Visualization

Challenge     The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization, 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, businesses, and non-citizens. 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. 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.    For the activity, I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5-6 participants each  representing a different organization or area of interest. Each group receives a  poster-size copy of the straw man graphic that they can write on directly, or use  sticky notes to make comments. I give them two-three questions to answer, I give  them approximately 15 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic.  Then I have each group report out on their answers to those three questions while  pointing to the mark-ups on their poster. As each group reports out, I record  commonalities in the insights of each group, and then additional insights that come  from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic. After the session, I  digitize each group’s poster as an artifact, create a view that combines the shared  and new insights from the group discussion, and then create a revised graphic that  incorporates their feedback and proposed changes that they agreed to as a group.

Insight & Approach     I have learned from conducting this activity 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 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.    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.

