Reflection – Visualization

Challenge & Selection

I have started working as business analyst for a new client in the insurance industry a couple of  months ago. They hired me to join a team who was asked to redesign an application for claims  management. The current application is a nightmare for business users as it is originally an access  database where a front end UI has been added. They have to manually enter loads of data, duplicate  data entry in many systems, go through an enormous number of clicks to complete a task, and many  other astonishing facts that made their work very inefficient. However, as many of these users were  working for the company for years, they all seemed to have found work around to their daily issue  and this what made our job very difficult. Indeed, we notice that people easily implement routines  that prevent them from stepping out of their comfort zone and bring innovative solutions to their  problems. So instead of starting from scratch in their mind, they were tweaking existing  functionalities.

As our job is to understand business processes and pinpoint their pain points, we need to step away  from very explanatory details and look at the big picture of ‘why are they achieving this?’ to discover  the full lifecycle of a claim from its intake to its closure.  That way, we are reducing waste to provide  them with a great and efficient user experience.

We decided to use a visualization tool to make it easier for the business to follow us on their new  journey. After our first workshops with stakeholders, we started using Balsamic to create clickable  mock-ups that could be directly tested by our users. It is a great tool that enable people to already  have a feel of how their new application could look like.

Application

Once we have gathered the data that we needed, we started to cluster our requirements and  prioritized them depending on their business value. Before going back to the business with our  findings and our potential solutions, we wanted to make a visual interpretation of our big picture, of  where we wanted to take them. We believed, from what we have seen, that it would have been  much more difficult to convince them with bullet points in a powerpoint presentation. So we took  our 3 best ideas that regrouped the majority of their individual needs and created mock-ups that  represented the new screens of their application. As Balsamic allows you to link one screen to  another, it makes it easy to create the feeling of a real experience, providing useful insights and  greater feedback.

Once we had enough details in these mockups, we organized a demo meeting with our stakeholders.  As our stakeholders are located in multiple countries, we did it over webex, allowing us to share our  screen to our audience and drive them through the screens. We covered each functionality end-to  end and asked them to note any idea/remarks that came to their mind while we were presenting. At  the end of the session, we used sli.do, a Q&A and polling platform, to collect their first impressions  on what they had just experienced and start the discussion.

Balsamic also offers the possibility to download your mock-ups in a clickable pdf and send it to your  users. So that is what we did. After our demo, we sent them the pdf with the user stories detailing  each step of the process for each new functionality. That way we could continue the discussion. They  loved the demo, and we never stopped using mock-ups during our collaboration: up to now, we have

regular workshops with our users to make sure the functionality we create answer their needs and  we use mock-ups for instant testing, feedback and iteration until the process includes all business  cases.

It has also allowed users to express their creativity and get an instant feel of the accuracy of their  idea. Once their idea becomes tangible, they allow us to challenge it and iterate it until, together, we  find our design criteria.

Besides, users just love to play around with the mock-ups. They would go back and forth in each of  the screens and think of something that could be improved or added. They make research on the  internet and speak to colleagues or friends to find out about innovative functionalities that exist in  similar systems. It’s been an insightful experience.

Insight & Approach

Balsamic has allowed us to create a more collaborative way of working with our stakeholders. Now,  instead of sending emails with bullet points, people call us directly on skype to share their thoughts.  We then share our screen with them so that they can drive us through their remark and we directly  apply changes where required. Together, we try different possibilities on the spot, challenge it, and  decide on which one to keep.

Without mock-ups, our agility would have been compromised as other available tools for business  analysts might sometimes be complex for someone with no IT background. Visualization has helped  users think broader in many aspects of their lives, but more importantly, it has helped our  communication and collaboration. People from different professional background might sometimes  encounter difficulties understanding one another. That is one of the reason why there are now  business analysts, people who translate business needs into actual IT requirements. After years of  having wasted time and money in functionalities or application that didn’t meet business needs,  firms realized that their teams didn’t unsterdand each other jobs and therefore it creates massive  falls in their communication. Visualization removes this room for mistake as it allows people to speak  the same language.

Using mind mapping for our requirement gathering phase has also helped us navigate into our users’  mind. After having collected and consolidated all our data, we have pinpointed patterns and similar  needs across different line of business and countries. We organized workshops in each country to  present our data and ask them to map what could be part of the same functionality. We then asked  them to select their top 3 functionalities and tell us why they really need it. That’s how we get their  painpoints and start thinking about how we could solve them.


Reflection – Visualization Challenge & Selection I have started working as business analyst for a new client in the insurance industry a couple of months ago . They hired me to join a team who was asked to redesign an application for claims management . The current application is a nightmare for business users as it is originally an access database where a front end UI has been added . They have to manually enter loads of data , duplicate data entry in many systems , go through an enormous number of clicks to complete a task , and many other astonishing facts that made their work very inefficient . However , as many of these users were working for the company for years , they all seemed to have found work around to their daily issue and this what made our job very difficult . Indeed , we notice that people easily implement routines that prevent them from stepping out of their comfort zone and bring innovative solutions to their problems . So instead of starting from scratch in their mind , they were tweaking existing functionalities . As our job is to understand business processes and pinpoint their pain points , we need to step away from very explanatory details and look at the big picture of ‘ why are they achieving this ? ’ to discover the full lifecycle of a claim from its intake to its closure . That way , we are reducing waste to provide them with a great and efficient user experience . We decided to use a visualization tool to make it easier for the business to follow us on their new journey . After our first workshops with stakeholders , we started using Balsamic to create clickable mock - ups that could be directly tested by our users . It is a great tool that enable people to already have a feel of how their new application could look like . Application Once we have gathered the data that we needed , we started to cluster our requirements and prioritized them depending on their business value . Before going back to the business with our findings and our potential solutions , we wanted to make a visual interpretation of our big picture , of where we wanted to take them . We believed , from what we have seen , that it would have been much more difficult to convince them with bullet points in a powerpoint presentation . So we took our 3 best ideas that regrouped the majority of their individual needs and created mock - ups that represented the new screens of their application . As Balsamic allows you to link one screen to another , it makes it easy to create the feeling of a real experience , providing useful insights and greater feedback . Once we had enough details in these mockups , we organized a demo meeting with our stakeholders . As our stakeholders are located in multiple countries , we did it over webex , allowing us to share our screen to our audience and drive them through the screens . We covered each functionality end - to end and asked them to note any idea / remarks that came to their mind while we were presenting . At the end of the session , we used sli.do , a Q&A and polling platform , to collect their first impressions on what they had just experienced and start the discussion . Balsamic also offers the possibility to download your mock - ups in a clickable pdf and send it to your users . So that is what we did . After our demo , we sent them the pdf with the user stories detailing each step of the process for each new functionality . That way we could continue the discussion . They loved the demo , and we never stopped using mock - ups during our collaboration : up to now , we have regular workshops with our users to make sure the functionality we create answer their needs and we use mock - ups for instant testing , feedback and iteration until the process includes all business cases . It has also allowed users to express their creativity and get an instant feel of the accuracy of their idea . Once their idea becomes tangible , they allow us to challenge it and iterate it until , together , we find our design criteria . Besides , users just love to play around with the mock - ups . They would go back and forth in each of the screens and think of something that could be improved or added . They make research on the internet and speak to colleagues or friends to find out about innovative functionalities that exist in similar systems . It ’s been an insightful experience . Insight & Approach Balsamic has allowed us to create a more collaborative way of working with our stakeholders . Now , instead of sending emails with bullet points , people call us directly on skype to share their thoughts . We then share our screen with them so that they can drive us through their remark and we directly apply changes where required . Together , we try different possibilities on the spot , challenge it , and decide on which one to keep . Without mock - ups , our agility would have been compromised as other available tools for business analysts might sometimes be complex for someone with no IT background . Visualization has helped users think broader in many aspects of their lives , but more importantly , it has helped our communication and collaboration . People from different professional background might sometimes encounter difficulties understanding one another . That is one of the reason why there are now business analysts , people who translate business needs into actual IT requirements . After years of having wasted time and money in functionalities or application that did n’t meet business needs , firms realized that their teams did n’t unsterdand each other jobs and therefore it creates massive falls in their communication . Visualization removes this room for mistake as it allows people to speak the same language . Using mind mapping for our requirement gathering phase has also helped us navigate into our users ’ mind . After having collected and consolidated all our data , we have pinpointed patterns and similar needs across different line of business and countries . We organized workshops in each country to present our data and ask them to map what could be part of the same functionality . We then asked them to select their top 3 functionalities and tell us why they really need it . That ’s how we get their painpoints and start thinking about how we could solve them .