Design Thinking for Innovation  Tool chosen: Storytelling

Date: August 5, 2019

1. Challenge  I am an I.T Engineer for a company which provides support to companies in the manufacturing sector. I  am a part of a team whose challenge is to find ways and means to improve our service delivery by  proving management with reports on our activities. These reports would help to make better business  decisions and needed buy in from all stakeholders. Being in the I.T. industry we of course know that one  of the best ways to get insights is to analyze data which we collect about the service we are delivering.  Two (2) months ago, we implemented an incident and knowledge base management system using the  application “Eventum”. Some of our customers however, are used to calling the field technicians directly  and not bothering to go through dispatch. This does not affect our revenue since our contract is not on a  per job basis and our technicians log their visits. However, we sometimes don’t know exactly what the  end-user is experiencing since we don’t get the calls from them. Having gone ahead with the  implementation of our application, we need our end users to appreciate the importance of using it.

2. Selection  As Cynthia Bibo pointed out in week 2 in the video “The Physics of Innovation”, Storytelling puts  human beings and their experiences front and center. It takes the listener along their journey. It allowed  for us to reach out to the customer on a personal level (face to face), about a possible issue which could  come up and affect them. Since at this stage the goal is to get the end users to appreciate and use the  application being implemented, storytelling I believe is the best choice to show them why what we are  doing is necessary. It allows them to look at a similar situation which they could find themselves in or  benefit from by standing outside the picture and looking in.

3. Application  My story was set in a similar type of business where the users bought into the use of the application and  saw the benefits to them and the company. I attempted to show the advantages of using the system and  how it was in their best interest individually and for their company on a whole to be able to track the  activities involving technicians and manage the knowledge gained by keeping proper logs in a format  which can give insight. I began which the accounting, clerical and administrative staff in a 5-minute  meeting after their usual morning briefing. I reminded them of the new system we implemented 2  months earlier, but usage was below 3 percent. I began with the story of Jane and the other  administrative workers at M&N Manufacturing, who did not like to use the application which was  implemented. They all had to use the office Workhorse CopyCenter printer which was labeled the  workhorse by management, however the admin staff found it a hassle, and from time to time it kept

going down. The time had come to get a new printer for the office and management, who was not  located in that building was sold on the idea that the Workhorse, was the best model printer to get.  They made decision to go ahead with the purchase despite the complaints from the administrative staff  who knew the multiple issues there was with the device. All they had to argue with was their memory.  There were very few tickets opened regarding the printer, therefore it did not come up to management  as a possible trouble device they should stay away from. In the end, the workers who used the printer  the most got another “not so great” device to work with, and management spent money on a device  which was not in their best interest. At this point they all understood the importance of logging  whatever issues they may have so that it is easier to make a case with regards to what may be taking  place, whether it is good or bad. We close my short talk with a promise from the end users to start using  Eventum to log any I.T. issues they are having. The results so far have shown an increase in the logging  of incidents using the tool which has shown the effectiveness of using the Storytelling tool.

4. Insight  By applying the Storytelling tool, we were able to allow the end users to see the importance of logging  the issues they had on a day to day basis. It showed that by allowing persons to have a view of the  possibilities in which a similar situation related to them, by looking at the situation from an outside  perspective works. It being relatable and tends to drive home whatever point which was needed. We  were able to show that even if you don’t see the significance now, at the end of the day, the actions can  come back to help or haunt you.

5. Approach  Given a similar situation at another point in time, I would use this Storytelling tool as it had the desired  effect. As stated earlier, Cynthia Bibo pointed out in week 2 that Storytelling puts human beings  and their experiences front and center. It takes the listener along their journey, which we needed to  accomplish. Sebastien Tran, the Global Leadership Development Director at Mars Inc, spoke about  creating a pro and con list in the “Storytelling Tool” video in week 2, and how to solve it.

We have a system in Eventum we believe we can use to track issues and provide reports (for us the pro),  but on the other hand the users do not see the importance of using it (for us the con). The use of  Storytelling ensured we had their attention in a situation they could possibly relate to. This concept was  pointed out again by Sebastien when he stated, “A good story is simply displaying a message that has logic”.  This is what we were trying to achieve, and I believe it was accomplished using the Storytelling tool. He  also pointed out the need to sell they challenge in design thinking by using the most appropriate story to  get the point across which we did. The challenge of the “wicked problem facing the organization” as he  termed it which in our case was not using the application we implemented. Bringing up this ‘con’  allowed the audience to understand the current state, as he went on to point out.

As stated earlier, with the increase in the logging of issues, it shows the effectiveness of the use of this  Storytelling tool.


Design Thinking for Innovation Tool chosen : Storytelling Date : August 5 , 2019 1 . Challenge I am an I.T Engineer for a company which provides support to companies in the manufacturing sector . I am a part of a team whose challenge is to find ways and means to improve our service delivery by proving management with reports on our activities . These reports would help to make better business decisions and needed buy in from all stakeholders . Being in the I.T. industry we of course know that one of the best ways to get insights is to analyze data which we collect about the service we are delivering . Two ( 2 ) months ago , we implemented an incident and knowledge base management system using the application “ Eventum ” . Some of our customers however , are used to calling the field technicians directly and not bothering to go through dispatch . This does not affect our revenue since our contract is not on a per job basis and our technicians log their visits . However , we sometimes do n’t know exactly what the end - user is experiencing since we do n’t get the calls from them . Having gone ahead with the implementation of our application , we need our end users to appreciate the importance of using it . 2 . Selection As Cynthia Bibo pointed out in week 2 in the video “ The Physics of Innovation ” , Storytelling puts human beings and their experiences front and center . It takes the listener along their journey . It allowed for us to reach out to the customer on a personal level ( face to face ) , about a possible issue which could come up and affect them . Since at this stage the goal is to get the end users to appreciate and use the application being implemented , storytelling I believe is the best choice to show them why what we are doing is necessary . It allows them to look at a similar situation which they could find themselves in or benefit from by standing outside the picture and looking in . 3 . Application My story was set in a similar type of business where the users bought into the use of the application and saw the benefits to them and the company . I attempted to show the advantages of using the system and how it was in their best interest individually and for their company on a whole to be able to track the activities involving technicians and manage the knowledge gained by keeping proper logs in a format which can give insight . I began which the accounting , clerical and administrative staff in a 5 - minute meeting after their usual morning briefing . I reminded them of the new system we implemented 2 months earlier , but usage was below 3 percent . I began with the story of Jane and the other administrative workers at M&N Manufacturing , who did not like to use the application which was implemented . They all had to use the office Workhorse CopyCenter printer which was labeled the workhorse by management , however the admin staff found it a hassle , and from time to time it kept going down . The time had come to get a new printer for the office and management , who was not located in that building was sold on the idea that the Workhorse , was the best model printer to get . They made decision to go ahead with the purchase despite the complaints from the administrative staff who knew the multiple issues there was with the device . All they had to argue with was their memory . There were very few tickets opened regarding the printer , therefore it did not come up to management as a possible trouble device they should stay away from . In the end , the workers who used the printer the most got another “ not so great ” device to work with , and management spent money on a device which was not in their best interest . At this point they all understood the importance of logging whatever issues they may have so that it is easier to make a case with regards to what may be taking place , whether it is good or bad . We close my short talk with a promise from the end users to start using Eventum to log any I.T. issues they are having . The results so far have shown an increase in the logging of incidents using the tool which has shown the effectiveness of using the Storytelling tool . 4 . Insight By applying the Storytelling tool , we were able to allow the end users to see the importance of logging the issues they had on a day to day basis . It showed that by allowing persons to have a view of the possibilities in which a similar situation related to them , by looking at the situation from an outside perspective works . It being relatable and tends to drive home whatever point which was needed . We were able to show that even if you do n’t see the significance now , at the end of the day , the actions can come back to help or haunt you . 5 . Approach Given a similar situation at another point in time , I would use this Storytelling tool as it had the desired effect . As stated earlier , Cynthia Bibo pointed out in week 2 that Storytelling puts human beings and their experiences front and center . It takes the listener along their journey , which we needed to accomplish . Sebastien Tran , the Global Leadership Development Director at Mars Inc , spoke about creating a pro and con list in the “ Storytelling Tool ” video in week 2 , and how to solve it . We have a system in Eventum we believe we can use to track issues and provide reports ( for us the pro ) , but on the other hand the users do not see the importance of using it ( for us the con ) . The use of Storytelling ensured we had their attention in a situation they could possibly relate to . This concept was pointed out again by Sebastien when he stated , “ A good story is simply displaying a message that has logic ” . This is what we were trying to achieve , and I believe it was accomplished using the Storytelling tool . He also pointed out the need to sell they challenge in design thinking by using the most appropriate story to get the point across which we did . The challenge of the “ wicked problem facing the organization ” as he termed it which in our case was not using the application we implemented . Bringing up this ‘ con ’ allowed the audience to understand the current state , as he went on to point out . As stated earlier , with the increase in the logging of issues , it shows the effectiveness of the use of this Storytelling tool .