Reflections on Visualization

by Gonzalo Wong

Challenge: The Fuzzy Mess

I choose Visualization to see how it would help me resolve a problem in our support escalation process.

I had a bad experience escalating a service outage to the correct people at our company.  Several of my  peers who should have known about the outage were not made aware of the problem. We discovered  customers were not aware of the solution when it was put in place.  These breakdowns in  communication left me wondering where our process was broken and what we need to do to fix it.  I  gathered our team to walk through the process and experiences of different people to see if we could  identify the source of the communication breakdown.

Selection: Helping Others See the Same Challenge

I chose to draw out the events that revealed the problem in a visualization.  The visual representation of the communication flow overcame the complexity of the issue and the likelihood of confusion in our  conversation.  How could I keep the group on the same place as we reviewed the escalation events was  the challenge.  Because visualization supports congruent understanding I thought it would help keep  the group together as we reviewed the escalation process.

Application: Draw, Discuss, Repeat

I drew a representation of each of events in the escalation sequence as it was reviewed and discussed.  Once all the events were in the visualization the team was able to reflect on places where things went  wrong.  This led to proposed fixes being added to the visual. We were able to keep the discussion  focused by reference to parts of the process in the visualization.

Insight: Point of View

The use of visualization helped the entire team see the problems in the process from a number of  perspectives at the same time.  The discussion was focused. We were able to jump to new topics  quickly by pointing a place in the visualization.  The team stayed with the different aspects of the  conversation quickly.

The use of the visualization kept the meeting moving forward with focus.  I learned visualization were  great at disarming accusations and blaming.  Because of the shared visualization, our team focused on  the issues at hand and not the people.  Individuals, while mentioned, were not left to justify or defend  themselves.  It became clear that not any one person was the problem. On the visualization made it  clear there are issues with our process. No individual was to blame. This was a great side benefit of  using the visualization.

Keeping the problem, not the people, in front of the group let the team move into healthy discussions of issues and solutions.

Approach: Repeatable

The visualization was used in three different ways. In meeting preparation, during meeting  communications and post meeting reflection and action planning.  Visualization will be used more in  my system optimization and process improvement efforts.

I plan on using visualization in future meetings.  I’m going to try seeding my next meeting  visualizations with some core elements to jump start the conversation.

I find visualizations help me see relationships between cause and effects. I intend on using  visualizations in my thinking about problems and processes.  I see visualization as an essential tool for  my leadership arsenal.


Reflections on Visualization by Gonzalo Wong Challenge : The Fuzzy Mess I choose Visualization to see how it would help me resolve a problem in our support escalation process . I had a bad experience escalating a service outage to the correct people at our company . Several of my peers who should have known about the outage were not made aware of the problem . We discovered customers were not aware of the solution when it was put in place . These breakdowns in communication left me wondering where our process was broken and what we need to do to fix it . I gathered our team to walk through the process and experiences of different people to see if we could identify the source of the communication breakdown . Selection : Helping Others See the Same Challenge I chose to draw out the events that revealed the problem in a visualization . The visual representation of the communication flow overcame the complexity of the issue and the likelihood of confusion in our conversation . How could I keep the group on the same place as we reviewed the escalation events was the challenge . Because visualization supports congruent understanding I thought it would help keep the group together as we reviewed the escalation process . Application : Draw , Discuss , Repeat I drew a representation of each of events in the escalation sequence as it was reviewed and discussed . Once all the events were in the visualization the team was able to reflect on places where things went wrong . This led to proposed fixes being added to the visual . We were able to keep the discussion focused by reference to parts of the process in the visualization . Insight : Point of View The use of visualization helped the entire team see the problems in the process from a number of perspectives at the same time . The discussion was focused . We were able to jump to new topics quickly by pointing a place in the visualization . The team stayed with the different aspects of the conversation quickly . The use of the visualization kept the meeting moving forward with focus . I learned visualization were great at disarming accusations and blaming . Because of the shared visualization , our team focused on the issues at hand and not the people . Individuals , while mentioned , were not left to justify or defend themselves . It became clear that not any one person was the problem . On the visualization made it clear there are issues with our process . No individual was to blame . This was a great side benefit of using the visualization . Keeping the problem , not the people , in front of the group let the team move into healthy discussions of issues and solutions . Approach : Repeatable The visualization was used in three different ways . In meeting preparation , during meeting communications and post meeting reflection and action planning . Visualization will be used more in my system optimization and process improvement efforts . I plan on using visualization in future meetings . I ’m going to try seeding my next meeting visualizations with some core elements to jump start the conversation . I find visualizations help me see relationships between cause and effects . I intend on using visualizations in my thinking about problems and processes . I see visualization as an essential tool for my leadership arsenal .