Reflection – Visualization

Challenge & Selection

In the company that I work for, we are responsible for crafting of solutions as well as the overseeing  of their delivery. The company is a big corporation, and with most big corporations achieving  consensus on the definitions of problems and the associated solutions created for them is an  incredibly difficult task. The set of stakeholders is immensely diverse, ranging from the Executives  who fund the initiatives all the way through to the engineers who must implement the solution. I  have found the solutions are often criticised or debated again and again, depending on which set of  stakeholders view the design. This has led to solutions simply missing their window of opportunity  and / or becoming massively expensive due to rework post the initial designs.

I have utilized the tool of Visualization to create a shared understanding and agreement on what the  problem is, as well as the possible solutions thereto. I used the technique of component and process  visualization, as a mechanism to allow for collaboration between this diverse set of stakeholders to  create a shared understanding of the problem, from different viewpoints, as well as a shared  understanding and agreement on the trajectory of the solution.

Application

I start the process by creating the stereotyped actors (Customer, Company User, etc), and then  proceeding to create a Component map of all the components (software, hardware, processes,  interactions, that are of interest in defining the problem. I use all of the material available to me,  including previous visualisation diagrams as well as interviews with existing subject matter experts  and existing stakeholders. I then create a process / interaction overlay that indicate how the actors  and / or components interact with each other.

For the activity I assemble a group with a key representative from every area of interest (e.g.:  Shipping, Finance, Customer Support, User Experience, Infrastructure, etc) . I have found it to be  very important to have a diverse set of stakeholders to ensure proper articulation of the initial  problem and to set a trajectory on the potential solutions. I start with presenting a pre-created  diagram of the problem statement to my understanding, which we will use as a basis for our  discussion. We then transition to collaboratively shape our collective understanding using  collaborative whiteboarding. Facilitation is key here, as it’s very important to ensure that everyone’s  voice and thoughts are brought into the design. Everyone can / should get a turn to articulate their  thoughts.

I have found that the use of colours to represent different states (e.g.: correct / incorrect; good /  bad; exists / changed / new) enhances the visualisation’s depth and understandability.

Post this initial session, I document the findings and potential solution options into a presentation  format that can easily be distributed to other stakeholders. This also acts as a record of the current  state of shared understanding and can be used as the basis for further visualization collaborations.

I then hold further sessions with specific groups of stakeholders like the engineering team or the  sponsors if a specific area needs to be drilled down into more detail.

Insight & Approach

In conducting workshops with Visualization being the key tool, I have learned that the creation of a  shared visual representation of the problem and the possible solutions leads to a sense of shared  ownership for the problem and the resolution thereof. This facilitates ease of shareholder ‘buy-in’  because they were part of the definition of the potential solutions.

The creation of an initial view of actor stereotypes, components and process expedites the process  since there is immediately something to ‘point at’. The use of collaborative whiteboarding (if  facilitated correctly) can lead to the feeling of inclusion, as everyone can have turns at articulating  their thoughts.

When people feel included in the process, where they are given opportunity to express their ideas  visually and with people listening attentively, they develop a sense of ownership for the solution.

In future workshops I may introduce an actual facilitator, as facilitation of the sessions often detracts  from thinking about the problem and the solution in-depth, and hampers collaboration.

I have learned during this exercise that, even though we have been doing visualisation in pockets  and in some respects, I haven’t given thought at just how important it is, and how much better we  must become at it.

