Design Thinking for Innovation Assignment - Reflection

By Abdiel Rios

Challenge    I work as a General Manager for one of my country’s most prominent law firms.  As an engineer,  project management professional and MBA, I have a strong orientation towards process  improvement, efficiency and innovation through the use of digital technologies.  Most of the  partners, lawyers and paralegals have common backgrounds on legal studies that do not include  business related courses, therefore, it becomes difficult for them to understand how business  processes work and the impact that their individual decisions have on the end customer’s  experience with our services, as well as, the company’s functionality as a whole.  One of my main  objectives as a business leader is to modernize the law firm and minimize the use of manual and  paper-based processes to which the personnel is very accustomed and attached to.  One of my  greatest challenges is to be able to transmit to them not only the benefits of creating efficient  digital processes, but also to help them visualize how things would work once they are  implemented so that they assist me in the process instead of resisting it.  On occasions, some key  personnel resists new ideas simply because they are afraid of change or because they cannot  visualize the complete current process or the new idea.    Selection    To help solve this challenge, I chose the Visualization tool.  Visualization is a tool that can help  different individuals from various backgrounds get involved in the innovation process, as well as  assisting them to reach a common ground and understanding on the topic at hand such that a  more productive discussion can take place.  Specially in a situation like the one I described  previously, for innovation to take place and be accepted by the stakeholders, we all have to be on  the same page with regards to what is the problem we are trying to solve, what does the proposed  solution look like, how it can be implemented and what each stakeholder’s contribution or role  will be once it is up and running.  Visualization can also help the participants become more  engaged in generating ideas or recommendations, as well as provide their buy-in to the solution.    Application    The way that I apply the tool, is by getting a group of around 6 of the key stakeholders in the same  room at the same time, in front of a whiteboard.  I usually like to start by getting everybody on the  same page as to what the current situation or process looks like.  I ask the group to take about 10  minutes so that each of them individually draws on a piece of paper what they think the current  process is like from their perspectives.  Then, each of them takes 5 minutes explaining their  drawing to the rest of the team and tapes the drawing to the wall next to the whiteboard.  After all  of them have completed their explanation, then I moderate a discussion and integrate the  drawings of the current process on the whiteboard, while making sure there is consensus and  agreement from all the members of the team.  The process is drawn using elements such as  arrows, squares, circles, writing, drawings or even taping elements to the whiteboard, depending  on what best describes what needs to be communicated.    Once the current process is fully recorded and consented, we proceed to discuss and brainstorm  about “how may we…” achieve a series of objectives.  For example, how might we make this easier

for the end customer, how might we make this paperless, how might we shorten the amount of  time it takes to complete this, how might we eliminate waste, how might we enrich the  experience, how might we achieve more than what we achieved with the standalone process, etc.      As some of the key stories become apparent, then we proceed to draw a how we would like the  new process to be.  Once again, we allow for some individual drawing and visualization, followed  by explanation by each member of the team, and then compiling the new process while reaching  consensus.  Finally, once we know where we stand right now (A) and where we want to go (B), we  develop an implementation plan to get from A to B.    Insight    It is evident that visualization as a tool is a key element in not only reaching consensus, but also  getting all the key stakeholders involved in innovating a solution.  By allowing each person to first  draw their point of view of the process individually (current and new), it provides an opportunity  for the team as a whole to understand that each one of the stakeholders has a different point of  view and sees certain aspects of the process that may be completely invisible to others.  By  unifying the drawing and creating consensus of the process (current and new), we make sure that  everybody understands verbally and graphically what is being discussed, and therefore minimize  the risk of people thinking they are talking about the same thing, while imagining or visualizing  completely different things inside their minds.  By literally “putting it out there” on the wall, it  allows the team to identify things that become apparent when drawn, but that were not apparent  when written or imagined.  And finally, by drawing out the current and proposed solutions,  visualization provided increased engagement from the team and better idea generation.    Approach    With regards to visualization, one thing that could be done differently is to allow individuals to  work on their respective drawings prior to the meeting, such that we may do a more efficient use  of time.  Another key point that I noticed during the meetings, is that it may be helpful to have two  whiteboards or large format post it notes taped to the wall.  This way, it is not necessary to erase  what was drawn about the current process before starting to draw the new one.  It is of great  value for the team to be able to visualize both the current and new solutions simultaneously,  specially when we are developing the implementation plan to get from A to B.


Design Thinking for Innovation Assignment - Reflection By Abdiel Rios Challenge I work as a General Manager for one of my country ’s most prominent law firms . As an engineer , project management professional and MBA , I have a strong orientation towards process improvement , efficiency and innovation through the use of digital technologies . Most of the partners , lawyers and paralegals have common backgrounds on legal studies that do not include business related courses , therefore , it becomes difficult for them to understand how business processes work and the impact that their individual decisions have on the end customer ’s experience with our services , as well as , the company ’s functionality as a whole . One of my main objectives as a business leader is to modernize the law firm and minimize the use of manual and paper - based processes to which the personnel is very accustomed and attached to . One of my greatest challenges is to be able to transmit to them not only the benefits of creating efficient digital processes , but also to help them visualize how things would work once they are implemented so that they assist me in the process instead of resisting it . On occasions , some key personnel resists new ideas simply because they are afraid of change or because they can not visualize the complete current process or the new idea . Selection To help solve this challenge , I chose the Visualization tool . Visualization is a tool that can help different individuals from various backgrounds get involved in the innovation process , as well as assisting them to reach a common ground and understanding on the topic at hand such that a more productive discussion can take place . Specially in a situation like the one I described previously , for innovation to take place and be accepted by the stakeholders , we all have to be on the same page with regards to what is the problem we are trying to solve , what does the proposed solution look like , how it can be implemented and what each stakeholder ’s contribution or role will be once it is up and running . Visualization can also help the participants become more engaged in generating ideas or recommendations , as well as provide their buy - in to the solution . Application The way that I apply the tool , is by getting a group of around 6 of the key stakeholders in the same room at the same time , in front of a whiteboard . I usually like to start by getting everybody on the same page as to what the current situation or process looks like . I ask the group to take about 10 minutes so that each of them individually draws on a piece of paper what they think the current process is like from their perspectives . Then , each of them takes 5 minutes explaining their drawing to the rest of the team and tapes the drawing to the wall next to the whiteboard . After all of them have completed their explanation , then I moderate a discussion and integrate the drawings of the current process on the whiteboard , while making sure there is consensus and agreement from all the members of the team . The process is drawn using elements such as arrows , squares , circles , writing , drawings or even taping elements to the whiteboard , depending on what best describes what needs to be communicated . Once the current process is fully recorded and consented , we proceed to discuss and brainstorm about “ how may we … ” achieve a series of objectives . For example , how might we make this easier for the end customer , how might we make this paperless , how might we shorten the amount of time it takes to complete this , how might we eliminate waste , how might we enrich the experience , how might we achieve more than what we achieved with the standalone process , etc . As some of the key stories become apparent , then we proceed to draw a how we would like the new process to be . Once again , we allow for some individual drawing and visualization , followed by explanation by each member of the team , and then compiling the new process while reaching consensus . Finally , once we know where we stand right now ( A ) and where we want to go ( B ) , we develop an implementation plan to get from A to B. Insight It is evident that visualization as a tool is a key element in not only reaching consensus , but also getting all the key stakeholders involved in innovating a solution . By allowing each person to first draw their point of view of the process individually ( current and new ) , it provides an opportunity for the team as a whole to understand that each one of the stakeholders has a different point of view and sees certain aspects of the process that may be completely invisible to others . By unifying the drawing and creating consensus of the process ( current and new ) , we make sure that everybody understands verbally and graphically what is being discussed , and therefore minimize the risk of people thinking they are talking about the same thing , while imagining or visualizing completely different things inside their minds . By literally “ putting it out there ” on the wall , it allows the team to identify things that become apparent when drawn , but that were not apparent when written or imagined . And finally , by drawing out the current and proposed solutions , visualization provided increased engagement from the team and better idea generation . Approach With regards to visualization , one thing that could be done differently is to allow individuals to work on their respective drawings prior to the meeting , such that we may do a more efficient use of time . Another key point that I noticed during the meetings , is that it may be helpful to have two whiteboards or large format post it notes taped to the wall . This way , it is not necessary to erase what was drawn about the current process before starting to draw the new one . It is of great value for the team to be able to visualize both the current and new solutions simultaneously , specially when we are developing the implementation plan to get from A to B.