Example Reflection – Visualization

Challenge  Working as a facilitator for sustainable development I was assigned by a municipality with developing  a strategy to augment the modal split of bikes in the city. When I started the job, I was given the results  of a city-wide survey stating that many people would like to use their bikes more frequently in everyday  life but felt insecure because of the traffic situation. However, there was no data available on what  exactly made them feel insecure and which were the roads they didn’t feel comfortable using.

Before being able to develop a strategy and to identify concrete measures like for example separate  bike lanes or awareness campaigns, I felt I had to learn from the (to this point “anonymous mass of”)  citizens to really understand what was going on.

Tool Selection  The designer Angela Meyer states: “When we're talking and we're verbalizing things we see things  internally, but we may all be understanding the words in a slightly different way.” So, I decided not  only to bring different stakeholders together in a verbal workshop discussion but to invite them to  develop a common understanding of the challenges. One goal was to enable them to communicate  their needs and ideas very clearly.

I chose the tool of Visualization to help the people make the problem more tangible and concrete. By  using this tool, the workshop participants were able to develop shared insights and shared learnings  and to identify opportunities for improving the current situation.

I first employed the tool in a “What Is?”- and a “What if”-phase of the process, however, to cite Angela  Meyer again: “Visualization has a role to play throughout the design process or the development  process.“

Tool Application  The participants of the workshop were randomly selected citizens of all age-groups. They received an  official invitation of the mayor, inviting them to participate in a 4-hour workshop. Me and my team  divided the 30 participants into 5 groups of 6. Each group was provided with a 3x3m map of the city  that was pinned on the wall. The participants could write directly on the posters, draw on them and  use sticky-notes.

-  First, the groups were asked to identify sites where they felt insecure using their bikes or where  they felt that car-drivers could unwillingly be a threat for bike-users.

-  Secondly, the groups each split into half with three people moving to the poster on their left,  and three moving to the poster on their right. In the newly formed groups of six, the people  then discussed if anything was missing on the poster and they added comments and drawings.

-  Thirdly, the groups were split again, and people moved to a new poster. This time they  developed possible solutions and commented them directly on the posters.

Insight  Provides a detailed description of the insight gained including all relevant information (e.g. how an  insight affected the authors thinking about his challenge and about design thinking more broadly)  Demonstrate specifically how it added value in any given situation.

At the end of the workshop there were five posters that clearly pointed out where the problems were  and how they could be fixed. The process of sharing insights and sharing knowledge was very valuable,  because people were able to articulate and visualize their needs and to generate shared ideas by  “putting together single pieces”.

I once again got aware that by bringing people into conversation (and even more if it is a “visual  conversation”) you can enable them to generate more precise and creative ideas than they could have  come up with if they were just thinking on their own. Design Thinking as an iterative and options- focused approach is very apt to create the best out of our combined creative energy.

Approach  Visualization is a powerful tool to be used e.g. in problem mapping and idea generation. The results of  the workshops were key in developing a successful bike-strategy for the city. However, the approach I  chose could be improved by the following:

a) Inviting the people to more than one workshop and asking them to contribute photos and new

ideas they generated with their families and friends to the second workshop.

b) Applying more elements of Mind Mapping – especially in developing one final poster together

with the whole group.

Design Thinking with all its tools not only helps me to develop strategies that create value for the  people but also to shape my own journey of continuous improvement.

