Reflection Assignment, submitted by Jose Lopez

Visualization Tool

Challenge

After more than 20 years working for large corporations, I have decided to take on the challenge  and the opportunity to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur. Luckily, a few weeks after I left my  previous job I met a college professor who was looking to build a startup but had not had the  time to develop it into a working business. I offered to help and we got started on our early stage  startup (code name: “The Box”).

It has been an exhilarating time, doing research on problems we both have encountered and  are eager to solve. We have very different backgrounds, so we needed to create common  ground so we could communicate effectively and efficiently in order to build trust and  commitment to our newly found mission together.

Selection

Previously, I understood visualization as a creative exercise that consists of creating a realistic  mental image of the future one desires in order to facilitate its realization. However, the  Visualization tool for Design Thinking is quite different as it consists of using visual artifacts to  express concepts, ideas and relationships in order to bring them forward in a way that words  cannot.

My cofounder and I quickly learned that we were having trouble understanding each other  because we would use terms that mean different things depending on the context. We soon  figured out that by making sketches and drawings we could reach mutual understanding much  faster whenever we got stuck. Thus, we intuitively adopted the Visualization tool and made good  use of it for our purposes.

Application

We started working on “The Box” as an ecommerce marketplace for subscription-based  shopping, as we both knew many young entrepreneurs who are having trouble retaining their  current customers and thought it would be a solution to their problem. We drew up many boxes  and circles to represent all of the kinds of sellers we were thinking about, and by collecting them  into a Venn Diagram we were able to make a preliminary segmentation in order to pick  customers for ethnographic interviews: we selected lifestyle products with high purchase  frequency.

Once we had a better grip of the pain points and jobs to be done that our customers are facing,  we used drawings to generate ideas of services, marketplaces and platforms that could help  solve the problem. At the moment, we are in conversations with a UX designer to build a

working model of our service (not yet a prototype), based on these hand-drawn figures that  describe the high-level steps for sellers and buyers:

We also got a bit ahead of ourselves and went ahead and drew lots of flywheels and virtuous  cycles to represent potential growth models we should consider in order to accelerate growth.  Visualization is our favorite innovation tool!

Insight

I learned that in many cases verbal communication (face to face speech or written messages)  falls short when one is trying to simplify a concept that is complex or based on intricate  relationships between basic ideas. On the other hand, using simple visualizations can help to  transmit and receive messages in a more direct and clear way, even if the drawings are of very  low quality from and aesthetic sense.

A key factor that makes visualization so helpful is that it makes metaphors like the “flywheel,”  “cycles” and “platforms” easier to process intellectually because the relationship is evident at a  glance. This may sound trivial but in the high-speed high-pressure world of startups it creates  great efficiency and focus.

Additionally, sharing drawings and sketches helps to build teamwork as it allows one to peek  into each other’s mind. It is fun to use it that way.

Approach

Next time I begin any kind of business project I will make sure to apply visualization as soon and  as often as possible. To improve the quality of my visual communication skills I plan to read Dan  Roam’s books on the subject.


Reflection Assignment , submitted by Jose Lopez Visualization Tool Challenge After more than 20 years working for large corporations , I have decided to take on the challenge and the opportunity to reinvent myself as an entrepreneur . Luckily , a few weeks after I left my previous job I met a college professor who was looking to build a startup but had not had the time to develop it into a working business . I offered to help and we got started on our early stage startup ( code name : “ The Box ” ) . It has been an exhilarating time , doing research on problems we both have encountered and are eager to solve . We have very different backgrounds , so we needed to create common ground so we could communicate effectively and efficiently in order to build trust and commitment to our newly found mission together . Selection Previously , I understood visualization as a creative exercise that consists of creating a realistic mental image of the future one desires in order to facilitate its realization . However , the Visualization tool for Design Thinking is quite different as it consists of using visual artifacts to express concepts , ideas and relationships in order to bring them forward in a way that words can not . My cofounder and I quickly learned that we were having trouble understanding each other because we would use terms that mean different things depending on the context . We soon figured out that by making sketches and drawings we could reach mutual understanding much faster whenever we got stuck . Thus , we intuitively adopted the Visualization tool and made good use of it for our purposes . Application We started working on “ The Box ” as an ecommerce marketplace for subscription - based shopping , as we both knew many young entrepreneurs who are having trouble retaining their current customers and thought it would be a solution to their problem . We drew up many boxes and circles to represent all of the kinds of sellers we were thinking about , and by collecting them into a Venn Diagram we were able to make a preliminary segmentation in order to pick customers for ethnographic interviews : we selected lifestyle products with high purchase frequency . Once we had a better grip of the pain points and jobs to be done that our customers are facing , we used drawings to generate ideas of services , marketplaces and platforms that could help solve the problem . At the moment , we are in conversations with a UX designer to build a working model of our service ( not yet a prototype ) , based on these hand - drawn figures that describe the high - level steps for sellers and buyers : We also got a bit ahead of ourselves and went ahead and drew lots of flywheels and virtuous cycles to represent potential growth models we should consider in order to accelerate growth . Visualization is our favorite innovation tool ! Insight I learned that in many cases verbal communication ( face to face speech or written messages ) falls short when one is trying to simplify a concept that is complex or based on intricate relationships between basic ideas . On the other hand , using simple visualizations can help to transmit and receive messages in a more direct and clear way , even if the drawings are of very low quality from and aesthetic sense . A key factor that makes visualization so helpful is that it makes metaphors like the “ flywheel , ” “ cycles ” and “ platforms ” easier to process intellectually because the relationship is evident at a glance . This may sound trivial but in the high - speed high - pressure world of startups it creates great efficiency and focus . Additionally , sharing drawings and sketches helps to build teamwork as it allows one to peek into each other ’s mind . It is fun to use it that way . Approach Next time I begin any kind of business project I will make sure to apply visualization as soon and as often as possible . To improve the quality of my visual communication skills I plan to read Dan Roam ’s books on the subject .