Karen Gardner

Design Thinking for Innovation Assignment    Challenge    I am a water resource engineer with responsibility for the repair of leaks in the northern district under the operations  department and my challenge is to improve the process for transmitting leak reports into my repairs unit to increase  the number of leaks that are repaired by the unit as well as improve the operations department’s leak repair  metrics.  The project scope includes the operations department which consists of fifteen resources, the customer  service department (managing the 800-LEAK phone line), and the field services departments with whom we work  closely. The project consists of internal resources (i.e., budget and employee time). The project should not exceed  20 business days and the solution should be a collaborative effort with all team members. We will focus on the key  stakeholders (team members, operations department, customer service, field services) and what they understand  to be the pain points in the current leak reporting process.      Selection      Our team will be using the learning launch tool this is understood to be a carefully designed experiment or prototype  designed to test the key underlying value-generating ideas. As mentioned in the video by Daniel Schumann, we need to  figure out what the customer’s need is by going out and talking to the customers and it all begins with an idea we  have that can solve their problem and testing that idea to see if it being them value. We will be utilizing this tool to  quickly test the assumptions made by the team on the issues faced by the repairs unit and see if what we come with  solves the problems using input from the key stakeholders.       Application      We completed two learning launch experiments, in the first one we focused on the execution of the leak report  transmission tasks by the customer service and field service departments. In particular, we wanted to see if we could  identify the gaps between the information that is transmitted into the repair unit from the various sources (via  email, phone calls, forms) and the jobs scheduled for repair. This tested our assumption that the reporting format  was inconsistent among the sources and lead to inaccurate information and delayed repairs. Our team conducted a  five-day workshop with the various stakeholders to develop a standardized template for the reporting of leaks.       In our second learning launch, we focused on the transmission timeframe with in the process. In particular, we  wanted to see how long a leak report takes to reach the repairs unit from each source. This tested our assumption  that the delivery timeframes were different for each source and impacted the repair time. We conducted another  workshop with the key stakeholders this time including members from the performance reporting department. Over  two weeks, we developed a policy document for leak management reporting where we received an agreement for  the timeframes for each step in the leak reporting process.       Insight     By applying the learning launch tool, our team was able to identify our assumptions and design the experiments  needed to successfully test them. Our initial intention was to focus mainly on the operations department’s  perspective but fortunately, we opted for workshops bringing in stakeholders from all the touchpoints extending  into the performance reporting department. The workshops were not run without challenges as we had to keep the  group’s focus on the task at hand as there were a few sceptics among us. Nonetheless, we were able to develop  solutions that not only have a positive impact on the repairs unit but on the customer service, field service, and  performance reporting departments as well. This method proved useful as we were able to quickly test our  assumptions and provide value to our users in-house without the need to bring in a consultant. I can see the  outcomes from this undertaking easily feeding into a future project to automate the leak management process.     Approach   This is the first time our team has used design thinking activates/tools and at this stage is it quite appropriate for  our needs. Based on the team’s feedback this approach has helped them quickly push through what would have  been a lengthy and maybe expensive undertaking if the traditional methods were used. As the team shares the  insights gained from this initiative, we see the learning launch tool being utilized for future projects as we work  towards the incremental improvement of the processes and systems of the organization.


Karen Gardner Design Thinking for Innovation Assignment Challenge I am a water resource engineer with responsibility for the repair of leaks in the northern district under the operations department and my challenge is to improve the process for transmitting leak reports into my repairs unit to increase the number of leaks that are repaired by the unit as well as improve the operations department ’s leak repair metrics . The project scope includes the operations department which consists of fifteen resources , the customer service department ( managing the 800 - LEAK phone line ) , and the field services departments with whom we work closely . The project consists of internal resources ( i.e. , budget and employee time ) . The project should not exceed 20 business days and the solution should be a collaborative effort with all team members . We will focus on the key stakeholders ( team members , operations department , customer service , field services ) and what they understand to be the pain points in the current leak reporting process . Selection Our team will be using the learning launch tool this is understood to be a carefully designed experiment or prototype designed to test the key underlying value - generating ideas . As mentioned in the video by Daniel Schumann , we need to figure out what the customer ’s need is by going out and talking to the customers and it all begins with an idea we have that can solve their problem and testing that idea to see if it being them value . We will be utilizing this tool to quickly test the assumptions made by the team on the issues faced by the repairs unit and see if what we come with solves the problems using input from the key stakeholders . Application We completed two learning launch experiments , in the first one we focused on the execution of the leak report transmission tasks by the customer service and field service departments . In particular , we wanted to see if we could identify the gaps between the information that is transmitted into the repair unit from the various sources ( via email , phone calls , forms ) and the jobs scheduled for repair . This tested our assumption that the reporting format was inconsistent among the sources and lead to inaccurate information and delayed repairs . Our team conducted a five - day workshop with the various stakeholders to develop a standardized template for the reporting of leaks . In our second learning launch , we focused on the transmission timeframe with in the process . In particular , we wanted to see how long a leak report takes to reach the repairs unit from each source . This tested our assumption that the delivery timeframes were different for each source and impacted the repair time . We conducted another workshop with the key stakeholders this time including members from the performance reporting department . Over two weeks , we developed a policy document for leak management reporting where we received an agreement for the timeframes for each step in the leak reporting process . Insight By applying the learning launch tool , our team was able to identify our assumptions and design the experiments needed to successfully test them . Our initial intention was to focus mainly on the operations department ’s perspective but fortunately , we opted for workshops bringing in stakeholders from all the touchpoints extending into the performance reporting department . The workshops were not run without challenges as we had to keep the group ’s focus on the task at hand as there were a few sceptics among us . Nonetheless , we were able to develop solutions that not only have a positive impact on the repairs unit but on the customer service , field service , and performance reporting departments as well . This method proved useful as we were able to quickly test our assumptions and provide value to our users in - house without the need to bring in a consultant . I can see the outcomes from this undertaking easily feeding into a future project to automate the leak management process . Approach This is the first time our team has used design thinking activates / tools and at this stage is it quite appropriate for our needs . Based on the team ’s feedback this approach has helped them quickly push through what would have been a lengthy and maybe expensive undertaking if the traditional methods were used . As the team shares the insights gained from this initiative , we see the learning launch tool being utilized for future projects as we work towards the incremental improvement of the processes and systems of the organization .