CHALLENGE

There was a problem of stray cows wandering in the village destroying crops ready to be harvested both  food grains and vegetables. These cattle were left loose by the owners after they have stopped giving  milk or the owners could not afford to feed them. There was a need for creating a shelter for these cows  before the next crop season which was four months away. The department of development was  assigned this task and the deadline was given. The relevant data was collected. The number of stray  cows was estimated to be 200 in the village with approximately half cows and half bulls. the bulls and  the cows had to be kept separate as the former turns violent and harms the cows. They had to be  protected from rain, cold and heat. They required fodder, water and adequate medical care. Their waste  had to be frequently removed so as to keep the place hygiene. They require grazing area so that they  can spread out and find food for themselves. In case of death, the bodies should be properly disposed  off. Last but not the least the cow shelter had to be sustainable to serve cattle for generations to come.

SELECTION

I being the head of the department of development chose the VISUALISATION tool. I chose it for two  reasons. The project needed time bound action and had to be completed within the deadline given. the  second reason was that the staff had to bring in resources from different places an sources and this was  a first project of its kind where they are working in a mission mode.

APPLICATION

I chose four stages of the development of a plant, viz seed stage, germination, flowering and fruit  development for the visualization. Four stages were chosen as we had four months to complete the  project. I drew a seed, a sapling, a flower and a fruit on the white board. And I named the four months  as month of the seed, sapling, flower and fruit.  I likened the seed to the preparation stage – collection  of raw materials needed for the project, the sapling stage when the structure becomes visible on the  land, the flowering stage when the shelter takes off and the fruit stage to make economies of scale and  make the project sustainable in the long run. The first two stages were the most challenging and I  reminded them the greater effort needed to be put in during the same. So the team was asked to think  about the different requirements in each stage and four groups of four staff were made. They were then  asked to post stick it notes below each stage on the board of their ideas and concepts. We got many  common notes and we eliminated the repetition. There was a compilation and the staff was divided for  each month with a specific set of activities to be done by them. The staffs were given a printed to do  chart with the pictures on top. They were called for review after two weeks to track progress and do  course correction wherever needed. The tool was helpful to some extent as it helped in effective brain  storming and helped in activating the staff in the initial stage.

INSIGHT

I had this insight that the task was indeed challenging and tough and the staff was overworked and often  bored with routine job. The project involved multiple stakeholders with complicated interlinkages and  many other departments needed to be coordinated. So I wanted to create an environment to spur their

imagination, bring out their creativity, efficiency and a sense of ownership for successfully completing  the same. I thought that one of the tools of design thinking may be tried.

APPROACH

This tool was good enough in this kind of project. But it failed to capture the relations between different  stake holders. I might also try mind mapping next time.

