Final Project Visualization

For my final project I have chosen the problem-solving method of visualization. I have chosen

this as my problem-solving tool because the problem I am going to try to focus on solving is one that is  human orientated, and I believe this will aid in the solution to the problem. For the sake of this project,  my problem is going to be homelessness in a fictional location. This is a problem that occurs across the  world and one of which that has impacted many.

To begin I would engage the stake holders. In this situation identifying “stake holders” could be

somewhat difficult. The stake holders of this problem will take many forms, from community leaders  from government, religious, and even recreational groups of people. Another set of stakeholders would  be the people that are directly affected by this problem themselves. It would be important to get buy ins  from all these groups. Those who are affected by this problem would potentially be able to provide  better insights than those who have never experienced this sort of thing. The other members of the  community would be important, as they will also be indirectly affected by this, but since they share a  community, it is important that at least majority of the stake holders are happy. It is because of the  complexity of this situation why I chose the visualization method of problem-solving. There is a high  level of uncertainty with this problem, which is also going to make coming to a consensus very difficult.  In terms of analytics there are a few data points, but nothing that could be used in a argumentative  point of view, that could give one argument more justification than others.

I think I would begin by mapping out the town/community and where the largest portion of

homelessness occurs. Once this was mapped out I think the next approach I would look at would be  levels of education/income before being homeless. These things may appear somewhat shallow, but the  issue could very well be that of a particular area has had the cost of living become artificially inflated  pricing out those who were once able to afford to live there comfortably. This also could tie into the  education aspect as jobs in a certain area may become very competitive and have a high barrier to entry  for those who don’t have/couldn’t afford college. Once we get an idea of this we can begin moving  forward with potential fixes. Could raising the wages in a specific area help combat this, perhaps some  sort of stipend. There are quite a few ways this can be viewed and answered which is why it is a good  problem for design/visualization thinking.

Going off the previous paragraph, I believe some sort of root cause visualization tool would be

best to get good ideas for causes/symptoms. Many people have their opinions about homelessness and  how it occurs. Some people believe the responsibility completely resides in the individual. Others  believe that it is a symptom of a more systemic problem. Both could be right but in order to move  forward and get consensus we will need to be able to show the other side the evidence that can  convince them to agree with the other side. Once the cause was found I would present this to the  stakeholders, most likely in a presentation form and provide the insights I have gathered from my  analysis. Hopefully we would be able to come to somewhat of an agreement and begin to move forward  with costs, implementation, etc.

Homelessness is a very concerning and puzzling epidemic. Which is why I thought it may be a

good problem for this prompt. There are many different viewpoints one can take in regards to this

problem, and I believe coming to conclusion on it will be an even greater challenge. This is why I believe  this problem is good for the design thinking/ visualization aspect of this course.


Final Project Visualization For my final project I have chosen the problem - solving method of visualization . I have chosen this as my problem - solving tool because the problem I am going to try to focus on solving is one that is human orientated , and I believe this will aid in the solution to the problem . For the sake of this project , my problem is going to be homelessness in a fictional location . This is a problem that occurs across the world and one of which that has impacted many . To begin I would engage the stake holders . In this situation identifying “ stake holders ” could be somewhat difficult . The stake holders of this problem will take many forms , from community leaders from government , religious , and even recreational groups of people . Another set of stakeholders would be the people that are directly affected by this problem themselves . It would be important to get buy ins from all these groups . Those who are affected by this problem would potentially be able to provide better insights than those who have never experienced this sort of thing . The other members of the community would be important , as they will also be indirectly affected by this , but since they share a community , it is important that at least majority of the stake holders are happy . It is because of the complexity of this situation why I chose the visualization method of problem - solving . There is a high level of uncertainty with this problem , which is also going to make coming to a consensus very difficult . In terms of analytics there are a few data points , but nothing that could be used in a argumentative point of view , that could give one argument more justification than others . I think I would begin by mapping out the town / community and where the largest portion of homelessness occurs . Once this was mapped out I think the next approach I would look at would be levels of education / income before being homeless . These things may appear somewhat shallow , but the issue could very well be that of a particular area has had the cost of living become artificially inflated pricing out those who were once able to afford to live there comfortably . This also could tie into the education aspect as jobs in a certain area may become very competitive and have a high barrier to entry for those who do n’t have / couldn’t afford college . Once we get an idea of this we can begin moving forward with potential fixes . Could raising the wages in a specific area help combat this , perhaps some sort of stipend . There are quite a few ways this can be viewed and answered which is why it is a good problem for design / visualization thinking . Going off the previous paragraph , I believe some sort of root cause visualization tool would be best to get good ideas for causes / symptoms . Many people have their opinions about homelessness and how it occurs . Some people believe the responsibility completely resides in the individual . Others believe that it is a symptom of a more systemic problem . Both could be right but in order to move forward and get consensus we will need to be able to show the other side the evidence that can convince them to agree with the other side . Once the cause was found I would present this to the stakeholders , most likely in a presentation form and provide the insights I have gathered from my analysis . Hopefully we would be able to come to somewhat of an agreement and begin to move forward with costs , implementation , etc . Homelessness is a very concerning and puzzling epidemic . Which is why I thought it may be a good problem for this prompt . There are many different viewpoints one can take in regards to this problem , and I believe coming to conclusion on it will be an even greater challenge . This is why I believe this problem is good for the design thinking/ visualization aspect of this course .