Alex Brulliea Topic choice: Storytelling (week 2)

Challenge

Recently, while going through an interview process, I had to submit a code sample of my choosing. I  didn’t have any code samples, so I knew I had to create something myself. I had actually just started  taking this course, so I decided to look through some of the different approaches to get my creative  juices flowing. While I did end up using a couple different approaches here, the most helpful approach  (and the approach that was directly integrated with my code sample/explanation of my code sample)  was storytelling.

Selection

The reason why I ultimately selected storytelling was due to the ability to give a more-broad picture of  my code. I wanted my sample to stand out from others and I knew that I could do this by putting the  humans and their experience front and center. I needed to “create my brand” and stand out because as  Andre Martin mentioned in the Storytelling Tool video, storytelling’s a fundamental part of every great  brand.

Application

So how exactly did I apply storytelling here? I started off with a User Story (something that has been a  part of my day to day job) to get the basics laid out of who I was targeting with my code, covering the  who, the what, and the how.

User Story:   As a Marketing director of AdventureWorks, I want to be able to better understand the purchasing  history by geographic location of the AdventureWorks client base. I need this information so that I can  more accurately target my clients based on their purchases and expand out of a single brick & mortar  shop. I will know this is complete when I can see (in a single report):

  The breakdown of cities of my customers

  The breakdown of order trends (how many orders were placed for each product?)

  The breakdown of order trends (what product had the most orders?)

  Product preference by customer (highest quantity purchased in a single order)

  Which customer spent the most?

Then, I built off of that User Story to give a more-full picture. I pitched my idea by telling the story of  Adventureworks, a company which has no current analytics on their client-base. I explained why this  was needed by focusing on examples of other companies who do have insights (such as the company I  was interviewing with). I also focused on the question of without these analytics, how could  Adventureworks ever progress and grow their company out of a brick and mortar shop? I believe that  this approach was very effective as it lead to a follow-up interview and excitement to move forward  from the interview panel.

Insight

By applying storytelling for my interview code sample creation, I was able to paint a picture for the  interview panel of exactly what my code was trying to accomplish. The fact that this approach helped  boost me to the next round of interviews is extremely encouraging and I know that I could benefit from  applying storytelling in more aspects of my work life. As mentioned in my challenge section, I used a  variety of design thinking tools and approaches in this challenge, and I feel like these approaches should  be used more often in tandem to get a more concrete solution.

Approach

With regard to using a variety of design thinking tools and approaches, I have been think of some  alternative approaches I could have taken for this challenge. One of which that I feel would have been  just as effective, if not more is visualization. My reason being is that code samples can get very dull and  boring for those on the less-technical side. I believe that if I had given some mockups of different charts  or graphs, it would have helped me to reverse engineer and make code based off of these visualizations  from the beginning and then also give a full picture to the interview panel. This approach, again, is just  one of many that I could have chosen to use for this challenge.

I am so excited that I was able to apply design thinking in my interview process. I believe this course will  help me grow and progress my career and I look forward to using more design thinking concepts in  future challenges.


Alex Brulliea Topic choice : Storytelling ( week 2 ) Challenge Recently , while going through an interview process , I had to submit a code sample of my choosing . I did n’t have any code samples , so I knew I had to create something myself . I had actually just started taking this course , so I decided to look through some of the different approaches to get my creative juices flowing . While I did end up using a couple different approaches here , the most helpful approach ( and the approach that was directly integrated with my code sample / explanation of my code sample ) was storytelling . Selection The reason why I ultimately selected storytelling was due to the ability to give a more - broad picture of my code . I wanted my sample to stand out from others and I knew that I could do this by putting the humans and their experience front and center . I needed to “ create my brand ” and stand out because as Andre Martin mentioned in the Storytelling Tool video , storytelling ’s a fundamental part of every great brand . Application So how exactly did I apply storytelling here ? I started off with a User Story ( something that has been a part of my day to day job ) to get the basics laid out of who I was targeting with my code , covering the who , the what , and the how . User Story : As a Marketing director of AdventureWorks , I want to be able to better understand the purchasing history by geographic location of the AdventureWorks client base . I need this information so that I can more accurately target my clients based on their purchases and expand out of a single brick & mortar shop . I will know this is complete when I can see ( in a single report ):  The breakdown of cities of my customers  The breakdown of order trends ( how many orders were placed for each product ? )  The breakdown of order trends ( what product had the most orders ? )  Product preference by customer ( highest quantity purchased in a single order )  Which customer spent the most ? Then , I built off of that User Story to give a more - full picture . I pitched my idea by telling the story of Adventureworks , a company which has no current analytics on their client - base . I explained why this was needed by focusing on examples of other companies who do have insights ( such as the company I was interviewing with ) . I also focused on the question of without these analytics , how could Adventureworks ever progress and grow their company out of a brick and mortar shop ? I believe that this approach was very effective as it lead to a follow - up interview and excitement to move forward from the interview panel . Insight By applying storytelling for my interview code sample creation , I was able to paint a picture for the interview panel of exactly what my code was trying to accomplish . The fact that this approach helped boost me to the next round of interviews is extremely encouraging and I know that I could benefit from applying storytelling in more aspects of my work life . As mentioned in my challenge section , I used a variety of design thinking tools and approaches in this challenge , and I feel like these approaches should be used more often in tandem to get a more concrete solution . Approach With regard to using a variety of design thinking tools and approaches , I have been think of some alternative approaches I could have taken for this challenge . One of which that I feel would have been just as effective , if not more is visualization . My reason being is that code samples can get very dull and boring for those on the less - technical side . I believe that if I had given some mockups of different charts or graphs , it would have helped me to reverse engineer and make code based off of these visualizations from the beginning and then also give a full picture to the interview panel . This approach , again , is just one of many that I could have chosen to use for this challenge . I am so excited that I was able to apply design thinking in my interview process . I believe this course will help me grow and progress my career and I look forward to using more design thinking concepts in future challenges .