Design Thinking Reflection

Name:   Arnaldo Campos

Forgive me in advance if you, fellow student, get stuck while reading my paragraphs. I’m a Spanish  native speaker, but I’ll do my best to get understood in the assignment.

Challenge:

I haven’t worked in any organization yet, I’m an industrial engineering student from Peru,  in South America. But I found a way to utilize the Visualization Tool. Due to the quarantine  imposed in my country, I’m currently taking virtual classes at my university, which didn’t  have enough experience imparting online courses before. So, I’ve struggled while learning,  and also while trying to do group work with my classmates. We were used to study  together in the study lounges of the campus. There was some kind of cubicles with tables  and whiteboards that help us study together and sketch any idea that we may have. But  dealing with online education is so different and the communication between peers has  been reduced to virtual meetings via Zoom or Google Meets. Hence, the challenge for me  is to implement a kind of visualization using our laptops or another way to communicate  graphical ideas to understand situations.

Selection:

I figured out an application for this Visualization Tool while I was using Microsoft  WhiteBoard to simulate, forgive the redundancy, a whiteboard to solve some math  problems for an assignment. As it was said in the screencast related to this tool,  visualization is about visual thinking, and that’s an ability that my partners and I, as  engineering students, were used to putting in practice in presential classes. One of the  main reasons why I chose this tool is that it lets us portray ideas that don’t even exist yet  actually. Similar to what the lecturer said, university students usually generate new ideas  and possibilities for improvement (while doing some academic research, for instance) that  haven’t been seen before. And sometimes is easier to get a common understanding of an  idea using visualization rather than verbalizing that notion. Based on those ideas, I realized  the importance of a virtual whiteboard (or slides, a Prezi presentation, etc.) to enhance  online education for engineers. Ideas are commonly misunderstood if a peer or a professor  just talks in a videoconference since is difficult to understand even what is the topic  they’re trying to communicate. So, I decided to implement the Visualization Tool.

Application:

The first time I implemented the Visualization Tool was while my classmates and I were  trying to figure out how to design an improvement plan for a company in an Introduction  to Management course that we’re taking. I realized that we were exposing our ideas at the  Zoom meeting, but none of us could fully understand other ideas. It was difficult to fully  imagine a situation just by verbalizing it. At that point, I suggested that we could use  Microsoft Whiteboard and the share screen function of Zoom to simulate the whiteboards  that we used to have at the campus and portray there our ideas.

So, all of us started to diagram and capture our thoughts on our screens. I have a multi- touch notebook, so it was easy for me. However, I realized some of my friends struggled  while sketching with the mouse, but their sketches were still understandable. At the  moment we started sharing our screens via Zoom, we were able to better understand the

ideas of the others. For instance, a friend of mine sketched a situation in which a company  is reintroducing itself to the market after the quarantine, with the safety protocols  required, and I think that’s something each person can imagine differently without having  a base drawing. I think the Visualization Tool was applied satisfactorily overall, as it helps  us to use our visual thinking related to the right part of our brain, but I think that the  inability to draw at the same time, as in a physical whiteboard, was a constraint.

Insight:

What I discovered is that, indeed, is much better to understand others’ ideas if they draw  something or use a picture to describe their thoughts. I gained the insight that is important  to completely understand the “what is” part of the problem, that is to say, the complete  scope of the problem and prevent to make it too narrow. Talking about online education,  many students claim that there’s a problem that involves the teaching quality, but some of  them don’t broaden the issue to the absence of a whiteboard or a plenty life interaction  between peers.

Another insight I gained is the relevance of acquiring a uniform understanding of the  issue/problem/situation between your peers of you. What I mean is that everyone in the  group has to have the same concept of the problem and manage the same design criteria  to reach an innovative solution. That idea of Design Thinking applied to my described case,  I think, it’s represented in the fact that my peers and I had to “speak in the same terms” in  order to come to a solution for the business case of our assignment. If we couldn´t plenty  comprehend the situation, we’d have problems while developing a solution. That’s the  situation in which Visualization Tool helped us a lot.

Approach:

Finally, the next time I utilize the Visualization Tool, I’ll tell my peers that if they don’t have  to use the screen to draw, they can diagram a picture in a paper and then take a photo and  present it during the virtual conference. Also, I think the application of this tool could be  improved a lot if there’s software that lets people draw simultaneously on their screens.

As I wrote in the start of my assignment, I haven’t worked at any place yet, but I become  amazed by the possibilities and tools that Design Thinking offers us, it even helped me  adopt a more growth mindset, and I hope I could use its tools in my future working life.


Design Thinking Reflection Name : Arnaldo Campos Forgive me in advance if you , fellow student , get stuck while reading my paragraphs . I ’m a Spanish native speaker , but I ’ll do my best to get understood in the assignment . Challenge : I have n’t worked in any organization yet , I ’m an industrial engineering student from Peru , in South America . But I found a way to utilize the Visualization Tool . Due to the quarantine imposed in my country , I ’m currently taking virtual classes at my university , which did n’t have enough experience imparting online courses before . So , I ’ve struggled while learning , and also while trying to do group work with my classmates . We were used to study together in the study lounges of the campus . There was some kind of cubicles with tables and whiteboards that help us study together and sketch any idea that we may have . But dealing with online education is so different and the communication between peers has been reduced to virtual meetings via Zoom or Google Meets . Hence , the challenge for me is to implement a kind of visualization using our laptops or another way to communicate graphical ideas to understand situations . Selection : I figured out an application for this Visualization Tool while I was using Microsoft WhiteBoard to simulate , forgive the redundancy , a whiteboard to solve some math problems for an assignment . As it was said in the screencast related to this tool , visualization is about visual thinking , and that ’s an ability that my partners and I , as engineering students , were used to putting in practice in presential classes . One of the main reasons why I chose this tool is that it lets us portray ideas that do n’t even exist yet actually . Similar to what the lecturer said , university students usually generate new ideas and possibilities for improvement ( while doing some academic research , for instance ) that have n’t been seen before . And sometimes is easier to get a common understanding of an idea using visualization rather than verbalizing that notion . Based on those ideas , I realized the importance of a virtual whiteboard ( or slides , a Prezi presentation , etc . ) to enhance online education for engineers . Ideas are commonly misunderstood if a peer or a professor just talks in a videoconference since is difficult to understand even what is the topic they ’re trying to communicate . So , I decided to implement the Visualization Tool . Application : The first time I implemented the Visualization Tool was while my classmates and I were trying to figure out how to design an improvement plan for a company in an Introduction to Management course that we ’re taking . I realized that we were exposing our ideas at the Zoom meeting , but none of us could fully understand other ideas . It was difficult to fully imagine a situation just by verbalizing it . At that point , I suggested that we could use Microsoft Whiteboard and the share screen function of Zoom to simulate the whiteboards that we used to have at the campus and portray there our ideas . So , all of us started to diagram and capture our thoughts on our screens . I have a multi- touch notebook , so it was easy for me . However , I realized some of my friends struggled while sketching with the mouse , but their sketches were still understandable . At the moment we started sharing our screens via Zoom , we were able to better understand the ideas of the others . For instance , a friend of mine sketched a situation in which a company is reintroducing itself to the market after the quarantine , with the safety protocols required , and I think that ’s something each person can imagine differently without having a base drawing . I think the Visualization Tool was applied satisfactorily overall , as it helps us to use our visual thinking related to the right part of our brain , but I think that the inability to draw at the same time , as in a physical whiteboard , was a constraint . Insight : What I discovered is that , indeed , is much better to understand others ’ ideas if they draw something or use a picture to describe their thoughts . I gained the insight that is important to completely understand the “ what is ” part of the problem , that is to say , the complete scope of the problem and prevent to make it too narrow . Talking about online education , many students claim that there ’s a problem that involves the teaching quality , but some of them do n’t broaden the issue to the absence of a whiteboard or a plenty life interaction between peers . Another insight I gained is the relevance of acquiring a uniform understanding of the issue / problem / situation between your peers of you . What I mean is that everyone in the group has to have the same concept of the problem and manage the same design criteria to reach an innovative solution . That idea of Design Thinking applied to my described case , I think , it ’s represented in the fact that my peers and I had to “ speak in the same terms ” in order to come to a solution for the business case of our assignment . If we couldn´t plenty comprehend the situation , we ’d have problems while developing a solution . That ’s the situation in which Visualization Tool helped us a lot . Approach : Finally , the next time I utilize the Visualization Tool , I ’ll tell my peers that if they do n’t have to use the screen to draw , they can diagram a picture in a paper and then take a photo and present it during the virtual conference . Also , I think the application of this tool could be improved a lot if there ’s software that lets people draw simultaneously on their screens . As I wrote in the start of my assignment , I have n’t worked at any place yet , but I become amazed by the possibilities and tools that Design Thinking offers us , it even helped me adopt a more growth mindset , and I hope I could use its tools in my future working life .