Challenge & Selection

The biggest challenge that could ever think when we hear design thinking is how we picture out the

ideas we want to share to our peers and colleagues. Sometimes, just discussion using words and sentences  is still not enough to make them understand and emphasize the things we want to share with them and the  most effective way is to make a picture of it and explain it to them visually.

Visualization never required a person to be good in drawing or painting. It only requires your idea,

your solution, the processes you need in order to solve the problem and your possible output. Anybody can  visualize, just like in English it only involves the 4Ws and 1H. What, when, where, why and how. A person  should not limit themselves whenever they want to discuss their ideas because as long as they have these  4Ws and 1H, they can start to visualize things.

The tool that I used was Visualization, to present all my ideas in a way that my peers could

understand easily by using graphs and other visual appealing materials. This tool is very important especially  when you are attempting to think of how a problem is to be solved and explaining to your peers what could  be the possible output you might get when you try visualizing things. I often use this tool in ideas exchange  and making alternative solutions in innovation.

Since today is age of technology, the very first part to do is to make an overview – a picture of your

solutions that can be integrated in your innovation. I have used a graphical hierarchy of SME’s (Small and  Medium Enterprises) which can be benefited by my idea of innovation. By this, I can see the flow of how the  process would be. Normally, flowcharts and process flows are also used in visualization to explain the  process in a more understandable way.

I also used the 4Ws and 1H to make things easier. What – refers what will be the idea/innovation

would be, where – refers what kind of interface or platform that my idea would be applied, when – refers the  timeline or the Gantt chart to be used in order to make the innovation, why – refers to the reason why this  innovation must be implemented and how – refers to the process and what are the things to be used to make  this one possible. By integrating all of this, I already made a concrete picture of the innovation I want to  achieve.

Application

I’m taking this for example. I start the visualization by grouping the people that could take advantage

to the application I am supposed to create. It is important to know who the people that would take most out  of it for they are the reason why you are making an innovation at the very first place. So they are grouped by  3, the main users who could use all the features of the application, Secondary users are people who are  limited but can use most of the features and View-only users are people that could only monitor all the  processes of the application and has a very limited use. This method is not to limit the users but to be also  considerate of any security breaches that could happen since the initial idea is about Business which requires  strict security. This method is like in networking AD Groups. Each of them has corresponding username and  accounts and by that the application would specify/know which would be the main users (Managers),  Secondary (Supervisors), and View-only (Clerk or Cashier).

Second, the breakdown of all the main feature that can be seen in the application was identified and

enumerated. I put them into chart and list all the possible features that can be used. For example – For  Managers (Pay Bills, Monthly Income, Generate Reports). After identifying all the possible main feature, they  are broken down into sub-features in order to think for the view of the 2 users. This method is very effective  when you don’t have a finalized picture. It helps you think broadly by making sub categories and breaking  down the things you want to integrate on your application. At first you need to think big, but as you get deeper  to your idea, you should know how to cut your ideas so that you can have a back-up idea when change  comes.

After breaking down the features, a wireframe is generated. Wireframe is like a draft of the User

Interface of the application. It may not be finalized but it helps one visualize the placings of the buttons, texts,  features and cursors. This type of method will never limit you on thinking of the design of your UI. You should  also be considerate of the 3 users you have specified earlier by thinking of the appropriate size of the text,  buttons and color of the UI. I always make sure that the first thing I consider when making an interface is the  users because they are the one that would use your application. The interface should be user friendly and  appropriate to their age and that’s the job of a wireframe. To picture out what your application would looked  even in a simple draft of drawing.

After making a wireframe, I specified which interface the application will be created. Is it android

mobile app? Is it a desktop app (windows or linux)? Is it for windows phone? Or IOS? Those are the questions  that could be ones guide in creating an application. As of today, most people are android users so I go for  the android application. I also considered the budget and the difficulty of the process of making one.

Lastly, the most important of all graphical material are the flow charts and process flows. I made a

process flow of the end to end transaction of the application. Flow charts and process flow is not too different  from one another but to differentiate things, flow charts are the detailed process of each module of the  application. How the data is passed using shapes and lines to make it more understandable to the people  who are reading it. While process flows are the summary of the flow chart. It is more like an end to end flow  of the application by also using shapes. These graphical representations are normally made using Visio and  are also very important in documenting your application for future alterations and updates.

Insight and Approach

While there are many ways to share your ideas to other people, visualization is still the most effective

for me. It feels like you are showing them what you really want to do and what you really mean to the idea  you are sharing. Like now, most people get easily bored by reading and listening, showing them a picture will  make your presentation more fun and understandable. By this you could also get their feedback if they have  better picture than what you have already pictured. Like I always think, people should not limit their ideas  because they can’t have a concrete picture of it. If you ever have thought like that, you should try sharing it  by using visualization and ask for their feedback.

Since people are afraid to speak up with other people, I would use this activity for ideas exchange

and innovation so that I can start to think out of the box. People got different ideas and by sharing mine  through picture, a good start is by asking for other recommendations that could make me to think more  broadly while having interaction with other people. Because one of the most important aspect of innovation  is not only output, but also the inputs of other people that could make your innovation better and more  possible.

