Coursera – Design Thinking for Innovation Final Assignment:     The Challenge:     I have been working with a handful of individuals to envision and create an innovation lab  inside one of the universities in our area. It is the first organization of its kind in our area, and  although there is some data on creating an innovation lab out there, we were not sure how  much of that information would be useful to us.  Our goal is to provide meaningful work  experience for students and affordable and innovative solutions for businesses by connecting  them through projects requested by the business and managed by a lab partner who ensures  that the work done is useful and completed well.  This is a very human centered problem that  involves several sets of stakeholders, the students, the lab partners, and businesses who all  need to find ways to trust each other in order to meet their own needs. The structure of the lab  would govern how it would act, what kind of students it would recruit and the partners it would  engage.       Tool Selection:     Visualization    All the tools mentioned in the course are needed for this challenge, but I chose to start with  visualization. As mentioned in the “Visualization Tool” video, visualization is a part of the entire  design and development process. Starting with this tool was key because the innovation lab  was born as a concept. Being able to see our ideas as we talked and planned was critical to our  group understanding.  Also, the images, drawings, sketches and diagrams that we came up with  formed the basis of our conversations with others about what we now do and how we do it.     Application:     Over the course of several weeks, I met with various team members and worked on creating  diagrams as we discussed what the lab could be. My role in this team (and in many others) is as  the graphic facilitator. What that means is, that when the team is discussing ideas I am at the  whiteboard, turning their words into diagrams and drawings, capturing key points and using  those drawings to help the team clarify what they are talking about and helping them come to a  common understanding. In the conversations about the lab and what it would be, I worked with  a handful of core individuals to map out the structure and purpose of the lab. One of my  favourite questions to ask in those sessions was “What does it (your idea/concept/plan) look  like?”    In any given work session, there were be periods of time where I recorded other people’s ideas  and asked clarifying questions like “Is this what you’re thinking?” or “Tell me more about that?”  or “Can you walk me through how it works?”. There were also periods where I did a lot of  drawing and diagraming without doing any talking or question asking. Silent periods during our

work are important. They allow us to gather our own thoughts and others without editing or  judgement. When our whiteboards were covered with sticky notes and drawings, we looked at  it and started to find patterns, circling things and moving them around so that like things are  close to other like things.     My final favorite tool is drawing word pictures in people’s minds and using analogy to connect  and transmit ideas.  Once we agree on an understanding of the word picture, I can make a  simple drawing of that word picture and it will bring the whole conversation back to people’s  minds.       Insights:    We left most of our drawings of the lab structure in view in the lab and we found that  conversations deepened and were richer the longer that people saw and had time to think  about the diagrams.  We made small changes to some and additions to most of the  whiteboards and they served as a common anchor.    The visual images were a great anchor for memory for us. We used the drawings like a visual  short hand, and many of the team found them engaging.     We also found that drawings were much more engaging than paragraphs, and communicated  ideas much more quickly, both among ourselves and in our communication with those who  visited the lab. We used our drawings to share our ideas and get new people on board.     If not all members were at a design/drawing session, those who were absent took less  ownership of the drawings and were less likely to make changes to them.     Some people also seemed less willing to make changes to the diagrams on the whiteboard if  they were “too pretty.” There was still some “I’m not an artist” type reservations.       For Next Time:     The first thing I’d do next time is to put a marker in each persons’ hands as soon as they enter a  meeting/ work session. I think the sooner that people put a mark on the board, the sooner they  start participating, and understanding the value of the process.     Related to that, I might only work on cleaning up the diagram after leaving it in its “rough” state  on the board for a week or two. Perhaps that will also invite more changes and participation.     Since we were relatively new to this process, we took an unstructured approach to it, finding  our way as we went. I would like to uncover a few new visualization tips and tools and try them  in a more structured format to see if that method of working would work well for this small

group of “nonconformists”. I’d be interested to see if we would get more or better information,  understanding and consensus if we changed our approach next time.


Coursera – Design Thinking for Innovation Final Assignment : The Challenge : I have been working with a handful of individuals to envision and create an innovation lab inside one of the universities in our area . It is the first organization of its kind in our area , and although there is some data on creating an innovation lab out there , we were not sure how much of that information would be useful to us . Our goal is to provide meaningful work experience for students and affordable and innovative solutions for businesses by connecting them through projects requested by the business and managed by a lab partner who ensures that the work done is useful and completed well . This is a very human centered problem that involves several sets of stakeholders , the students , the lab partners , and businesses who all need to find ways to trust each other in order to meet their own needs . The structure of the lab would govern how it would act , what kind of students it would recruit and the partners it would engage . Tool Selection : Visualization All the tools mentioned in the course are needed for this challenge , but I chose to start with visualization . As mentioned in the “ Visualization Tool ” video , visualization is a part of the entire design and development process . Starting with this tool was key because the innovation lab was born as a concept . Being able to see our ideas as we talked and planned was critical to our group understanding . Also , the images , drawings , sketches and diagrams that we came up with formed the basis of our conversations with others about what we now do and how we do it . Application : Over the course of several weeks , I met with various team members and worked on creating diagrams as we discussed what the lab could be . My role in this team ( and in many others ) is as the graphic facilitator . What that means is , that when the team is discussing ideas I am at the whiteboard , turning their words into diagrams and drawings , capturing key points and using those drawings to help the team clarify what they are talking about and helping them come to a common understanding . In the conversations about the lab and what it would be , I worked with a handful of core individuals to map out the structure and purpose of the lab . One of my favourite questions to ask in those sessions was “ What does it ( your idea / concept / plan ) look like ? ” In any given work session , there were be periods of time where I recorded other people ’s ideas and asked clarifying questions like “ Is this what you ’re thinking ? ” or “ Tell me more about that ? ” or “ Can you walk me through how it works ? ” . There were also periods where I did a lot of drawing and diagraming without doing any talking or question asking . Silent periods during our work are important . They allow us to gather our own thoughts and others without editing or judgement . When our whiteboards were covered with sticky notes and drawings , we looked at it and started to find patterns , circling things and moving them around so that like things are close to other like things . My final favorite tool is drawing word pictures in people ’s minds and using analogy to connect and transmit ideas . Once we agree on an understanding of the word picture , I can make a simple drawing of that word picture and it will bring the whole conversation back to people ’s minds . Insights : We left most of our drawings of the lab structure in view in the lab and we found that conversations deepened and were richer the longer that people saw and had time to think about the diagrams . We made small changes to some and additions to most of the whiteboards and they served as a common anchor . The visual images were a great anchor for memory for us . We used the drawings like a visual short hand , and many of the team found them engaging . We also found that drawings were much more engaging than paragraphs , and communicated ideas much more quickly , both among ourselves and in our communication with those who visited the lab . We used our drawings to share our ideas and get new people on board . If not all members were at a design / drawing session , those who were absent took less ownership of the drawings and were less likely to make changes to them . Some people also seemed less willing to make changes to the diagrams on the whiteboard if they were “ too pretty . ” There was still some “ I ’m not an artist ” type reservations . For Next Time : The first thing I ’d do next time is to put a marker in each persons ’ hands as soon as they enter a meeting/ work session . I think the sooner that people put a mark on the board , the sooner they start participating , and understanding the value of the process . Related to that , I might only work on cleaning up the diagram after leaving it in its “ rough ” state on the board for a week or two . Perhaps that will also invite more changes and participation . Since we were relatively new to this process , we took an unstructured approach to it , finding our way as we went . I would like to uncover a few new visualization tips and tools and try them in a more structured format to see if that method of working would work well for this small group of “ nonconformists ” . I ’d be interested to see if we would get more or better information , understanding and consensus if we changed our approach next time .