Example Reflection – Visualization

Challenge & Selection

Visualization is a tool that I started using lately as a project manager in my company’s IT  department. As a project manager, one is responsible for making clear to all project members  of the tasks at hand and of the responsibilities that each and every member has in order for  the project to be completed on time. This is very difficult to be accomplished, especially when  projects are complicated and involve many different teams to work together.  People involved  in such projects need to have a clear understanding of the problem to be solved. Having to  deal with too many people and unclear requirements increases the complexity level of a  project manager’s work.

Visualization is a core component of the way people communicate. It consciously inserts visual  imagery into our work processes and focuses on bringing an idea to life, simplifying team  collaboration and (eventually) creating stories that go to the heart of how designers cultivate  empathy in every phase of their work and use it to generate excitement for new ideas (Wilson  & Wilson, 2011).

Having difficulties in completing projects on time, I thought of trying the visualization  approach in order to see if it helps in decreasing the uncertainty and ambiguity that exists in  large projects among stakeholders.

Application

A complex project may involve people from different IT departments such as infrastructure,  development, support, help desk, security and networking to mention a few. Being the project  manager for such a project, I decided to hold a couple of meetings with all the stakeholders  to identify the tasks at hand and make clear to everyone involved of the goal of the project.  Having understood the goal to be achieved, I held a few more meetings with all the members  of the different IT departments involved in order to process the requirements in such a way  in order to produce large bodies of work which in turn can be broken down into smaller tasks.

These large bodies of work were then described on sticky notes that were later put on a board  in a way to represent the activities of the service and in the order that they occur. Lanes were  drawn to represent both the customer and the different departments involved and lines were  added to show the interactions between the different activities. The final image was a  visualization of all the actions needed for a service to function while incorporating the  viewpoints of everyone involved in the project. The final image, once agreed by all members,  was transferred and depicted in electronic form and later distributed to all members. A service  blueprint was ready.

Insight and Approach

The results from applying the approach of visualization through service blueprinting were such  that made me decide to use the approach when I will be involved in complex projects. This  “experiment” made me realize that projects are easier understood when everyone involved  work collaboratively. In addition, using visualization tools such as service blueprints, all team  members share the same understanding of the project and its tasks. Different departments  can get to know each other’s responsibilities and challenges and see how they influence each  other’s deliverables. They also help in defining areas of investigation and in cutting through  different departmental silos.

Of course, practice makes one better in using such tools, in identifying their weaknesses and  strengths and I am sure I still have a lot to learn. For example, the first time I used service  blueprint, the tasks depicted were at a very high level. Some of the members though would  have preferred a more detailed description of the tasks while others would not. It all depends  on the people you have to work with and their preferences. In the end though, the high level  view of the steps of a project is the same for everyone.

Now if one asks me what I would change in the way I am using the visualization tool of service  blueprint, I would say that I would also use it as a reference in order to identify pain points,  and when redesign of a service is required as customers’ needs change over time. I would also  try to use visualization together with agile development in order to visualize the smaller tasks  of the bigger picture. Knowing the number of tasks to be delivered, the number of tasks  completed and other relevant information, it would be a challenge to see how agile would  affect the time to deliver a project as a whole.


Example Reflection – Visualization Challenge & Selection Visualization is a tool that I started using lately as a project manager in my company ’s IT department . As a project manager , one is responsible for making clear to all project members of the tasks at hand and of the responsibilities that each and every member has in order for the project to be completed on time . This is very difficult to be accomplished , especially when projects are complicated and involve many different teams to work together . People involved in such projects need to have a clear understanding of the problem to be solved . Having to deal with too many people and unclear requirements increases the complexity level of a project manager ’s work . Visualization is a core component of the way people communicate . It consciously inserts visual imagery into our work processes and focuses on bringing an idea to life , simplifying team collaboration and ( eventually ) creating stories that go to the heart of how designers cultivate empathy in every phase of their work and use it to generate excitement for new ideas ( Wilson & Wilson , 2011 ) . Having difficulties in completing projects on time , I thought of trying the visualization approach in order to see if it helps in decreasing the uncertainty and ambiguity that exists in large projects among stakeholders . Application A complex project may involve people from different IT departments such as infrastructure , development , support , help desk , security and networking to mention a few . Being the project manager for such a project , I decided to hold a couple of meetings with all the stakeholders to identify the tasks at hand and make clear to everyone involved of the goal of the project . Having understood the goal to be achieved , I held a few more meetings with all the members of the different IT departments involved in order to process the requirements in such a way in order to produce large bodies of work which in turn can be broken down into smaller tasks . These large bodies of work were then described on sticky notes that were later put on a board in a way to represent the activities of the service and in the order that they occur . Lanes were drawn to represent both the customer and the different departments involved and lines were added to show the interactions between the different activities . The final image was a visualization of all the actions needed for a service to function while incorporating the viewpoints of everyone involved in the project . The final image , once agreed by all members , was transferred and depicted in electronic form and later distributed to all members . A service blueprint was ready . Insight and Approach The results from applying the approach of visualization through service blueprinting were such that made me decide to use the approach when I will be involved in complex projects . This “ experiment ” made me realize that projects are easier understood when everyone involved work collaboratively . In addition , using visualization tools such as service blueprints , all team members share the same understanding of the project and its tasks . Different departments can get to know each other ’s responsibilities and challenges and see how they influence each other ’s deliverables . They also help in defining areas of investigation and in cutting through different departmental silos . Of course , practice makes one better in using such tools , in identifying their weaknesses and strengths and I am sure I still have a lot to learn . For example , the first time I used service blueprint , the tasks depicted were at a very high level . Some of the members though would have preferred a more detailed description of the tasks while others would not . It all depends on the people you have to work with and their preferences . In the end though , the high level view of the steps of a project is the same for everyone . Now if one asks me what I would change in the way I am using the visualization tool of service blueprint , I would say that I would also use it as a reference in order to identify pain points , and when redesign of a service is required as customers ’ needs change over time . I would also try to use visualization together with agile development in order to visualize the smaller tasks of the bigger picture . Knowing the number of tasks to be delivered , the number of tasks completed and other relevant information , it would be a challenge to see how agile would affect the time to deliver a project as a whole .