Visualization tool

Challenge & Selection

A few years ago, I was asked to take the position of head of the procurement department

in a large restaurant chain. One of the first tasks was to deal with the current system of purchasing

alcohol products taking into account the wishes of all stakeholders.

The system was an interaction of various employees and organizations: 8 restaurants, in

each restaurant 1 or 2 bartenders, forming orders; one procurement manager who receives these

orders and sends them to suppliers; various alcohol companies specializing in certain types of

products. Now I can easily describe and explain this system, but then it was difficult to identify

bottlenecks due to a large number of participants and their business processes. In addition to

identifying bottlenecks, I also had to hold many meetings and present two complex systems and

explain the advantages of my option. Before that, I had the experience of participating in various

stages of the design thinking process, and to solve these two challenges, it was decided to use one

of my favorite and most often used design thinking tools - visualization.

Application

The visualization process began with the preparation of a general portrait of the system -

this information will help to understand how to compose all the elements and place them on the

screen. So, first of all, I conducted an interview and got an idea of this system from each participant

in the procurement process. Further, I highlighted the main participants: bartenders, purchasing

managers, suppliers' company managers, and restaurant chain management. After identifying the

participants, I proceeded to establish relationships and prescribing the specific functional tasks of

each participant, for example, the procurement process begins with the bartender compiling an

order, which he sends to the procurement manager. The procurement manager formats the order

and sends it to the product supplier company manager.

After collecting all the data, I compiled the initial skeleton of my graphics using the

mindmap construction method. To simplify the visual appearance of the system, the main

participants, and the tasks they performed were replaced with images associated with them. To

study possible changes in this system, the developed system was printed and cut into individual

pre-selected elements. Using this tool, you can work out various options of the system: vary the

participants, change functions, and more.

Insight & Approach

In the process of developing various options for the system, I accidentally dropped the

cards of the purchasing manager, leaving all the other elements in their places. And voila - the idea

came up how to optimize the system! If you exclude the procurement manager from the

procurement process and delegate orders completely to the bartender using IoT technologies (a

QR code automatically generates a message to the supplier’s manager you need), it will reduce the

number of iterations for the order. In addition, the use of this technology will help level the human

factor (which was already high) and easily apply this system to new business units.

In this way, using the visualization technique, I not only could find a good solution for my

main job task but also greatly simplified the process of communication between interested parties.

Once again, I was convinced of the versatility and usefulness of visualization - it not only helps to

be creative in our tasks but also to establish communication.


Visualization tool Challenge & Selection A few years ago , I was asked to take the position of head of the procurement department in a large restaurant chain . One of the first tasks was to deal with the current system of purchasing alcohol products taking into account the wishes of all stakeholders . The system was an interaction of various employees and organizations : 8 restaurants , in each restaurant 1 or 2 bartenders , forming orders ; one procurement manager who receives these orders and sends them to suppliers ; various alcohol companies specializing in certain types of products . Now I can easily describe and explain this system , but then it was difficult to identify bottlenecks due to a large number of participants and their business processes . In addition to identifying bottlenecks , I also had to hold many meetings and present two complex systems and explain the advantages of my option . Before that , I had the experience of participating in various stages of the design thinking process , and to solve these two challenges , it was decided to use one of my favorite and most often used design thinking tools - visualization . Application The visualization process began with the preparation of a general portrait of the system - this information will help to understand how to compose all the elements and place them on the screen . So , first of all , I conducted an interview and got an idea of this system from each participant in the procurement process . Further , I highlighted the main participants : bartenders , purchasing managers , suppliers ' company managers , and restaurant chain management . After identifying the participants , I proceeded to establish relationships and prescribing the specific functional tasks of each participant , for example , the procurement process begins with the bartender compiling an order , which he sends to the procurement manager . The procurement manager formats the order and sends it to the product supplier company manager . After collecting all the data , I compiled the initial skeleton of my graphics using the mindmap construction method . To simplify the visual appearance of the system , the main participants , and the tasks they performed were replaced with images associated with them . To study possible changes in this system , the developed system was printed and cut into individual pre - selected elements . Using this tool , you can work out various options of the system : vary the participants , change functions , and more . Insight & Approach In the process of developing various options for the system , I accidentally dropped the cards of the purchasing manager , leaving all the other elements in their places . And voila - the idea came up how to optimize the system ! If you exclude the procurement manager from the procurement process and delegate orders completely to the bartender using IoT technologies ( a QR code automatically generates a message to the supplier ’s manager you need ) , it will reduce the number of iterations for the order . In addition , the use of this technology will help level the human factor ( which was already high ) and easily apply this system to new business units . In this way , using the visualization technique , I not only could find a good solution for my main job task but also greatly simplified the process of communication between interested parties . Once again , I was convinced of the versatility and usefulness of visualization - it not only helps to be creative in our tasks but also to establish communication .