Design Thinking for Innovation Application: Visualization

Chris Martinez

Challenge  My entire team was laid off two weeks ago so I do not have a work challenge to leverage for this design  thinking activity. I wanted to get the most out of practicing design thinking though, so I selected a  challenge that’s real and immediate for me: Identifying the essence of a role I’d love to do so I can more  effectively recognize it when I see it.    The challenge for me is that I don’t have an exact position I’m targeting. I have facilitated training and  developed courses for over 20 years, have facilitated cross-functional teams and have coached people in  a variety of roles. I love that work yet am ready to do something new.     Positions I’ve considered include managing a training and/or instructional design team, program  managing learning and development programs and coaching people in instructional design.  At the same  time, I am drawn to other creative roles like working in an innovation lab co-designing and developing  new products. Innovation and design thinking are very exciting arenas for me.    Fortunately, I don’t have to take the first position I am offered. I have financial flexibility, so I’m using  this transition as an opportunity to obtain a position I’ll love.     Selection   For this activity, I selected the visualization tool. We use this tool by putting concepts into visual form  with colors, shapes, symbols and images. We can create maps, sketches, videos, photos, PowerPoint  graphics and more.     My understanding is the primary purpose of visualization from an individual perspective is to access the  non-linear parts of our brains, and for a group is to foster a common understanding. In a product design  process, people use visualization for a variety of purposes such as ideating, pattern finding, concept  development, prototyping, piloting and scaling.     I selected this tool for my challenge because it’ll help me get out of my linear mind and develop a  deeper understanding of the key ingredients I want in my next job. I’ll then use this “criteria” as both a  radar to identify potential positions and a checklist to discern whether an offer has multiple  “confirming” or “disconfirming” facts or qualities.     Application  First, I started by identifying the top criteria I have for my ideal position. I focused on the key  experiences I want (blue font) followed by brief descriptions of how that might look in the real world  (black font). I identified 32 different experiences. A few examples:

  I exercise my creativity regularly. I frequently brainstorm, vision, design and build.

  I work at a strategic, programmatic level. I envision and build new programs, develop strategic  approaches.

  We synergize a lot. We collaborate incredibly well. Together we create results far better than  we can imagine.

  We are very innovative. The atmosphere and work we do is very open and creative. We use DT,  agile and more.

As suggested in Module 4, I then curated the 32 experiences down to 6 core experiences I want in my  next position:

  Creativity (frequent opportunities to ideate, vision, design)

  Learning (skills, knowledge and attitudes I value such as design thinking)

  Synergizing with my “tribe” (people who are innovative, curious, willing, engaged, “yes-and”)

  Ease (short commute, excellent compensation and benefits package)

  Success (my company, colleagues and I all create quality and competence)

  Freedom and joy (a sense of expansiveness in my heart)

Once I had these core experiences, I created sketches of what I would see or feel when I’m having these  experiences. Here’s a picture:

Insights  A few insights I discovered:

  I am much more relaxed with fewer criteria.

  I can better discern the experience I would have in a role (feel it vs. trying to figure it out).

  The criteria I created are subjective. Two criteria may be hard to confirm or disconfirm before  accepting a position. Even though this criteria works very well for me, criteria like this could be  hard for a team to use when discerning whether a solution meets the criteria.

  Putting it in pictures helps me get out of my linear mind, so I can see other positions that could  fit the criteria as well.

  I expect that as I talk with people and learn about various positions, I will discover numerous  tangible examples of the criteria. This could lead to my refining the criteria as well.

Regarding design thinking, this activity has increased my respect for the process. I have a better  understanding why people consider design thinking “messy” (it can be so creative and non-linear) and  also how it can help teams generate new, out-of-the-box ideas that have never been identified before.     Approach  If I were to use visualization on a different project, I expect I would want more concrete, less subjective  criteria. For example, “provides….information” or “arrives at answer in less than 3 clicks.” Objective  criteria won’t be the only useful criteria though. For example, descriptions of desired customer  experiences could be subjective.     I could also do this process with a group of people. If everyone were job hunting, we could interview  each other and gain insights we might not notice on our own. We could then create visuals that  represent these richer criteria. Another option would be to start with some images and use them to  elicit a more in-depth discussion of what we’re looking for in a role. This could help us define our criteria  even better.    I also would want to test using more and less detailed images to see what type of impact they’d have on  the depth and type of discussion elicited from participants.      I am very pleased with this activity as it’s been very helpful for me. I’m going to post the pictures in my  home for both inspiration and focus throughout my search.


Design Thinking for Innovation Application : Visualization Chris Martinez Challenge My entire team was laid off two weeks ago so I do not have a work challenge to leverage for this design thinking activity . I wanted to get the most out of practicing design thinking though , so I selected a challenge that ’s real and immediate for me : Identifying the essence of a role I ’d love to do so I can more effectively recognize it when I see it . The challenge for me is that I do n’t have an exact position I ’m targeting . I have facilitated training and developed courses for over 20 years , have facilitated cross - functional teams and have coached people in a variety of roles . I love that work yet am ready to do something new . Positions I ’ve considered include managing a training and/or instructional design team , program managing learning and development programs and coaching people in instructional design . At the same time , I am drawn to other creative roles like working in an innovation lab co - designing and developing new products . Innovation and design thinking are very exciting arenas for me . Fortunately , I do n’t have to take the first position I am offered . I have financial flexibility , so I ’m using this transition as an opportunity to obtain a position I ’ll love . Selection For this activity , I selected the visualization tool . We use this tool by putting concepts into visual form with colors , shapes , symbols and images . We can create maps , sketches , videos , photos , PowerPoint graphics and more . My understanding is the primary purpose of visualization from an individual perspective is to access the non - linear parts of our brains , and for a group is to foster a common understanding . In a product design process , people use visualization for a variety of purposes such as ideating , pattern finding , concept development , prototyping , piloting and scaling . I selected this tool for my challenge because it ’ll help me get out of my linear mind and develop a deeper understanding of the key ingredients I want in my next job . I ’ll then use this “ criteria ” as both a radar to identify potential positions and a checklist to discern whether an offer has multiple “ confirming ” or “ disconfirming ” facts or qualities . Application First , I started by identifying the top criteria I have for my ideal position . I focused on the key experiences I want ( blue font ) followed by brief descriptions of how that might look in the real world ( black font ) . I identified 32 different experiences . A few examples :  I exercise my creativity regularly . I frequently brainstorm , vision , design and build .  I work at a strategic , programmatic level . I envision and build new programs , develop strategic approaches .  We synergize a lot . We collaborate incredibly well . Together we create results far better than we can imagine .  We are very innovative . The atmosphere and work we do is very open and creative . We use DT , agile and more . As suggested in Module 4 , I then curated the 32 experiences down to 6 core experiences I want in my next position :  Creativity ( frequent opportunities to ideate , vision , design )  Learning ( skills , knowledge and attitudes I value such as design thinking )  Synergizing with my “ tribe ” ( people who are innovative , curious , willing , engaged , “ yes - and ” )  Ease ( short commute , excellent compensation and benefits package )  Success ( my company , colleagues and I all create quality and competence )  Freedom and joy ( a sense of expansiveness in my heart ) Once I had these core experiences , I created sketches of what I would see or feel when I ’m having these experiences . Here ’s a picture : Insights A few insights I discovered :  I am much more relaxed with fewer criteria .  I can better discern the experience I would have in a role ( feel it vs. trying to figure it out ) .  The criteria I created are subjective . Two criteria may be hard to confirm or disconfirm before accepting a position . Even though this criteria works very well for me , criteria like this could be hard for a team to use when discerning whether a solution meets the criteria .  Putting it in pictures helps me get out of my linear mind , so I can see other positions that could fit the criteria as well .  I expect that as I talk with people and learn about various positions , I will discover numerous tangible examples of the criteria . This could lead to my refining the criteria as well . Regarding design thinking , this activity has increased my respect for the process . I have a better understanding why people consider design thinking “ messy ” ( it can be so creative and non - linear ) and also how it can help teams generate new , out - of - the - box ideas that have never been identified before . Approach If I were to use visualization on a different project , I expect I would want more concrete , less subjective criteria . For example , “ provides….information ” or “ arrives at answer in less than 3 clicks . ” Objective criteria wo n’t be the only useful criteria though . For example , descriptions of desired customer experiences could be subjective . I could also do this process with a group of people . If everyone were job hunting , we could interview each other and gain insights we might not notice on our own . We could then create visuals that represent these richer criteria . Another option would be to start with some images and use them to elicit a more in - depth discussion of what we ’re looking for in a role . This could help us define our criteria even better . I also would want to test using more and less detailed images to see what type of impact they ’d have on the depth and type of discussion elicited from participants . I am very pleased with this activity as it ’s been very helpful for me . I ’m going to post the pictures in my home for both inspiration and focus throughout my search .