Example Reflection – Visualization

Challenge & Selection

The first tool I used was the tool of Visualization, or Visual Thinking, to achieve a shared understanding
of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting to identify and define
possible solutions to the problem. I use this approach often with our customers, who are government
agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize their mission or the delivery of their
services to their customer, which may be U.S. citizens, businesses, and non-citizens. I have used the
technique of using a straw man visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for
discussion to allow a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining
the scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying
pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions.

Application

I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain. To develop the straw man
graphic, I will draw from any existing material available to understand the environment. The existing
material may be operational or procedural documents, training materials, marketing materials, GAO or
other auditing reports. If materials are not available, then I conduct informal interviews with one-three
of the stakeholders who serve as my main points of contact on the initiative.

If appropriate to the situation, I will borrow the concept to “front-stage/back-stage” from previous
research, and discussed in David Gray’s book, “The Connected Company”. The front-stage/back-stage
approach helps to reinforce the notion that every service – even an internal service – has customers
with whom the service provider interacts and internal processes that enable the organization to provide
the service. The template I often start with also has a column on the left to identify Partners and Value
Chain Providers and a column on the right to identify Oversight Organizations, such as Congress, GAO,
labor unions, advocacy groups, and other entities that may add constraints to how the organization
operates. The straw man graphic is simple, using simple shapes and icons available in Visio or on the
Internet. If the front-stage/back-stage view doesn’t work, then I will create a different type of visual,
either based on a high-level process flow with swim lanes for different stakeholders, or another format.

For the activity, I will divide the stakeholders into groups of 5-6 participants each representing a
different organization or area of interest. Each group receives a poster-size copy of the straw man
graphic that they can write on directly, or use sticky notes to make comments. I give them two-three
questions to answer, such as: 1) What key elements are missing from the graphic? 2) What would you
change about the graphic to make it more accurately reflect your problem space? 3) What key insights
do you have about the relationships between the entities in your problem space? I give them
approximately 20 minutes to discuss the questions and mark up the graphic. Then I have each group
report out on their answers to those three questions while pointing to the mark-ups on their poster. As
each group reports out, I record commonalities in the insights of each group, and then additional
insights that come from the group discussion on an additional copy of the graphic. After the session, I
digitize each group’s poster as an artifact, create a view that combines the shared and new insights from
the group discussion, and then create a revised graphic that incorporates their feedback and proposed
changes that they agreed to as a group.
Insight & Approach

What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that while the graphic –
especially the revised graphic that incorporates their feedback – is important for reinforcing their
understanding of the problem they are working to solve, the more valuable aspect of the activity is the
shared insights and shared learning that occurs while they are working to define their problem
space. The graphic gives the diverse group of stakeholders a focal point for discussion that allows them
to share their perspectives and develop insights into potential root causes of their problems. While they
could create the graphic from a blank slate in a collaborative manner, starting with a straw man jump
starts the conversation for them. They can quickly identify where they are in the graphic – or if they are
missing – and can more quickly gain new insights about relationships between key entities instead of
taking time to identify them. They can also identify variables in the problem space – that is, it helps
them to identify what they don’t know, in what areas they need to obtain information or data to provide
the values for the variables.

Since I discovered that the most valuable aspect is the shared insights and learning, next time I would
use the visualization activity as a starting point for a series of design thinking activities. Then the revised
graphic that incorporates their combined feedback can serve as a reference tool throughout the
remainder of their work.