Visualisation - Tool used to Introduce a complex project to Department 2      Challenge  I work in a bank and one of my projects is to enable ourselves to trade some of our products on  a newly established blockchain network. My stakeholders are the department heads who know  nothing about blockchain and have limited knowledge of how our internal systems interact with  each other and with the outside world.     Taking department 2 as an example, the head of this department said he could not imagine how  his product can appear in blockchain. He was afraid to participate in my project because he was  afraid of the unknown & complexity. So the challenge to me was to introduce him to this project  in the most effective way that he will understand without needing to be an expert of blockchain  and our systems. I also wanted to reflect pro & con of the possible solutions for him to make an  informed decision.       Selection  To make this happen, I chose to visualise the project and options in a diagram for design  thinking. I know a diagram helps people visualize complex and abstract concepts by showing  how all elements relate to each other and flow from one place to another. It also inspires  questions and provokes discussion when e.g. an arrow points to a dead end or a box turns to be  unnecessary.     I attached a brief hand drawn high-level view here to show what I created for this project.

Application  I started drawing the diagram by dividing it into the outside world and internal world. I started  with a circle to represent the blockchain network and added the participants as equal members  in the circle.     I then drew a line to link the circle with our internal world, to show that it is a transparent and  direct relationship between us and the external network.     To simplify the internal world, I splitted ourselves into two platforms A and B, with A being the  front office platform department 1 and department 2 share. On top of platform A, the two  departments have their respective bespoke system A1 and system A2. Platform B represents  the back office system that A1 and A2 have to connect in order to connect with the outside  network.     With these systems and flows drawn on PowerPoint slide, I was able to visualise to my  stakeholder, head of department 2, that his system A2 can be connected to the external network  by connecting with back office System B. It also revealed that the A2-B connection does not  exist today - but he has the choice of either building it from scratch, or connecting through A1.      Insights  I found this way of visualizing extremely helpful when it comes to explaining an abstract and  complex topic. On one side, it encouraged me to think hard before picking the most important  elements to form the diagram; on the other hand, it allowed my stakeholder to immediately  understand the flow, the gaps/issues and inspired him to ask a lot of good questions. I found  him more interested and engaged when using this diagram in our meeting, and showed strong  confidence when choosing the option in front of him. He was even asking whether he can share  this diagram with other departments to invite them to join this project too.       Approach  I will prepare and bring a piece of drawing (or other visualization tool) to my meetings whenever  I have to explain a complex topic. This is extremely helpful when dealing with people who don’t  have much time (e.g. senior management) or subject matter knowledge (e.g. people from other  departments).     I will also take a more agile approach - keep revising the diagram (or other visualization tool)  with feedback from meetings and input from others.     I would like to also save all of the drawings down and archive them properly, because as we  progress with the project and encounter new challenges, we might need to look back sometime  to remind us how we reached a certain decision in an earlier stage and what was our design  thinking behind it.


Visualisation - Tool used to Introduce a complex project to Department 2 Challenge I work in a bank and one of my projects is to enable ourselves to trade some of our products on a newly established blockchain network . My stakeholders are the department heads who know nothing about blockchain and have limited knowledge of how our internal systems interact with each other and with the outside world . Taking department 2 as an example , the head of this department said he could not imagine how his product can appear in blockchain . He was afraid to participate in my project because he was afraid of the unknown & complexity . So the challenge to me was to introduce him to this project in the most effective way that he will understand without needing to be an expert of blockchain and our systems . I also wanted to reflect pro & con of the possible solutions for him to make an informed decision . Selection To make this happen , I chose to visualise the project and options in a diagram for design thinking . I know a diagram helps people visualize complex and abstract concepts by showing how all elements relate to each other and flow from one place to another . It also inspires questions and provokes discussion when e.g. an arrow points to a dead end or a box turns to be unnecessary . I attached a brief hand drawn high - level view here to show what I created for this project . Application I started drawing the diagram by dividing it into the outside world and internal world . I started with a circle to represent the blockchain network and added the participants as equal members in the circle . I then drew a line to link the circle with our internal world , to show that it is a transparent and direct relationship between us and the external network . To simplify the internal world , I splitted ourselves into two platforms A and B , with A being the front office platform department 1 and department 2 share . On top of platform A , the two departments have their respective bespoke system A1 and system A2 . Platform B represents the back office system that A1 and A2 have to connect in order to connect with the outside network . With these systems and flows drawn on PowerPoint slide , I was able to visualise to my stakeholder , head of department 2 , that his system A2 can be connected to the external network by connecting with back office System B. It also revealed that the A2 - B connection does not exist today - but he has the choice of either building it from scratch , or connecting through A1 . Insights I found this way of visualizing extremely helpful when it comes to explaining an abstract and complex topic . On one side , it encouraged me to think hard before picking the most important elements to form the diagram ; on the other hand , it allowed my stakeholder to immediately understand the flow , the gaps / issues and inspired him to ask a lot of good questions . I found him more interested and engaged when using this diagram in our meeting , and showed strong confidence when choosing the option in front of him . He was even asking whether he can share this diagram with other departments to invite them to join this project too . Approach I will prepare and bring a piece of drawing ( or other visualization tool ) to my meetings whenever I have to explain a complex topic . This is extremely helpful when dealing with people who do n’t have much time ( e.g. senior management ) or subject matter knowledge ( e.g. people from other departments ) . I will also take a more agile approach - keep revising the diagram ( or other visualization tool ) with feedback from meetings and input from others . I would like to also save all of the drawings down and archive them properly , because as we progress with the project and encounter new challenges , we might need to look back sometime to remind us how we reached a certain decision in an earlier stage and what was our design thinking behind it .