harder to make sure we stay on track in an   asynchronistic messaging platform . 


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: Challenge & Selection 

 I work for a research and development lab for a company that specializes in making 

 temperature control equipment , and one of our goals is finding new applications of temperature   control in new markets and products . Once we ’ve found a potential avenue to pursue , our next   step is to find potential users and speak with them to determine if there exists an opportunity for   us to work with them . While eventually we ’ll have one on one interviews with potential users , we   first need to identify who our users are and intuit insights about their experiences . 

 After initial research into what pain points exist for the cohort of users , we construct 

 avatars that are potentially representative of one or more typical users . From there , we talk with   users in any setting we can : on the job , at a conference , through social media . What we want is   to determine how firm our grasp of the user is via the avatar . To that end , we will start by   describing to a potential user what we believe to be our avatar ’s experience with the product ,   service , or process that the user also uses or participates in . From there we have a discussion   about their experiences and their pain points and how similar or dissimilar theirs are compared   to the avatar . From there we can organically have discussions that lead to us determining what   solution can be developed that 

 What we ’ve found is that how we convey to the potential user the experience of the 

 avatar is critical to having engaging dialogue with them . Storytelling is the way we engage with   someone and form a connection with them in order to convey information to them effectively . A   simple presentation may seem like an efficient way to deliver information to a customer , like   product features and the value proposition it brings to them . But people do n’t engage very well   with a dry presentation like that . And when trying to bring people on board with our mission , we   need to get them to want to participate . And that ’s where good storytelling is crucial to our work .     Application 

 On a previous project , we were trying to find users of the prototype that we were actively 

 developing . Our first attempt to reach out to people involved preparing flyers detailing the   features of the product , how it could fit in their lives , and how they could contact us to be part of   our trial launch . We went to an event and approached people , flyers in hand , only to come away   empty handed and with no one willing to participate . We realized after that we had completely   failed to connect with people on an emotional level , and instead alienated them . 

 After that failure , we reassessed our approach . One of our engineers had a relative that 

 was a potential user of the product . And so after a conversation with them , we created an avatar   of a typical user of the product , based on the person we talked with . With that avatar at our   disposal , we tried again with much increasing success . By recounting the story of the avatar to   others , we were able use that as a jumping board to spur further conversation . People could   identify with the avatar , at least in part , and by them telling us how similar their experience was ,   they further opened up about the kind of problems they were having and together we could   come up with what qualities and features a solution would need to suit their situation . Each   discussion allowed us to refine the avatar , as well as come up with additional ones .     Insight 

 By making our process more human focused , people opened up to use more readily , 

 were more willing to participate in the tests and trials we ran , and most importantly they became   invested in the success of the project , some even reaching out to us for updates and asking   how else they can help . 

 What surprised us was that having the avatar as a vehicle not only made it easier to 

 connect with people , but just having it at all was enough to get them engaged . We were n’t very   skilled at the start with telling the story , but having the story at all made it easier . By refining our   technique , we found we did n't need a very elaborate story , just one that was easier to identify   with . Clearly laying out the experience of the avatar was all we really needed to get people on   board with us .     Approach 

 We are attempting a similar approach with our upcoming projects : creating avatars of 

 what we suspect are typical users . With the current environment , however , we are facing   challenges in telling the story . While we could tell the story of an avatar in a couple minutes in   person , a different approach is needed with more remote methods of communication . 

 We ’re trying to adapt the method to be used in online forums and via phone calls . Except 

 while it ’s relatively easy to reach out to people at events , since it ’s expected behavior , reaching   out to people online or through cold and warm calling has different expectations . Online is   proving exceptionally challenging , since it ’s harder to make sure we stay on track in an   asynchronistic messaging platform .
### Output: 