VISUALIZATION

Challenge

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 U.S. citizens,  businesses, and non-citizens.

Selection

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 doesn’t work, then I will create a different type of visual, either based on a  high-level process flow with swim lanes for different stakeholders, or another format.

Insight

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

VISUALIZATION

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 don’t know, in what  areas they need to obtain information or data to provide the values for the variables.

Approach

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  throughout the remainder of their work.

