Reflection – Visualization (Antonio Bellafiore)

Challenge   Describe your challenge, including all relevant information.    A significant part of my work as a corporate knowledge manager involves publishing books for different  internal audiences. We’re a small team and we manage everything from content development to  research and writing to editing and layout to pre-press production and distribution.     Because we cover a broad range of topics, this presents an opportunity to work with other teams,  sometimes from other affiliate companies as well as external resource persons.    And so the challenge posed by collaborating with others outside the team (especially those not familiar  with publishing) is how to engage them to be active contributors, perhaps with the same level of  enthusiasm that we ourselves have. There are many approaches we take, but I believe one of the most  critical and valuable methods is visualization.    Selection  In your own words, briefly describe the tool you selected (e.g., what it is and why you selected it for your  challenge -- including any appropriate video lecture references).    If you’re an avid reader, you may appreciate that the visual aspects of books are as important as the  copy or narrative: the choice of fonts, the space the text takes up on a page, how data is presented in  charts and infographics, illustrations that pique your interest to read on.      From our production point of view, visualization happens at inception and is very valuable when it  comes to bringing other people to the table and to get them not only involved but also invested in and  excited to see a book project through.    And so the flowcharts in this course resonated with me, as they traced not only process but also  provided insights on the implications or cause-and-effect of how might one action and another and  another lead to the either the desired outcome or failure (not entirely a bad thing, i.e.., failure).     The table on design thinking vs. linear analytic methods provided a valuable insight that design thinking  fits our team’s philosophy when it comes to book development: human (reader)-centered, with a desire  to explore all possible aspects of a topic, the understanding that there are many uncertainties and  dependencies at the start of each project, and the fact that we sometimes only have basic reference  materials to begin with.    And finally, the waveform illustration of What is? What If? What Wows? and What Works? is the most  valuable visual guide that I take with me after this course. It’s both visionary and practical and should be  part of any professional function’s ethos, in my opinion.    Application  Describe how you applied the tool you selected to your challenge (e.g., what you did and how the tool  was applied effectively or ineffectively).

I’ve recently begun working on a new book project that required collaborating with another team in the  company as well as with an external resource person. It was important that we were all coming from the  same basic understanding of what we wanted to accomplish and how we can achieve it.    In the first meeting, the main visual that I presented were printouts of the covers and a few pages of the  books that we previously published. This proved to be a good start in getting my new project partners  interested as they can actually see what the final output could look like    Next, we made a freeform inventory of the materials that we have in our respective units, as well as the  gaps that we needed to fill. Taking turns while doing this, organizing the correlated items into a list, and  revisiting it at the start of each production meeting, allowed us to put in ideas from each other’s areas of  expertise, and got us even more engaged and invested in the project’s success.    As we gathered materials, using the framework of What Is? What If? What Wows? and What Works?  has been quite useful in further exploring the possibilities for the book’s content, while recognizing  necessary delimiters that would make the book a reality within the timeframe we set for ourselves.    Insight  Describe the insight you gained from applying the tool you selected to your challenge (e.g., how an  insight affected your thinking about the challenge and about design thinking more broadly).    Visualization is certainly important in the work we do, because we cannot assume that our ideas will be  readily understood by other parties we work with. No matter how detailed or well written our  descriptions or explanations are, some things still get lost in translation. Presenting information or a  process in visual form can really make things simple and easy to understand.     I realized that putting ideas down in paper, in whatever visual form, and sharing it with other people  from disciplines other than my own, can also serve as a catalyst for generating not only more ideas, but  also more factors to consider. This part of the exercise certainly brings up the what ifs and wows, and  significantly, what works.     Approach  Describe what you might do differently next time -- applying the same tool you selected or a different  one -- and the reason(s) why.    In this case, we have had to adjust the production process to our greatest delimiter, which is working  remotely due to the pandemic. Visualization has certainly been doable; we’ve just had to make do with  shared screens and show-and-tell on video meetings.     But I think it is an even more powerful tool when we’re all in the same room, working on the same  whiteboard, bouncing off ideas on the fly, and putting up printouts of our works in progress. Add to this  mind mapping to recognize what else we need or how to present the content.     Is that a bit old fashioned now in the “New Normal”? I do value the energy and the potential that  collaborating in person can generate, and I certainly look forward to the day when we can go back to our  offices to do this. For now, we simply have to use the tools and technology available to bring the fruits  of our design thinking to life.


Reflection – Visualization ( Antonio Bellafiore ) Challenge Describe your challenge , including all relevant information . A significant part of my work as a corporate knowledge manager involves publishing books for different internal audiences . We ’re a small team and we manage everything from content development to research and writing to editing and layout to pre - press production and distribution . Because we cover a broad range of topics , this presents an opportunity to work with other teams , sometimes from other affiliate companies as well as external resource persons . And so the challenge posed by collaborating with others outside the team ( especially those not familiar with publishing ) is how to engage them to be active contributors , perhaps with the same level of enthusiasm that we ourselves have . There are many approaches we take , but I believe one of the most critical and valuable methods is visualization . Selection In your own words , briefly describe the tool you selected ( e.g. , what it is and why you selected it for your challenge -- including any appropriate video lecture references ) . If you ’re an avid reader , you may appreciate that the visual aspects of books are as important as the copy or narrative : the choice of fonts , the space the text takes up on a page , how data is presented in charts and infographics , illustrations that pique your interest to read on . From our production point of view , visualization happens at inception and is very valuable when it comes to bringing other people to the table and to get them not only involved but also invested in and excited to see a book project through . And so the flowcharts in this course resonated with me , as they traced not only process but also provided insights on the implications or cause - and - effect of how might one action and another and another lead to the either the desired outcome or failure ( not entirely a bad thing , i.e .. , failure ) . The table on design thinking vs. linear analytic methods provided a valuable insight that design thinking fits our team ’s philosophy when it comes to book development : human ( reader)-centered , with a desire to explore all possible aspects of a topic , the understanding that there are many uncertainties and dependencies at the start of each project , and the fact that we sometimes only have basic reference materials to begin with . And finally , the waveform illustration of What is ? What If ? What Wows ? and What Works ? is the most valuable visual guide that I take with me after this course . It ’s both visionary and practical and should be part of any professional function ’s ethos , in my opinion . Application Describe how you applied the tool you selected to your challenge ( e.g. , what you did and how the tool was applied effectively or ineffectively ) . I ’ve recently begun working on a new book project that required collaborating with another team in the company as well as with an external resource person . It was important that we were all coming from the same basic understanding of what we wanted to accomplish and how we can achieve it . In the first meeting , the main visual that I presented were printouts of the covers and a few pages of the books that we previously published . This proved to be a good start in getting my new project partners interested as they can actually see what the final output could look like Next , we made a freeform inventory of the materials that we have in our respective units , as well as the gaps that we needed to fill . Taking turns while doing this , organizing the correlated items into a list , and revisiting it at the start of each production meeting , allowed us to put in ideas from each other ’s areas of expertise , and got us even more engaged and invested in the project ’s success . As we gathered materials , using the framework of What Is ? What If ? What Wows ? and What Works ? has been quite useful in further exploring the possibilities for the book ’s content , while recognizing necessary delimiters that would make the book a reality within the timeframe we set for ourselves . Insight Describe the insight you gained from applying the tool you selected to your challenge ( e.g. , how an insight affected your thinking about the challenge and about design thinking more broadly ) . Visualization is certainly important in the work we do , because we can not assume that our ideas will be readily understood by other parties we work with . No matter how detailed or well written our descriptions or explanations are , some things still get lost in translation . Presenting information or a process in visual form can really make things simple and easy to understand . I realized that putting ideas down in paper , in whatever visual form , and sharing it with other people from disciplines other than my own , can also serve as a catalyst for generating not only more ideas , but also more factors to consider . This part of the exercise certainly brings up the what ifs and wows , and significantly , what works . Approach Describe what you might do differently next time -- applying the same tool you selected or a different one -- and the reason(s ) why . In this case , we have had to adjust the production process to our greatest delimiter , which is working remotely due to the pandemic . Visualization has certainly been doable ; we ’ve just had to make do with shared screens and show - and - tell on video meetings . But I think it is an even more powerful tool when we ’re all in the same room , working on the same whiteboard , bouncing off ideas on the fly , and putting up printouts of our works in progress . Add to this mind mapping to recognize what else we need or how to present the content . Is that a bit old fashioned now in the “ New Normal ” ? I do value the energy and the potential that collaborating in person can generate , and I certainly look forward to the day when we can go back to our offices to do this . For now , we simply have to use the tools and technology available to bring the fruits of our design thinking to life .