Reflection - Visualization

Challenge

A common conundrum facing anyone who works on customer facing projects is  understanding the client’s “true” needs as opposed to what they say they need in their  project brief. Typically, I am able to understand the client’s needs and provide  appropriate solutions through discussions, understanding the day-in-the-life of the end  user, journey mapping, etc. However, recently I came across a “wicked problem” - the  client could not agree on the problem they were facing. Different business groups  requested technology-driven solutions to address their data visibility needs as it pertains  to supply chain delays. Each business unit also felt addressing their needs first would  have the greatest positive impact on the organization. Discussing the requirements with  each group, it was clear that their needs were interconnected and the groups needed to  be brought to the same conclusion before recommending and developing a solution.

Selection

As the objective was to enable the teams to recognize commonalities between their  requirements and align on the problem the organization is facing, I used the  Visualization tool. Visualization allows us to step outside the project brief and think in  non-verbal ways. It enables us to access the creative side of their brain, be it through  sketches, writing on a whiteboard, etc., and look at a problem through a different lens.

Application

For our workshop, we brought together all the business units and provided each  individual with sticky notes and markers. Each participant was given 15 minutes to  answer two questions (1) What does data visibility mean to me? and (2) What is the  issue I want to solve?. Everyone in the meeting provided multiple answers to both  questions and posted their response onto the whiteboards. As a group we collectively  reviewed each response and started to categorize them. We were building a word cloud  with Post-it Notes in real-time! Going through the exercise, the teams started to  recognize the commonality between their needs - they all wanted to track and  eventually predict delays within their supply chain network; they would simply be using  the information differently.

With the teams now aligned on a common goal, the teams were highly engaged in the  next step of the workshop - mapping the current process (another Visualization  exercise) and identifying roadblocks. The engagement led to good discussions between  the groups as they educated each other on their operations, pain points, and shared the  data they currently have access to. This allowed us to work with the client to build

robust documentation of the current processes - operations & data flows, identify the  process flow relationships between the different groups, identify data gaps, and  brainstorm solutions. The end result was the creation of a holistic solution incorporating  each team’s operations and data needs instead of building the solution in silos.

Insight & Approach

Using the Visualization tool to define the problem was a game changer. Not only did it  unify the business groups around the same end goal, it also facilitated the development  of a more holistic, integrated, and long-term solution for the client. Going into the  workshop we had a couple of ideas to address their needs but looking back they would  have been stop gap measures.

Historically, I have used the Visualization tool during the ‘current state’ and ‘future state’  design phases - it helps to “sketch” both the customer’s and my thoughts and ideas. But  going forward, I will be leveraging the Visualization tool upfront to really define the  problem with the customer as I have seen how taking a design thinking approach can  elicit conversations about customer needs and develop solutions that neither party  previous considered.


Reflection - Visualization Challenge A common conundrum facing anyone who works on customer facing projects is understanding the client ’s “ true ” needs as opposed to what they say they need in their project brief . Typically , I am able to understand the client ’s needs and provide appropriate solutions through discussions , understanding the day - in - the - life of the end user , journey mapping , etc . However , recently I came across a “ wicked problem ” - the client could not agree on the problem they were facing . Different business groups requested technology - driven solutions to address their data visibility needs as it pertains to supply chain delays . Each business unit also felt addressing their needs first would have the greatest positive impact on the organization . Discussing the requirements with each group , it was clear that their needs were interconnected and the groups needed to be brought to the same conclusion before recommending and developing a solution . Selection As the objective was to enable the teams to recognize commonalities between their requirements and align on the problem the organization is facing , I used the Visualization tool . Visualization allows us to step outside the project brief and think in non - verbal ways . It enables us to access the creative side of their brain , be it through sketches , writing on a whiteboard , etc . , and look at a problem through a different lens . Application For our workshop , we brought together all the business units and provided each individual with sticky notes and markers . Each participant was given 15 minutes to answer two questions ( 1 ) What does data visibility mean to me ? and ( 2 ) What is the issue I want to solve ? . Everyone in the meeting provided multiple answers to both questions and posted their response onto the whiteboards . As a group we collectively reviewed each response and started to categorize them . We were building a word cloud with Post - it Notes in real - time ! Going through the exercise , the teams started to recognize the commonality between their needs - they all wanted to track and eventually predict delays within their supply chain network ; they would simply be using the information differently . With the teams now aligned on a common goal , the teams were highly engaged in the next step of the workshop - mapping the current process ( another Visualization exercise ) and identifying roadblocks . The engagement led to good discussions between the groups as they educated each other on their operations , pain points , and shared the data they currently have access to . This allowed us to work with the client to build robust documentation of the current processes - operations & data flows , identify the process flow relationships between the different groups , identify data gaps , and brainstorm solutions . The end result was the creation of a holistic solution incorporating each team ’s operations and data needs instead of building the solution in silos . Insight & Approach Using the Visualization tool to define the problem was a game changer . Not only did it unify the business groups around the same end goal , it also facilitated the development of a more holistic , integrated , and long - term solution for the client . Going into the workshop we had a couple of ideas to address their needs but looking back they would have been stop gap measures . Historically , I have used the Visualization tool during the ‘ current state ’ and ‘ future state ’ design phases - it helps to “ sketch ” both the customer ’s and my thoughts and ideas . But going forward , I will be leveraging the Visualization tool upfront to really define the problem with the customer as I have seen how taking a design thinking approach can elicit conversations about customer needs and develop solutions that neither party previous considered .