Reflection - Visualization

Challenge

When I approach the Enterprise customers on how digital transformation using technologies such as  big data, analytics, cloud can solve their current challenges, using the traditional way to depict the  new concepts such as verbal communication, bulleted power points do not get through very well.  Majority of the clients are not able to connect the benefits of the digital technologies to their current  challenges. They would think these new technologies cannot be applied to their business challenges  due to multiple road blocks of their current working situations. But the actual challenge is the lack of  understanding of these new technologies, its application to their work environment and the benefits  associated to it. The challenge for me is to make them understand the new digital concepts in a way  on how it will transform their daily activities. This will help me get them through the other phases of  design thinking such as ideation, prototyping and development.

Selection

I wanted to try visualization as a tool to enable my clients to understand the new digital concepts,  how easy it would be deploying the digital technologies and solutions and what would be the benefits  for individual stake holders within the organization and organization as whole. Visualization is simply  to express your ideas and thoughts in a nonverbal way, which greatly enhances the ability to  communicate and to get the response back.

Application

I start the process by gathering the information available about the client ecosystem, like what kind  of processes they have to support, what activities they do on a day to day basis, data/ tools they  access to carry out their process activities. Using the information collected, I would build the current  scenario of working using pictures, graphics, icons, charts.

Then with my experience and information available I would clearly depict the challenges and pain  points. I use pictures, process flow charts, information flow to depict the challenges and highlight  them. I also pictorially connect how these challenges are impacting the individual productivity and  the organizational efficiency. Different icons are used to clearly point out the impact in terms of time,  cost and quality.

The next step is very critical. This step is a key activity as I have to conceptualize the new way of  working (customer experience) leveraging digital technologies. The visualization tool plays a key role  in this step. I would use images, graphics, icons, maps, story boards and visually depict the new way  of working. It would get in to details of how they would accomplish their activities in terms of actions  and how easy this would be when compared to the current way of working and how quickly they can  get their work done.

Insight

By narrating visually about their work scenario, it would tremendously help me to connect with them  instantaneously. Visualization helps me to very quickly connect with the client, which otherwise could  not be done verbally or with bulleted power points. They would start interacting in agreeing to the  scenarios, making corrections and this really is the starting point to get engaged.

Highlighting the challenges visually and that too with icons make them to visualize their current  challenges and also to get a shared understanding of the pain points and narrow down to the need  for new business capabilities to improve the current situation.

The biggest gain is in depicting the visual scenarios of the new way of working using digital  technologies, where the current challenges are addressed. The client would jump on that by  expressing their views. The visualization technique enables them to see how the new way of working  leveraging digital technologies can ease their work activities, improve productivity and organization  efficiency.

Approach

Since I discovered visualization plays a key role in getting the new digital concepts and benefits  across to the client, next time I would use more of icons, graphics, simulation as it helps the client to  richly appreciate the new digital concepts during the design thinking.

