Reflection visualization

1. Challenge:

Starting a new assignment as project manager years ago, arriving to an ongoing project in  the media industry, an industry that was totally new to me, I needed to make sure I  understood the requirements from several stakeholders, (business and IT) to transmit this to  the developing team. The requirement was 1. Improve the log in functionality for clients, 2.  Implement a pay wall solution for future clients, and 3. Improve the customer pages to be  more user friendly. All of the above after the company I was contracted by decided to  improve their business model and switch from invoicing clients on a yearly basis to charge  them monthly utilizing recurring payments, as well as improving the user experience to be  more friendly. One of the biggest hurdles, since I was new to this industry, was to make sure  the company I was hired by, understood I was in synch with their vision and expectations  and understood their requirements, to transmit this forward to an external development  team.

2. Selection:

To make sure the company understood I was in synch with their expectations and vision, I  decided to use visualization tools. I selected this tool to show the stakeholders I understood  their requirements and expectations, and use the same tool, combined with a more  technical description (BPMN) to transmit the requirements to the developing team.

3. Application:

What I first did, after assembling the requirement notes from all the different stakeholders  and reviewing the interviews done with them, was to create a pictorial drawing, together  with an UX designer, showing all the steps of the current process, as well as the new process,  to show them how I believed the processes should be in the future. We made pictorial  drawings for all 3 requirements. I thereafter gather all stakeholders once again for them to  review the draft we made, for them to help us improve the drawing by their feedback. After  receiving feedback and improving all drawings, I gather the stakeholders one last time to  show them the result of their input and a version of the finish pictorial drawing, to receive  their approval and to move forward and transmit the information to the developing team.  For the developing team, I created technical descriptions of the different processes and  combined them with the pictorial drawing so the developers also could see what the  stakeholders where expecting, not only technically but also graphically.

4. Insight:

Visualizing for the stakeholders my view on how future processes should look like was very  effective and welcome, not only by the stakeholders but also by the developing team. Even  though the developing team statue in the beginning they didn’t need the pictorial drawing,  they accepted the fact that it was easier for them to see what the stakeholders expected  technically and graphically. This was the first time I handle requirements this way by  visualizing them also for the developing team. Since then, I always combine the technical  drawing with the pictorial drawing to achieve that developers understands the stakeholder’s  requirements much better and to avoid confusions. I also learned to gather straw man  drawings at an early stage from the stakeholders, to understand their view and expectations  much faster, instead of assuming things. Today, visualization is one of my favorite tools  when conducting projects.

5. Approach:

Since I learned the effectiveness on visualizing thoughts and processes by creating visuals, I  will take it a step further and create pictorial motion drawing to make it even more  understandable for stakeholders and developers.


Reflection visualization 1 . Challenge : Starting a new assignment as project manager years ago , arriving to an ongoing project in the media industry , an industry that was totally new to me , I needed to make sure I understood the requirements from several stakeholders , ( business and IT ) to transmit this to the developing team . The requirement was 1 . Improve the log in functionality for clients , 2 . Implement a pay wall solution for future clients , and 3 . Improve the customer pages to be more user friendly . All of the above after the company I was contracted by decided to improve their business model and switch from invoicing clients on a yearly basis to charge them monthly utilizing recurring payments , as well as improving the user experience to be more friendly . One of the biggest hurdles , since I was new to this industry , was to make sure the company I was hired by , understood I was in synch with their vision and expectations and understood their requirements , to transmit this forward to an external development team . 2 . Selection : To make sure the company understood I was in synch with their expectations and vision , I decided to use visualization tools . I selected this tool to show the stakeholders I understood their requirements and expectations , and use the same tool , combined with a more technical description ( BPMN ) to transmit the requirements to the developing team . 3 . Application : What I first did , after assembling the requirement notes from all the different stakeholders and reviewing the interviews done with them , was to create a pictorial drawing , together with an UX designer , showing all the steps of the current process , as well as the new process , to show them how I believed the processes should be in the future . We made pictorial drawings for all 3 requirements . I thereafter gather all stakeholders once again for them to review the draft we made , for them to help us improve the drawing by their feedback . After receiving feedback and improving all drawings , I gather the stakeholders one last time to show them the result of their input and a version of the finish pictorial drawing , to receive their approval and to move forward and transmit the information to the developing team . For the developing team , I created technical descriptions of the different processes and combined them with the pictorial drawing so the developers also could see what the stakeholders where expecting , not only technically but also graphically . 4 . Insight : Visualizing for the stakeholders my view on how future processes should look like was very effective and welcome , not only by the stakeholders but also by the developing team . Even though the developing team statue in the beginning they did n’t need the pictorial drawing , they accepted the fact that it was easier for them to see what the stakeholders expected technically and graphically . This was the first time I handle requirements this way by visualizing them also for the developing team . Since then , I always combine the technical drawing with the pictorial drawing to achieve that developers understands the stakeholder ’s requirements much better and to avoid confusions . I also learned to gather straw man drawings at an early stage from the stakeholders , to understand their view and expectations much faster , instead of assuming things . Today , visualization is one of my favorite tools when conducting projects . 5 . Approach : Since I learned the effectiveness on visualizing thoughts and processes by creating visuals , I will take it a step further and create pictorial motion drawing to make it even more understandable for stakeholders and developers .