Coursera Course Design Thinking for Innovation | Final Assignment

Reflection on the Visualization Tool

Challenge & Selection – Our challenge and brief description of the tool    The context in which I applied the tool of visualization, was a consulting project, that involved  multiple stakeholders from different professional backgrounds that operate in the same  market. Hence, it was a challenge to develop a common understanding of the market  situation, as every stakeholder had a different view on the market, but most found it to be  challenging to keep the “bigger picture in mind”. That is to understand the dependencies  within the market and the interest of the different stakeholders. In the scope of the project  we were tasked to create new ventures. In order for us to ensure interest compatibility of our  solutions with all relevant stakeholders in the market, we build a physical map of the  stakeholders on a map – called ‘stakeholder map’. The tool of a stakeholder map was a visual  representation of the involved stakeholders in the form of islands on an ocean and trade  routes with ships connecting them to show the flow of material and information in the market.  Our goal was as described in the first lecture to “make it tangible and concrete. Draw a picture,  tell a story, … make a map…”. So we literally build a map to tackle the challenge of building a  solution that offers added value to all relevant stakeholders and fosters ecosystem centered  thinking rather than silo thinking.     Application – What did I do and how did we manage to apply the tool effectively?    We started our project with an empty ocean (a 3*3 meter map on a desk) that just had our  client as a single paper island on it to start the stakeholder map. Then, in a first workshop we  invited many company representatives of different fields to help us identify more relevant  stakeholders simply by asking guided questions like, what processes are triggered when a  product is purchased and what happens when a product is produced. This way we got insights  on the entire value chain as their descriptions encompassed both sides of the market,  production & sourcing, as well as sales & after sales services. Now that we got a fair idea of  who is involved in the market, we needed to find out what the different stakeholders’ interests  were. Correspondingly, we conducted a series of interviews visiting all stakeholder groups to  ask directly how we could bring value to them and what they are looking for. This helped us  to identify the interests of all stakeholders involved and once completed we could finally start  seeing dependencies and compatibility of interests.  The stakeholder map, besides allowing us to better understand what our stakeholders expect  from our solution, also helped us to build common ground quickly when conducting further  workshops with new parties. The physical representation of a market allowed for everybody  to have the same literal picture and idea of the market, which is a tremendous help when  involving new parties as a project goes on. It just helps big time bringing them up-to-speed in  an instant.    Insight & Approach – What I learned from having a physical representation of the market?    What I learned from applying a visualization tool, namely the stakeholder map, that it is crucial  to, not only develop a common understanding verbally, but also to document everything that  is discussed and make it visual so that everyone can refer back to it. Every discussion  immediately was seen in the context of the entire market rather than being limited on their  own point of view. The notion of companies to think in their own solutions rather than

Coursera Course Design Thinking for Innovation | Final Assignment

focusing the interests on all stakeholder involved is widely spread. Having a physical  representation of the market was a tremendous help in developing a true customer centric  view of the problem. As this tool was perfectly suited for the task at hand I would choose this  tool of a different over and over. However next time I would make sure to interview all  stakeholders that operate in the market and not only the ones that are involved in a  purchasing process, as you never know which interest group might become your next  competitor.


Coursera Course Design Thinking for Innovation | Final Assignment Reflection on the Visualization Tool Challenge & Selection – Our challenge and brief description of the tool The context in which I applied the tool of visualization , was a consulting project , that involved multiple stakeholders from different professional backgrounds that operate in the same market . Hence , it was a challenge to develop a common understanding of the market situation , as every stakeholder had a different view on the market , but most found it to be challenging to keep the “ bigger picture in mind ” . That is to understand the dependencies within the market and the interest of the different stakeholders . In the scope of the project we were tasked to create new ventures . In order for us to ensure interest compatibility of our solutions with all relevant stakeholders in the market , we build a physical map of the stakeholders on a map – called ‘ stakeholder map ’ . The tool of a stakeholder map was a visual representation of the involved stakeholders in the form of islands on an ocean and trade routes with ships connecting them to show the flow of material and information in the market . Our goal was as described in the first lecture to “ make it tangible and concrete . Draw a picture , tell a story , … make a map … ” . So we literally build a map to tackle the challenge of building a solution that offers added value to all relevant stakeholders and fosters ecosystem centered thinking rather than silo thinking . Application – What did I do and how did we manage to apply the tool effectively ? We started our project with an empty ocean ( a 3 * 3 meter map on a desk ) that just had our client as a single paper island on it to start the stakeholder map . Then , in a first workshop we invited many company representatives of different fields to help us identify more relevant stakeholders simply by asking guided questions like , what processes are triggered when a product is purchased and what happens when a product is produced . This way we got insights on the entire value chain as their descriptions encompassed both sides of the market , production & sourcing , as well as sales & after sales services . Now that we got a fair idea of who is involved in the market , we needed to find out what the different stakeholders ’ interests were . Correspondingly , we conducted a series of interviews visiting all stakeholder groups to ask directly how we could bring value to them and what they are looking for . This helped us to identify the interests of all stakeholders involved and once completed we could finally start seeing dependencies and compatibility of interests . The stakeholder map , besides allowing us to better understand what our stakeholders expect from our solution , also helped us to build common ground quickly when conducting further workshops with new parties . The physical representation of a market allowed for everybody to have the same literal picture and idea of the market , which is a tremendous help when involving new parties as a project goes on . It just helps big time bringing them up - to - speed in an instant . Insight & Approach – What I learned from having a physical representation of the market ? What I learned from applying a visualization tool , namely the stakeholder map , that it is crucial to , not only develop a common understanding verbally , but also to document everything that is discussed and make it visual so that everyone can refer back to it . Every discussion immediately was seen in the context of the entire market rather than being limited on their own point of view . The notion of companies to think in their own solutions rather than Coursera Course Design Thinking for Innovation | Final Assignment focusing the interests on all stakeholder involved is widely spread . Having a physical representation of the market was a tremendous help in developing a true customer centric view of the problem . As this tool was perfectly suited for the task at hand I would choose this tool of a different over and over . However next time I would make sure to interview all stakeholders that operate in the market and not only the ones that are involved in a purchasing process , as you never know which interest group might become your next competitor .