Coursera:​ ​ ​Design​ ​Thinking​ ​for​ ​Innovation  Final​ ​Assignment

-MIND​ ​MAPPING-

CHALLENGE  After​ ​8​ ​years​ ​serving​ ​as​ ​a​ ​Public​ ​Health​ ​Officer​ ​in​ ​Washington,​ ​DC.,​ ​I​ ​made​ ​a​ ​conscious  decision​ ​to​ ​pivot​ ​my​ ​career​ ​to​ ​design​ ​and​ ​technology.​ ​ ​In​ ​2009,​ ​I​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​California​ ​and  recently​ ​began​ ​working​ ​at​ ​a​ ​digital​ ​design​ ​agency.​ ​ ​This​ ​course​ ​is​ ​part​ ​of​ ​my​ ​initial​ ​training.      Our​ ​agency​ ​was​ ​asked​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​a​ ​creative​ ​pitch​ ​for​ ​a​ ​large​ ​technology​ ​company​ ​(hereafter  referred​ ​to​ ​as​ SSRK Company ​but​ ​was​ ​given​ ​less​ ​than​ ​two​ ​weeks​ ​to​ ​do​ ​it.​ ​ ​Here,​ ​time​ ​was​ ​certainly  not​ ​an​ ​ ​ally.​ ​ ​The​ ​pitch​ ​posed​ ​multiple​ ​challenges​ ​and​ ​required​ ​a​ ​unique​ ​and​ ​impactful​ ​design  thinking​ ​approach.​ ​ ​We​ ​had​ ​to​ ​present​ ​innovative​ ​methods​ ​for​ ​improving​ ​the​ ​customer  education,​ ​use​ ​and​ ​experience​ ​of​ ​Bravotech’s​ ​products.     SELECTION  For​ ​this​ ​exercise,​ ​I​ ​chose​ ​the​ ​mind​ ​mapping​ ​tool.​ ​ ​Mind​ ​mapping​ ​allows​ ​a​ ​team​ ​to​ ​discover  “patterns​ ​and​ ​insights​ ​in​ ​a​ ​large​ ​quantity​ ​of​ ​data​ ​you​ ​collected​ ​during​ ​your​ ​exploration​ ​of​ ​what​ ​is  the​ ​current​ ​reality.” ​ ​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​critical​ ​phase​ ​that​ ​allows​ ​patterns​ ​and​ ​insights​ ​to​ ​serve​ ​as​ ​design  1

criteria​ ​for​ ​the​ ​“what​ ​if”​ ​stage​ ​—​ ​a​ ​space​ ​where​ ​ideation​ ​takes​ ​place.      APPLICATION  The​ ​team​ ​had​ ​to​ ​come​ ​up​ ​with​ ​ideas​ ​that​ ​were​ ​feasible​ ​and​ ​that​ ​ ​provided​ ​a​ ​clear,​ ​strong  solution​ ​to​ ​the​ ​challenge​ ​—​ ​all​ ​while​ ​wowing​ ​Bravotech.​ ​ ​Mind​ ​mapping​ ​was​ ​implemented;  however,​ ​given​ ​the​ ​compressed​ ​timeframe,​ ​the​ ​tool​ ​was​ ​applied​ ​in​ ​a​ ​more​ ​streamlined​ ​manner.     Various​ ​team​ ​members,​ ​including​ ​myself,​ ​contributed​ ​to​ ​a​ ​research​ ​slide​ ​deck​ ​that​ ​represented  a​ ​shared​ ​assessment​ ​of​ ​Bravotech’s​ ​current​ ​reality.​ ​ ​Quantitative​ ​data,​ ​qualitative​ ​research,  personal​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​relevant​ ​industry​ ​insights​ ​were​ ​all​ ​captured​ ​in​ ​the​ ​deck,​ ​and​ ​organized  against​ ​the​ ​original​ ​problem​ ​statements.​ ​ ​Now,​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​multiple​ ​teams​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​common  themes​ ​and​ ​tying​ ​the​ ​research​ ​together​ ​—​ ​as​ ​described​ ​by​ Fernando Castro ​during​ ​the  Mind​ ​Mapping​ ​Tool​ ​lecture​ ​—​ ​one​ ​employee,​ ​“Mr.​ ​Mindmap,”​ ​was​ ​tasked​ ​with​ ​using​ ​the  research​ ​deck​ ​to​ ​quickly​ ​develop​ ​design​ ​criteria​ ​alone.​ ​ ​In​ ​essence,​ ​he​ ​individually​ ​synthesized  important​ ​patterns.​ ​ ​If​ ​we​ ​had​ ​more​ ​time,​ ​I​ ​believe​ ​a​ ​more​ ​traditional​ ​approach​ ​would​ ​have​ ​been  taken.    Mr.​ ​Mindmap​ ​impressively​ ​created​ ​and​ ​presented​ ​design​ ​criteria​ ​that​ ​included:​ ​ ​the​ ​challenge,​ ​a  guiding​ ​question,​ ​barriers,​ ​solution​ ​areas​ ​and​ ​thought​ ​starters​ ​—​ ​all​ ​meant​ ​to​ ​ignite​ ​productive  brainstorming​ ​sessions.​ ​ ​The​ ​criteria​ ​were​ ​clear,​ ​thoughtful​ ​and​ ​designed​ ​“to​ ​segue​ ​from​ ​what​ ​is

1​ ​Design​ ​Thinking​ ​for​ ​Innovation​,​ ​Week​ ​3:​ ​ ​“Mind​ ​Mapping​ ​Tool”​ ​(1:17),​ ​Coursera

to​ ​what​ ​if.” ​ ​ ​After​ ​some​ ​quick​ ​questions​ ​and​ ​inputs​ ​to​ ​slightly​ ​adjust​ ​the​ ​design​ ​criteria,​ ​our​ ​team  2

broke​ ​into​ ​smaller​ ​groups​ ​to​ ​brainstorm​ ​and​ ​use​ ​the​ ​newly-developed​ ​design​ ​criteria​ ​as​ ​guides.  Interestingly,​ ​we​ ​used​ ​mind​ ​mapping​ ​again​ ​to​ ​connect​ ​all​ ​our​ ​brainstormed​ ​ideas​ ​into​ ​themes  with​ ​strong​ ​examples​ ​and​ ​suggestions.​ ​ ​These​ ​themes​ ​were​ ​later​ ​presented​ ​to​ ​a​ ​leadership  team​ ​that​ ​refined​ ​the​ ​creative​ ​focus​ ​of​ ​the​ ​pitch.     INSIGHT  I​ ​really​ ​enjoyed​ ​my​ ​new​ ​agency’s​ ​approach​ ​to​ ​design​ ​thinking.​ ​ ​I​ ​was​ ​amazed​ ​by​ ​how​ ​quickly​ ​a  large​ ​quantity​ ​of​ ​research​ ​became​ ​excellent​ ​design​ ​criteria​ ​—​ ​which​ ​helped​ ​“align​ ​[our]  organization​ ​around​ ​a​ ​common​ ​understanding​ ​of​ ​the​ ​current​ ​reality”​ ​—​ ​and​ ​then,​ ​through​ ​the  team’s​ ​creative​ ​process,​ ​how​ ​dynamic​ ​ideas​ ​ensued. ​ ​ ​Even​ ​though​ ​mind​ ​mapping​ ​was  3

completed​ ​by​ ​one​ ​individual,​ ​it​ ​made​ ​sure​ ​we​ ​appropriately​ ​used​ ​the​ ​“what​ ​is”​ ​phase​ ​to​ ​develop  a​ ​guide​ ​for​ ​ideation​ ​that​ ​everyone​ ​followed.​ ​ ​Time​ ​was​ ​too​ ​important​ ​to​ ​allow​ ​for​ ​veering​ ​off​ ​in  the​ ​wrong​ ​direction.     My​ ​other​ ​takeaway​ ​was​ ​understanding​ ​that​ ​design​ ​thinking​ ​tools​ ​can​ ​be​ ​applied​ ​during​ ​different  stages​ ​of​ ​the​ ​creative​ ​process.​ ​ ​Using​ ​mind​ ​mapping​ ​during​ ​the​ ​“what​ ​if”​ ​phase,​ ​after  brainstorming,​ ​was​ ​very​ ​effective​ ​and​ ​kept​ ​us​ ​on​ ​the​ ​right​ ​track.    APPROACH  The​ ​team​ ​used​ ​mind​ ​mapping,​ ​but​ ​never​ ​specifically​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​the​ ​practice​ ​as​ ​“mind​ ​mapping.”  I​ ​think​ ​it​ ​is​ ​important​ ​to​ ​explicitly​ ​categorize​ ​intended​ ​actions​ ​and​ ​tools.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​particularly  relevant​ ​in​ ​a​ ​high​ ​stakes,​ ​fast-paced​ ​environment.​ ​ ​Even​ ​if​ ​you​ ​call​ ​the​ ​exercise​ ​an​ ​“accelerated  mind​ ​map”​ ​or​ ​“fast​ ​mind​ ​mapping,”​ ​in​ ​the​ ​end​ ​ ​all​ ​contributors​ ​will​ ​align​ ​on​ ​ ​the​ ​objectives​ ​of​ ​the  exercise.    My​ ​agency​ ​applied​ ​mind​ ​mapping​ ​in​ ​a​ ​unique​ ​manner​ ​and,​ ​given​ ​the​ ​situation,​ ​I​ ​think​ ​it​ ​was​ ​the  right​ ​action​ ​to​ ​take.​ ​ ​With​ ​that​ ​said,​ ​making​ ​sure​ ​people​ ​know​ ​exactly​ ​what​ ​design​ ​tool​ ​is​ ​being  applied​ ​and​ ​what​ ​stage​ ​that​ ​tool​ ​helps​ ​you​ ​transition​ ​to​ ​(such​ ​as​ ​“what​ ​is”​ ​to​ ​“what​ ​if”),​ ​is​ ​critical  to​ ​team​ ​alignment​ ​and​ ​creative​ ​success.​ ​ ​I​ ​plan​ ​on​ ​being​ ​part​ ​of​ ​a​ ​retrospective​ ​(or  post-mortem)​ ​team​ ​on​ ​this​ ​effort​ ​and​ ​will​ ​be​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​include​ ​these​ ​thoughts.     As​ ​a​ ​final​ ​note,​ ​the​ ​pitch​ ​went​ ​really​ ​well​ ​and​ ​we​ ​won​ ​the​ ​work!

2​ ​Design​ ​Thinking​ ​for​ ​Innovation​,​ ​Week​ ​3:​ ​ ​“Mind​ ​Mapping​ ​Tool”​ ​(1:17),​ ​Coursera  3​ ​Design​ ​Thinking​ ​for​ ​Innovation​,​ ​Week​ ​3:​ ​ ​“Mind​ ​Mapping​ ​Tool”​ ​(5:53),​ ​Coursera

