Challenge   In my last year of university, I decided to volunteer in an organization that works throughout Latin  America. This organization is distinguished by its hard work building healthy societies and  increasing opportunity through the construction of emergency housing and the execution of  programs and projects that cover needs in underserved communities. Brahma Company works in 6 different  states, and I participated with the organization in the state of Puebla. Each community in which  this organization works is assigned a team of five to six volunteers. Each volunteer in the team has  a different profile (different degrees and mayors, and personal backgrounds) than the other team  members, which helps with the diversity of ideas and enriches teamwork. In August 2019, my  team and I were assigned a new community. After conducting extensive surveys and spoking with  community leaders over several visits, we identified several issues that Brahma Company could be involved  in. However, these problems had to be tackled individually and in a gradual manner.    Selection and Application  The first matter the team agreed to work on was an isolated collective of women in the community  between 50 to 70 years of age. These women felt that they were not actively participating within  their family or community and therefore felt left out. They were interested in carrying out some  social activities, but at the same time, they needed financial remuneration to support their family.

Choosing a social and economic activity for this group of women was a difficult decision

since it had to be in accordance with their interests and lifestyle. In order to decide what activity  best suited these women, my team gathered to discuss and to choose the best option. We decided  to use visualization as a tool to communicate individual ideas regarding the possible activities.  Visualization offers images to observe and understand another person's feelings or ideas and allows  fresh concepts to emerge from our imagination.     Through visualization, ideas were represented in single words, drawings, and specific

hours of the day that each team member thought would be convenient for these women. The ideas  were written or drawn on post-it notes and, fixed to the wall. We then discerned which ideas we  believed were viable to carry out, akin to pattern-finding. Finally, we classified the ideas we  considered similar; the remaining grouped ideas were included in a new survey with the option to  write comments concerning the activities.

We collected the data from the surveys to determine the final activity and its details. As a

result, we concluded that all women enjoyed knitting and making crafts, and a knitting group was  organized with committed women who felt isolated in their community. The group dynamic had a  positive response so the next step was to create a brand of accessories (from earrings to sweaters)  made with yarn. This group met twice a week to agree on styles, new products, and assignments.  Eventually, we helped the women bring their brand to local events and markets. This activity not  only allowed these women to have a personal income and help with family costs, but they also  regained their economic independence and formed a solid group within their community with the  same interests and similar problems, helping them to feel supported.

Insight   Visualization was a useful tool to work through this challenge. In the first place, the team was  composed of volunteers with different profiles. This enriched the project since each team member  understood the issue in a particular way and had a different approach. Because of this, visualization  as a tool made the diverse approaches easier to comprehend; the post-it notes with drawings, single  words, and specific hours of the day were useful so everybody could picture how a certain activity  would unfold.

However, after taking the course of Design Thinking for Innovation, I better- understood

visualization as a tool. This course made clear the importance of the technique and the adequate  methodology. Visualization is a key tool for the process of innovation. It helps to display all  possibilities in a more outright way to achieve consensus to choose the best strategy.    Approach  I believe that visualization was the right tool for this part of the project design. This tool allowed  us to communicate in a nonverbal way, which is helpful because messages can be misunderstood  during discussions with different viewpoints. The team working on this project was so diverse,  with countless approaches that were feasible, that visualization was the most reliable tool to help  us make our decisions.

Nevertheless, if I had the knowledge I have now, rather than classifying the post-it notes

with ideas by similarity, it would have been better to create different timelines or maps to be more  empathetic with this group of women. By doing this, we could have imagined their day- to- day  more accurately. If this had been the case, we would have identified the difficulties these women  might have had, and the variety of activities and what they entailed would have decreased. This  would have helped us to start this project sooner and it would not have needed the same  adjustments that it did.


Challenge In my last year of university , I decided to volunteer in an organization that works throughout Latin America . This organization is distinguished by its hard work building healthy societies and increasing opportunity through the construction of emergency housing and the execution of programs and projects that cover needs in underserved communities . Brahma Company works in 6 different states , and I participated with the organization in the state of Puebla . Each community in which this organization works is assigned a team of five to six volunteers . Each volunteer in the team has a different profile ( different degrees and mayors , and personal backgrounds ) than the other team members , which helps with the diversity of ideas and enriches teamwork . In August 2019 , my team and I were assigned a new community . After conducting extensive surveys and spoking with community leaders over several visits , we identified several issues that Brahma Company could be involved in . However , these problems had to be tackled individually and in a gradual manner . Selection and Application The first matter the team agreed to work on was an isolated collective of women in the community between 50 to 70 years of age . These women felt that they were not actively participating within their family or community and therefore felt left out . They were interested in carrying out some social activities , but at the same time , they needed financial remuneration to support their family . Choosing a social and economic activity for this group of women was a difficult decision since it had to be in accordance with their interests and lifestyle . In order to decide what activity best suited these women , my team gathered to discuss and to choose the best option . We decided to use visualization as a tool to communicate individual ideas regarding the possible activities . Visualization offers images to observe and understand another person 's feelings or ideas and allows fresh concepts to emerge from our imagination . Through visualization , ideas were represented in single words , drawings , and specific hours of the day that each team member thought would be convenient for these women . The ideas were written or drawn on post - it notes and , fixed to the wall . We then discerned which ideas we believed were viable to carry out , akin to pattern - finding . Finally , we classified the ideas we considered similar ; the remaining grouped ideas were included in a new survey with the option to write comments concerning the activities . We collected the data from the surveys to determine the final activity and its details . As a result , we concluded that all women enjoyed knitting and making crafts , and a knitting group was organized with committed women who felt isolated in their community . The group dynamic had a positive response so the next step was to create a brand of accessories ( from earrings to sweaters ) made with yarn . This group met twice a week to agree on styles , new products , and assignments . Eventually , we helped the women bring their brand to local events and markets . This activity not only allowed these women to have a personal income and help with family costs , but they also regained their economic independence and formed a solid group within their community with the same interests and similar problems , helping them to feel supported . Insight Visualization was a useful tool to work through this challenge . In the first place , the team was composed of volunteers with different profiles . This enriched the project since each team member understood the issue in a particular way and had a different approach . Because of this , visualization as a tool made the diverse approaches easier to comprehend ; the post - it notes with drawings , single words , and specific hours of the day were useful so everybody could picture how a certain activity would unfold . However , after taking the course of Design Thinking for Innovation , I better- understood visualization as a tool . This course made clear the importance of the technique and the adequate methodology . Visualization is a key tool for the process of innovation . It helps to display all possibilities in a more outright way to achieve consensus to choose the best strategy . Approach I believe that visualization was the right tool for this part of the project design . This tool allowed us to communicate in a nonverbal way , which is helpful because messages can be misunderstood during discussions with different viewpoints . The team working on this project was so diverse , with countless approaches that were feasible , that visualization was the most reliable tool to help us make our decisions . Nevertheless , if I had the knowledge I have now , rather than classifying the post - it notes with ideas by similarity , it would have been better to create different timelines or maps to be more empathetic with this group of women . By doing this , we could have imagined their day- to- day more accurately . If this had been the case , we would have identified the difficulties these women might have had , and the variety of activities and what they entailed would have decreased . This would have helped us to start this project sooner and it would not have needed the same adjustments that it did .