Reflection - Visualization

1. Challenge and Selection

I am a member of a research lab specialized in social robots in healthcare. We work  closely with patients, therapists and hospital managers to design and develop social  robot behaviors and conduct experiments. These projects involve people with very  different backgrounds and interests, i.e. engineers, psychologists, sociologists,  administrators, etc. Finding a common language that everyone understands is  crucial to reduce misunderstandings and ending up developing the wrong solution.    I have selected Visualization because I needed to achieve a shared understanding of  the problem in hand and the potential applications of new features we develop.

2. Application

I have used quite basic drawings like straw man, straw “robot”, dialogue boxes and  arrows to ask stakeholders about what they expect from the project and to start the  discussion on the scope and boundaries to consider. I have also used sticky notes of  different colors and let them use all resources freely while I ask them questions to  answer.    I have used several variants of this visualization tool in two stages of our projects.  First, with therapists and hospital managers to explore the problem and how we can  be helpful. During this stage, I splitted managers and therapists in several  multidisciplinar groups (less than 6 people each) and met them separately, to  improve interactivity within the groups. I asked them questions such as:

- What would you change to make it more realistic?

- Which elements are missing?

- How the depicted situation satisfies your expectations about this project?

Secondly, when meeting with patients, we depicted some of the potential solutions to  see how they would interact with the social robots and the intended behaviors. Some  of the questions asked during this stage were:

- What would you change in the graphic to feel more comfortable?

- What would you like to change in the graphic to be excited about it?

Once all questions were discussed, I asked them to write down together the most  relevant ideas and to individually order them in a priority list. After the session, I  created a revised graphic including all the insights obtained during the discussion.

3. Insights and Approach

During this exercise I have learned what a great tool Visualization is to overcome  differences in academic backgrounds and to have a common language, reducing the  risk of unmatched mental models and increasing the chances for a shared  understanding.    When people talk the same language the interaction becomes more fluent and  productive, and everyone is on the same page about what to expect from the project.  Also, people become more participative and are more self-confident to share their  ideas.


Reflection - Visualization 1 . Challenge and Selection I am a member of a research lab specialized in social robots in healthcare . We work closely with patients , therapists and hospital managers to design and develop social robot behaviors and conduct experiments . These projects involve people with very different backgrounds and interests , i.e. engineers , psychologists , sociologists , administrators , etc . Finding a common language that everyone understands is crucial to reduce misunderstandings and ending up developing the wrong solution . I have selected Visualization because I needed to achieve a shared understanding of the problem in hand and the potential applications of new features we develop . 2 . Application I have used quite basic drawings like straw man , straw “ robot ” , dialogue boxes and arrows to ask stakeholders about what they expect from the project and to start the discussion on the scope and boundaries to consider . I have also used sticky notes of different colors and let them use all resources freely while I ask them questions to answer . I have used several variants of this visualization tool in two stages of our projects . First , with therapists and hospital managers to explore the problem and how we can be helpful . During this stage , I splitted managers and therapists in several multidisciplinar groups ( less than 6 people each ) and met them separately , to improve interactivity within the groups . I asked them questions such as : - What would you change to make it more realistic ? - Which elements are missing ? - How the depicted situation satisfies your expectations about this project ? Secondly , when meeting with patients , we depicted some of the potential solutions to see how they would interact with the social robots and the intended behaviors . Some of the questions asked during this stage were : - What would you change in the graphic to feel more comfortable ? - What would you like to change in the graphic to be excited about it ? Once all questions were discussed , I asked them to write down together the most relevant ideas and to individually order them in a priority list . After the session , I created a revised graphic including all the insights obtained during the discussion . 3 . Insights and Approach During this exercise I have learned what a great tool Visualization is to overcome differences in academic backgrounds and to have a common language , reducing the risk of unmatched mental models and increasing the chances for a shared understanding . When people talk the same language the interaction becomes more fluent and productive , and everyone is on the same page about what to expect from the project . Also , people become more participative and are more self - confident to share their ideas .