Final Assignment – Reflection

Using Visualization in Design Thinking

Challenge

Have you ever come across a situation when you watched a team of dedicated employees work hard yet  every year consistently fall short of expectations? I have overtime watched one such team in my non- profit organization follow this pattern and decided their dilemma would be an excellent project to use  for this exercise.  This particular team is responsible for the growth and delivery of a youth-focused  program. A program that has remain stagnant with limited growth for the past five years. The program  provides career-education services to high school-aged youth in partnership with local businesses and  schools. Their staff leader had recently been transferred to another department which opened the door  for me to step in and help facilitate with the remaining six members’ how best to address this challenge.

Our organization’s expectation for this program is that they achieve overall enrollment growth in 2016  while maintaining retention standards. They needed to engage more youth members and community  partners without sacrificing the quality expectations of the program’s delivery. Doing the same thing  over and over again and expecting better results was certainly not going to work for them anymore. This  challenge was going to require more than the typical process improvement best practices. While they  had some data available on market potential, it was very limited. What they did have though was  collectively a lot of years of field experience. Using the diagnostic tool provided in lesson one of the  Design Thinking course, I first determined that a design thinking approach, as opposed to a linear  analytic method was appropriate for this challenge. I then decided the utilization of visualization tools  would be the perfect approach to tap into the collective experiences of the team members to better  enable them to find the best solutions and a new plan. One that would lead to a turn-around of their  previous performance.

Selection

The application of visualization tools is an effective way for inspiring work teams to think beyond their  paradigms. Applying these tools, when working with different teams in my area of responsibility, is by  far one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. I am convinced I get more benefit from watching the  team members grow through the process than they do! During week one in our Design Thinking course,  Karin Schmidt indicated in her video that, “Visualization… is thinking about the possibilities that we  haven’t yet seen.”  I also believe it’s the role of every team leader to help their team member “see”  what success looks like, otherwise without a clear picture of what could be, it will be difficult for the  team to aspire to achieve success. People learn through multiple ways such as visual, verbal, and  physical. Research shows that most people tend to use one method more than the others. I like to use  visualization tools as, when done effectively, it allows for multiple learning styles to be incorporated  throughout the process. Through the use of visualization tools, team members are able to capture the  vision not only individually, but also as whole. It’s always a good thing when the whole team has the  same clarity as to what success looks like.

From my perspective as a senior manager in a non-profit organization, there are a number of benefits  for using visualization tools in the workplace. They can break down silo’s that often exists between  departments leading to better inter-department team collaboration. They are effective in building  bridges between different work teams as they learn more about each other’s role and often establish  new relationships. They are very helpful in mitigating any team members who tend to dominate  conversations as well as optimizing the input from team members who tend to stay disengaged.  They  help the organization communicate more effectively regarding organization mission, goals and strategy.  Lastly – the use of visualization tools tends to always find better solutions and achieve greater results.

In summary, I will use several visualization tools, including; journey mapping, and idea generation using  photos, to help facilitate the team’s growth goal planning process.  These two tools I find particularly  helpful when it comes to guiding teams to go deeper in thought than the normal planning process  practices require.   I will provide specifics as to how these tools will be applied in the next section.

Application

Based on the team’s time frame, as well as my own, I mapped out a planning process that would take  three weeks to complete. Following our initial kick-off meeting in mid-December, we would meet during  each of the next three weeks with an expectation of completing the 2016 growth plan by the first week  in 2016. Our kick-off meeting would “set the stage” on meeting times and dates, clarify expectations and  outcomes, team member participation, and defining supportive roles such as coordinating  communication and note taking. I next thought through the logistics for ensuring an environment that  fostered collaboration and creating thinking. Once we had the times and dates confirmed, I arranged for  a fairly large conference room that would provide adequate space for moving around, whiteboards, flip  charts, round tables and refreshment tables.

Once the logistics were in place it was time to think through the facilitation tools and what else would  be needed for their effective use. I mentioned earlier my preference for using journey mapping. I find  this tool especially useful for existing programs such as this one. This tool breaks down the journey of  experiences that the youth members will go through, beginning with the very first touch points such as  the invitation to join, to the moment they receive their certificate for completing the program. The  journey mapping tool provides a good framework to pose questions around. Questions designed to  inspire idea generation. Each of these experiences can be looked at from both a singular activity  perspective as well as from the perspective of how they integrate with other experiences. Most  importantly, they allow the team members to put themselves into the “youth member’s journey” and  find ways to empathize with the youth member. What was the first meeting like? How did they feel  when someone invited them to join? The second visualization tool I selected for this project is to use  photos for idea generation. Whether they are photos from our archives, team members’ favorite  magazines or photos they will take between meetings, these photos will be used to illustrate their  thoughts in defining what the current state is and what the future state might look like. Once we  outlined the key milestone experiences in the member’s journey such as the joining experience and the  first activity experience we began capturing photos that described answers to both of the “what is” and  “what if” questions in the Design Thinking process.  These photos were attached to each milestone  experience and allowed the team members to begin to find insights on solution possibilities.

One other important exercise we underwent during the first meeting was the use of open-ended  questions. These questions were designed to create focus and alignment on the purpose of this planning  project as well as breakdown any existing paradigms that might be limiting their thinking. Several of the  questions I used included:

  What do we expect our members will get out of the program?

  How do we expect them to feel in each activity experience?

  What level and types of experiences to they expect from the program?

  Who are the different stakeholders that are engaged in the process and what are their  experiences?

  What does the invitation to join experience look like? How would your (youth family  member) react to the experience?

As we progressed through the three meetings the ideas began to flow regularly and build upon the  results from previous meetings. Between meetings team members recognized they needed to follow-up  on questions that were being generated. An example that stood out was the lack of information as to  how well school career counselors were familiar with the program. Between meetings calls were made  by team members to school personal to test their level of awareness. By the time the last meeting was  completed, team members were able identify two key experiences that needed major attention. No  question these were the “what wows” moments. As of this writing, the planning phase has moved to  several concepts under development for testing to determine “what work’s.”

Insight

I too gained several insights along the way regarding the effective use of visualization. One that stood  out dealt with the timing of using photos in the process. During the first meeting I encouraged the team  to start at the beginning of the youth member’s journey and review each segment in a chronological  order. I found we kept deferring ideas to the next meeting which missed an opportunity to explore the  idea then and now. By the second meeting I encouraged the exploration of ideas and concepts  regardless of the chronological order. This led to a big wow! The team began building the experience  milestones backwards. Suddenly the program was redesigned so that each activity was building on the  previous activity rather than the disjointed format of the current design.

The second “big wow” for the group was related to the joining process. There was an assumption that  high school career counselors understood the program since they received regular communications  about it. Even though their schools were providing the program many did not understand the outcomes  or were familiar with the youth experiences being provided. These counselors are key stakeholders since  they make the referrals to both students and their parents about our program. The interviews with  counselors between meetings exposed this weakness. The team members explored several “what if”  solutions designed to better educate and engage counselors in better understanding their role as a key  stakeholder. Finally, the project helped me gain better insights and new approach ideas on how to use  more effectively visualization when working with our teams.

Approach

For me visualization tools will always play a major role in facilitating team design thinking. My  observations are that most projects that fail usually do so because of a poor planning phase. That poor  planning phase is most likely caused by the lack of full engagement of team members which results in  misunderstandings and lack of clarity on the outcomes and the strategy to achieve them.  Two lessons  learned for me that I will incorporate in future team facilitations relate to both storytelling and  personas.

Halfway through our meetings, I still did not feel the team was focused on the true purpose of the  project. They were building a plan to increase enrollment. What I wanted them to do was build a plan to  change the lives of more youth. I believe the effective use of compelling stories used strategically  throughout the project will lead to even more inspiration thinking. Remembering why they are going  through this exercise will definitely create a more empathetic environment of which I believe team  members will stretch even further in their thinking when designing a plan. My second insight relates to  the MeYouthHealth story, described in lesson three of the Design Thinking course. Learning more about  personas has helped me better understand their effectiveness. I could see how discovering the personas  of each stakeholder, especially the prospective youth member, would be another effective way to get  additional insights on finding solutions. A more individualized profile would have helped the team better  understand barriers and motivations.


Final Assignment – Reflection Using Visualization in Design Thinking Challenge Have you ever come across a situation when you watched a team of dedicated employees work hard yet every year consistently fall short of expectations ? I have overtime watched one such team in my non- profit organization follow this pattern and decided their dilemma would be an excellent project to use for this exercise . This particular team is responsible for the growth and delivery of a youth - focused program . A program that has remain stagnant with limited growth for the past five years . The program provides career - education services to high school - aged youth in partnership with local businesses and schools . Their staff leader had recently been transferred to another department which opened the door for me to step in and help facilitate with the remaining six members ’ how best to address this challenge . Our organization ’s expectation for this program is that they achieve overall enrollment growth in 2016 while maintaining retention standards . They needed to engage more youth members and community partners without sacrificing the quality expectations of the program ’s delivery . Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting better results was certainly not going to work for them anymore . This challenge was going to require more than the typical process improvement best practices . While they had some data available on market potential , it was very limited . What they did have though was collectively a lot of years of field experience . Using the diagnostic tool provided in lesson one of the Design Thinking course , I first determined that a design thinking approach , as opposed to a linear analytic method was appropriate for this challenge . I then decided the utilization of visualization tools would be the perfect approach to tap into the collective experiences of the team members to better enable them to find the best solutions and a new plan . One that would lead to a turn - around of their previous performance . Selection The application of visualization tools is an effective way for inspiring work teams to think beyond their paradigms . Applying these tools , when working with different teams in my area of responsibility , is by far one of the most enjoyable parts of my job . I am convinced I get more benefit from watching the team members grow through the process than they do ! During week one in our Design Thinking course , Karin Schmidt indicated in her video that , “ Visualization … is thinking about the possibilities that we have n’t yet seen . ” I also believe it ’s the role of every team leader to help their team member “ see ” what success looks like , otherwise without a clear picture of what could be , it will be difficult for the team to aspire to achieve success . People learn through multiple ways such as visual , verbal , and physical . Research shows that most people tend to use one method more than the others . I like to use visualization tools as , when done effectively , it allows for multiple learning styles to be incorporated throughout the process . Through the use of visualization tools , team members are able to capture the vision not only individually , but also as whole . It ’s always a good thing when the whole team has the same clarity as to what success looks like . From my perspective as a senior manager in a non - profit organization , there are a number of benefits for using visualization tools in the workplace . They can break down silo ’s that often exists between departments leading to better inter - department team collaboration . They are effective in building bridges between different work teams as they learn more about each other ’s role and often establish new relationships . They are very helpful in mitigating any team members who tend to dominate conversations as well as optimizing the input from team members who tend to stay disengaged . They help the organization communicate more effectively regarding organization mission , goals and strategy . Lastly – the use of visualization tools tends to always find better solutions and achieve greater results . In summary , I will use several visualization tools , including ; journey mapping , and idea generation using photos , to help facilitate the team ’s growth goal planning process . These two tools I find particularly helpful when it comes to guiding teams to go deeper in thought than the normal planning process practices require . I will provide specifics as to how these tools will be applied in the next section . Application Based on the team ’s time frame , as well as my own , I mapped out a planning process that would take three weeks to complete . Following our initial kick - off meeting in mid - December , we would meet during each of the next three weeks with an expectation of completing the 2016 growth plan by the first week in 2016 . Our kick - off meeting would “ set the stage ” on meeting times and dates , clarify expectations and outcomes , team member participation , and defining supportive roles such as coordinating communication and note taking . I next thought through the logistics for ensuring an environment that fostered collaboration and creating thinking . Once we had the times and dates confirmed , I arranged for a fairly large conference room that would provide adequate space for moving around , whiteboards , flip charts , round tables and refreshment tables . Once the logistics were in place it was time to think through the facilitation tools and what else would be needed for their effective use . I mentioned earlier my preference for using journey mapping . I find this tool especially useful for existing programs such as this one . This tool breaks down the journey of experiences that the youth members will go through , beginning with the very first touch points such as the invitation to join , to the moment they receive their certificate for completing the program . The journey mapping tool provides a good framework to pose questions around . Questions designed to inspire idea generation . Each of these experiences can be looked at from both a singular activity perspective as well as from the perspective of how they integrate with other experiences . Most importantly , they allow the team members to put themselves into the “ youth member ’s journey ” and find ways to empathize with the youth member . What was the first meeting like ? How did they feel when someone invited them to join ? The second visualization tool I selected for this project is to use photos for idea generation . Whether they are photos from our archives , team members ’ favorite magazines or photos they will take between meetings , these photos will be used to illustrate their thoughts in defining what the current state is and what the future state might look like . Once we outlined the key milestone experiences in the member ’s journey such as the joining experience and the first activity experience we began capturing photos that described answers to both of the “ what is ” and “ what if ” questions in the Design Thinking process . These photos were attached to each milestone experience and allowed the team members to begin to find insights on solution possibilities . One other important exercise we underwent during the first meeting was the use of open - ended questions . These questions were designed to create focus and alignment on the purpose of this planning project as well as breakdown any existing paradigms that might be limiting their thinking . Several of the questions I used included :  What do we expect our members will get out of the program ?  How do we expect them to feel in each activity experience ?  What level and types of experiences to they expect from the program ?  Who are the different stakeholders that are engaged in the process and what are their experiences ?  What does the invitation to join experience look like ? How would your ( youth family member ) react to the experience ? As we progressed through the three meetings the ideas began to flow regularly and build upon the results from previous meetings . Between meetings team members recognized they needed to follow - up on questions that were being generated . An example that stood out was the lack of information as to how well school career counselors were familiar with the program . Between meetings calls were made by team members to school personal to test their level of awareness . By the time the last meeting was completed , team members were able identify two key experiences that needed major attention . No question these were the “ what wows ” moments . As of this writing , the planning phase has moved to several concepts under development for testing to determine “ what work ’s . ” Insight I too gained several insights along the way regarding the effective use of visualization . One that stood out dealt with the timing of using photos in the process . During the first meeting I encouraged the team to start at the beginning of the youth member ’s journey and review each segment in a chronological order . I found we kept deferring ideas to the next meeting which missed an opportunity to explore the idea then and now . By the second meeting I encouraged the exploration of ideas and concepts regardless of the chronological order . This led to a big wow ! The team began building the experience milestones backwards . Suddenly the program was redesigned so that each activity was building on the previous activity rather than the disjointed format of the current design . The second “ big wow ” for the group was related to the joining process . There was an assumption that high school career counselors understood the program since they received regular communications about it . Even though their schools were providing the program many did not understand the outcomes or were familiar with the youth experiences being provided . These counselors are key stakeholders since they make the referrals to both students and their parents about our program . The interviews with counselors between meetings exposed this weakness . The team members explored several “ what if ” solutions designed to better educate and engage counselors in better understanding their role as a key stakeholder . Finally , the project helped me gain better insights and new approach ideas on how to use more effectively visualization when working with our teams . Approach For me visualization tools will always play a major role in facilitating team design thinking . My observations are that most projects that fail usually do so because of a poor planning phase . That poor planning phase is most likely caused by the lack of full engagement of team members which results in misunderstandings and lack of clarity on the outcomes and the strategy to achieve them . Two lessons learned for me that I will incorporate in future team facilitations relate to both storytelling and personas . Halfway through our meetings , I still did not feel the team was focused on the true purpose of the project . They were building a plan to increase enrollment . What I wanted them to do was build a plan to change the lives of more youth . I believe the effective use of compelling stories used strategically throughout the project will lead to even more inspiration thinking . Remembering why they are going through this exercise will definitely create a more empathetic environment of which I believe team members will stretch even further in their thinking when designing a plan . My second insight relates to the MeYouthHealth story , described in lesson three of the Design Thinking course . Learning more about personas has helped me better understand their effectiveness . I could see how discovering the personas of each stakeholder , especially the prospective youth member , would be another effective way to get additional insights on finding solutions . A more individualized profile would have helped the team better understand barriers and motivations .