Thesis po chih tsai 2010 by Visually yours

University:

Delft University of Technology http://www.tudelft.nl/

Faculty:

Industrial Design Engineering

Master:

Design for Interaction

Company:

JAM visual thinking http://www.jam-site.nl/

Project title:

Decipher the Magic of Visual Thinking in Sessions and Design a Physical Toolkit for JAM visual thinking

Duration:

June 2009 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Feb 2010

Student:

Po-Chih Tsai

Registration number:

1389092

Contact information:

pochihtsai@gmail.com

Supervisory Team Chair:

Dr. Ingrid Mulder Design Communication & Conceptualization Department Industrial Design

Mentor:

Dr. Walter A. Aprile Design Communication & Conceptualization Department Industrial Design

Company mentor:

Ir. Dennis M.A. Luijer JAM visual thinking

Preface In November 2009, I was in Venice to visit the Biennale Architecture exhibition. In the Japanese pavilion, it was a strong impact to me about the drawing power. When I stepped into the pavilion, it simply looked like a newly-built house with no furniture but only big and white walls. However, when I walked closer to the walls, I was surprised by the extremely detailed and delicate pencil drawings which covered all over the walls. To me, the drawings are light but strong, and quiet but powerful. The imperfect strokes might be naive but freed me to imagine and to dream about the future of human beings. This experience was so overwhelming that imprinted a strong impression in my mind. About two weeks later, there was the second surprise waiting in the TUDelft IOB company fair, where I was impressed by what JAM visual thinking (JAM) can do. JAM conducted a business to help people communicate well with drawings. This impression reminded me of the impact I had in the Japanese pavilion. And a question came to my mind: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What makes the hand drawings so powerful in helping people to communicate?â&#x20AC;? This question became the starting point of my graduation project to decipher the magic of Visual Thinking in group sessions and to design a concept to make Visual Thinking more effectively.

Acknowledgement I still remembered the day when the graduation project kicked off nine months ago. I was not sure if I could finish the project alone since there are no many precedents to follow. It is two weeks before my final presentation now. I finally know that the answer is a simply â&#x20AC;&#x153;No. I could not.â&#x20AC;? I could never finish the project without your supports; no matter they are warm embraces or harsh criticism. The end of this nine-month journey is near. This is just about time for me to say thanks to you all sincerely. First of all, thanks to Ingrid and Walter. It must be a hard time for you to guide a student who usually struggled with the composition of a qualified report and is really bad in time management. However, you still showed great patient to wait for me coming back on the right track again. I also appreciate that you did not compromise and kept pushing me to a better performance. It is sometimes unbearable, but eventually it turned out to be one of the best lessons I had learned in the project. I do appreciate the opportunity to have your guidance. For my colleagues in JAM visual thinking, Wouter, Mike, Jan, Jeroen, Joost, David, and Lieke, I am so lucky to work with you, guys! You are always eager to help, to take a look on my work, and to listen to me patiently. You inspired me a lot with open-minded hearts and amazing talents. It is a pity that the amazing journey is going to end, but it is also so great that I have the chance to work with you guys. Jan, I will always remember your firm hug when I was so down. Mike, Wouter, and Jeroen, you taught me that I should be more eager to seek help, and, more than this, you let me know I am not alone on the journey. Joost and Lieke, it is so valuable to learn from your experience. David, thanks for your helps and next time please share more nice music with me! It was often difficult for me to compose a qualified academic report. If the final thesis can reach any standards of a qualified report, that will be all because of your efforts to review my works, my friends. Many thanks to Lily, Lin Jun, Rene, CK, Sharon, Wendy, and Yuli. I will also never forget your unconditional support when I felt I cannot go on anymore. You gave me the strength to keep going. To my family in Taiwan, I cannot wait to see you in the near future. Even though you cannot be here in my final presentation, you are always on my mind. Finally, special thanks to Dennis. Without your steady support and endless passion, I cannot go that far till now. You gave me the chance to work with you and JAM visual thinking as the first international intern and the first graduation project in JAM visual thinking. I believe we both enjoyed the process. You have told me that it is stupid to be called master after the graduation of master program. I totally agree with this. This project is just a way for me to find a key to open the door to a new territory. But it does not show us the way to the treasure. I have to do it by myself. I am so glad that you and the JAMmers show me the wonders of Visual Thinking. And that will be something nice for me to continue in the future. 4

Executive Summary The graduation project is a collective project between TUDelft and JAM visual thinking. This study is devoted to unveil the potential of Visual Thinking in business sessions and to eventually improve the effectiveness of the method. JAM visual thinking, a consultancy company based on the Netherlands, features in providing various products from visualization to suggestions of strategies with their drawings. This graduation project is conducted to help JAMmers to harness the magic power of Visual Thinking effectively. “Visuals” and “logical thinking” have been torn apart by modern educational systems. Nowadays, the gap is re-bridging when Visual Thinking, a facilitation method, is developed in the mid 21

century. But Visual Thinking process is still unknown in studies of the effects of Visual Thinking although it results in an ineffective session. To solve the problem, a visual summary is composed to describe general process, techniques, and benefits of Visual Thinking in previous studies in the chapter 2. However, human interactions are not paid equal attention to their influences in Visual Thinking process. In order to understand the human interactions in Visual Thinking sessions, a research method, Contextmapping, is applied to explore and study the experiences of JAMmers in business practice. An experimental method is also applied to analyze the data collected. The conclusions of two research questions are translated into visuals to communicate the findings. Visual Thinkers are proved performing a balanced left-brain and right-brain role in Visual Thinking sessions. They have to deal with people’s stereotypes to drawers in order to get early acceptance. Otherwise, the effects of Visual Thinking will be compromised significantly because of the misunderstanding impression. The final concept is developed to solve the eliminate the stereotype and therefore to improve effectiveness of Visual Thinking method in business sessions. Conclusions of the graduation project, recommendations for the future study on Visual Thinking, and reflections on the whole process of the study are elaborated in the end of the report.

Content Preface ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgement ..................................................................................................................... 4 Excutive summary...................................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 1 1.1

1.2

Introduction ......................................................... 10

JAM visual thinking - Company description ......................................................................... 11 1.1.1

Services of JAM visual thinking ................................................................................ 11

1.1.2

Focus of the study ................................................................................................... 12

1.1.3

Initial problem description in JAM visual thinking .................................................. 13

Background study of Visual Thinking ................................................................................... 14 1.2.1

History of Visual Thinking ........................................................................................ 14

1.2.2

International trend in Visual Thinking practice ....................................................... 15

1.2.3

Literature study ....................................................................................................... 17

1.3

Fundamental features of Visual Thinking ............................................................................. 18

1.4

Problem definition ............................................................................................................... 20

1.5

Goal of the graduation project ............................................................................................. 20

1.6

Process of the graduation project ........................................................................................ 21

Chapter 2 2.1

Exploratory Study ................................................. 22

Preceding studies on Visual Thinking process in Sessions ................................................... 23 2.1.1

Individual visual thinking process ............................................................................ 23

2.1.2

JAM Visual Design process ...................................................................................... 24

2.1.3

Comparison ............................................................................................................. 25

2.2

Visual summary of general Visual Thinking process ............................................................ 26

2.3

Limitations of the preceding studies .................................................................................... 33

2.4

2.5

2.3.1

Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interactions with the dynamic context .......................................... 33

2.3.2

Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; deep interactions with session participants .................................. 34

Conceptual Framework for a Visual Thinking process ......................................................... 35 2.4.1

Four Stages in Visual Thinking Sessions ................................................................... 35

2.4.2

Five Processes in Visual Thinking Sessions .............................................................. 36

Proposed focus for the following research .......................................................................... 37

Chapter 3

Contextmapping Research ................................... 38

3.1

Goal of the research ............................................................................................................. 39

3.2

Research questions .............................................................................................................. 39

3.3

Research method and process ............................................................................................. 39

3.4

Findings on research question 1: Human interactions in Visual Thinking process............... 44

3.5

3.6

3.4.1

Analyses ................................................................................................................... 44

3.4.2

Results ..................................................................................................................... 48

3.4.3

Discussion ................................................................................................................ 52

3.4.4

Visual translation of the results ............................................................................... 59

Findings on research question 2: Critical problems in interactions with dynamic context .. 60 3.5.1

Analyses ................................................................................................................... 60

3.5.2

Results ..................................................................................................................... 61

3.5.3

Discussion ................................................................................................................ 65

3.5.4

Visual translation of the results ............................................................................... 67

Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 70 3.6.1

Ballancing JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions ..................................................... 70

3.6.2

Demands for a proper solution to the crucial problem in JAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practice ............... 70

Chapter 4

Conceptualization ................................................ 72

4.1

Goal of the conceptualization .............................................................................................. 73

4.2

Requirements ....................................................................................................................... 73

4.3

Concepts development ........................................................................................................ 75

4.4

Evaluation............................................................................................................................. 82

4.5

4.4.1

Feedback on the concepts ....................................................................................... 82

4.4.2

Discussion ................................................................................................................ 83

Suggested idea based on the final concept.......................................................................... 84

Chapter 5.

Conclusions and Recommendations.................... 86

5.1

Evaluation of objectives of the project ................................................................................ 86

5.2

Application of the Contextmappint research method ......................................................... 87

5.3

Further study........................................................................................................................ 87 5.3.1

Potential negative Roles/functions in sessions ........................................................ 87

5.3.2

Specific demands of different session participants ................................................. 88

5.3.3

Researches on preparation and evaluation of the sessions .................................... 88

Chapter 6.

Reflection ............................................................ 90

6.1

6.2

6.3

Challenges in this project ..................................................................................................... 90 6.1.1

Specification of the problem definition ................................................................... 90

6.1.2

Scheduling ............................................................................................................... 90

Skills and knowledge development ...................................................................................... 90 6.2.1

Academic reading and writing ................................................................................. 90

6.2.2

Conducting Contextmapping research method ....................................................... 90

Further improvement........................................................................................................... 90

Reference ................................................................................ 92

Appendixes

Chapter 1 Introduction Visual Thinking is used in business sessions to support participants in reaching a common ground by means of real-time visual recordings. Visual Thinking in group sessions is also named Graphic Facilitation in literature (Pearse, 2007; Tyler, et al., 2005; Valenza & Adkins, 2009) and by opinion leaders in practice (See Appendix 1 & 2). For the purpose of the report, the approach will be called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Visual Thinkingâ&#x20AC;? as a general term. This chapter starts with a company description of JAM visual thinking, a consultancy company based in the Netherlands, in which the focus of the study is defined and a major issue in the practice of Visual Thinking is described. In order to resolve the issue, a background study is conducted on the history of Visual Thinking, international trend of Visual Thinking practice, and literature research. Furthermore, an initial problem is defined in general field of JAM visual thinking, international Visual Thinking practice, and literature. The goal of the graduation project is settled to resolve the defined problem in the end of the chapter.

1.1

JAM visual thinking - Company description

JAM visual thinking (JAM) is a seven-person company that works together with various partners. This year, 2009, is a watershed for JAM to rethink strategies and improve the effectiveness of Visual Thinking based on their five-year experience in practice of Visual Thinking. 1.1.1

Services of JAM visual thinking

For the last five years, JAM visual thinking has used drawing techniques to help people deal with complex issues within public organizations, private sectors and personal projects. JAMmers, people work in JAM visual thinking, take part in the process and together translate the project into clear drawings (See Figure 1-1-1). Together JAM converts clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; story into visible pieces and visualizes the coherence (See Figure 1-1-2). After the session, the ideas in the drawings will be further developed to a detailed illustration (See an example in Figure 1-1-3).

Figure 1-1-1

Figure 1-1-2

JAM participates in meetings with clients to clear their ideas with instant drawings. Source: http://www.jam-site.nl/

How JAM does: Source: http://www.jam-site.nl/ A. JAMmers listen to clients about their situations and expectations. B. JAMmers try to extract the essential elements in the complex context. C. JAMmers link the elements in a coherent story which meets clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understandings. D. Clients use drawings created by JAMmers to better explain their ideas to people.

Figure 1-1-3

1.1.2

An example work by JAM visual thinking. Source: JAM visual thinking

Focus of the study

Business sessions are the focus of the study. Five major categories in JAM’s previous works have been defined by JAM, which are “Image on demand”, “Visual noting”, “Workshops”, “Intake (one-on-one sessions)”, and “Projects” (See Table 1-1-1 in next page). For the purpose of the graduation project, the focus of the study is on “Workshops” and “Intake (one-on-one sessions)”, where JAMmers work with a small group of people in business sessions for hours (See Figure 1-1-4).

Figure 1-1-4

Focus of the study

Compared between these categories, the “Projects” can be the most involved cases as the “Image on demand” are the least involved in Visual Thinking method. The involvement indicates the chances that JAMmers can be part of the problem-solving process with their clients. The involvement of Visual Thinking method in the sessions of “Image on demand” and “Visual noting” is not positive enough to explore the operation of Visual Thinking. Moreover, although the involvement of Visual Thinking in “Project” is the most, the length of a given project is too long to observe and explore in the scale of the graduation project. 12

Table 1-1-1 Brief descriptions of five major categories in JAM visual thinking’s previous works Category A.

Involvement

Image on demand

Low

The works in this category will require JAM to visualize developed ideas or visions of an institution. The works demand only JAM’s drawing and visual communication skills. B.

Visual noting The works in Visual noting are mostly held in a conference where JAMmers will draw in front of participants. There is little interaction between JAMmers and participants.

Workshops The Workshops are usually conducted with ten people or less. With a smaller group of participants, JAMmers can have interactions with participants. As a result, they can ask if the drawings can correctly represent the participants’ ideas or not.

Intake (one-on-one sessions) The works in Intake are usually held only in-between JAMmers and key stakeholders in clients’ company. The clients can express their ideas directly to JAMmers, and JAMmers can explain their drawings thoroughly to the clients at the quality time.

Projects The works in the Projects can demand JAMmers for several months or years. JAMmers will be asked to participate early in the beginning of a given projects. JAMmers can contribute more to helping their clients to find a solution or form a vision.

High

Table 1-1-1 Brief descriptions of five major categories in JAM visual thinking’s previous works

1.1.3

Initial problem description in JAM visual thinking

After I discussed with JAMmers about their experience, they shared an idea that they have less chance to be involved in problem-solving processes in Visual Thinking sessions. Instead, JAMmers are usually treated as a supporting and entertaining role despite that JAMmers are trained design engineers and eager to involve in the discussion with their problem-solving skills (See Figure 1-1-5).

Figure 1-1-5

JAMmers have less chance to be involved in problem-solving processes in Visual Thinking sessions while they are usually treated as an entertaining and supporting role. 13

1.2

Background study of Visual Thinking

The study is conducted to explore general background of Visual Thinking in terms of history of Visual Thinking, international trend in Visual Thinking practice, and literature study. Findings of the background study will be the basic understanding of advantages in Visual Thinking and the basement to define problems remaining nowadays in business practice. 1.2.1

History of Visual Thinking

Philosophers in ancient Greece credited the direct vision as the start and end source of wisdom although they also learned possible distortion in humanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visual perception (Arnheim, 1969. pp. 12). However, hundreds of years later, the potential of using sketching in creative problem solving are still paid less attention (Van der Lugt, 2005). In his book, Visual Thinking, Arnheim (1969. pp. 2-3) reflected on the issue that sketching is often considered as arts but not science, due to the fact that only words and numbers matter in the educational systems. Nowadays, most of us still follow similar path in contemporary educational systems. However, the situation have changed gradually when Visual Thinking, as a young facilitation method in group sessions, begins to bridge the creative qualities of instant sketches (Van der Lugt, 2000) in business st

practice in mid 21 century.

Figure 1-2-1

The development of Visual Thinking in modern history

The history of Visual Thinking can be dated back in the 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where flip-charts were widely used in meetings. Flip-charts are merely a long paper board which people can write and draw their ideas on pages after pages. This way of processing ideas and recording the meeting progress became popular where people elaborated further with Gestalt awareness (Goldstein, 2001. pp. 145-181), corporate learning, group dynamics, mind maps etc. People did a real-time recording on the poster which depicted the profound content of discussion in meetings in front of a group. This set the foundation of the modern Visual Thinking. (See Figure 1-2-1)

The concept of a facilitator actively leading meetings toward problem-solving interactions emerged with the influence of David Sibbet’s large-paper approach (Horn, 1998. pp. 215-216) or Michael Doyle’s flip charts recording running dialogue (Doyle & Straus, 1976), integrated in large infographic images in 1970s. The emergence of computer networking and the internet triggered the interactive graphics to support group process in 1980s. At that time, people realized that corporations were similar to human entity, subject to more complex motives, stressors, and failures. In 1990s, management consultants developed large-scale change methods to involve wider groups of stakeholders in the process of creating fresh decisions. st

Visual Thinking in 21 century now takes advantages of the convenient social networking device and on-line program and still makes a good use of efficiency and accessibilities of the conventional tools, such as hand drawing skills, big poster, and markers. Graphic Facilitators also use fresh visual language, knowledge of group dynamics, and contemporary business and meeting process awareness. Valenza and Adkins (2009) presented the development of Visual Thinking. Further description of the history of Visual Thinking can be found in their literature: “Understanding Visual Thinking: The History and Future of Graphic Facilitation.“

1.2.2

International trend in Visual Thinking practice

Figure 1-2-2

A general scene in Visual Thinking sessions: Visual Thinkers work with process facilitators to facilitate participants in sessions. Visual Thinkers draw participants’ ideas fairly in front of them and illustrate processes in the session instantly, while process facilitators guide participants to achieve objectives at planned time.

Generally, Visual Thinkers work with process facilitators together to help participants solve problems (See Figure 1-2-2). Visual Thinkers use instant drawings to represent ideas clearly and illustrate patterns that evolve from the group thinking process. Process facilitators lead the group

through a process and make sure everyone focuses on the same objectives and achieve them at the prearranged time. (Tassoul, 2006, pp. 135; see also Appendix 5). Several opinion leaders in Visual Thinking provided their points of view about Visual Thinking in group sessions, which are listed as the following. (See also Appendix 1.) 1.

Visual Thinking is a catalyst to accelerate understandings in front of a large group (Agerbeck, 2004; Pearse, 2007; XPLANE, 2009).

Visual Thinkers provide people a means of systematic thinking to gain the clarity of complex issues (Agerbeck, 2004; Pearse, 2007) by taking advantage of people’s natural abilities to simply get information by receiving it visually (Navon, 1977; Roam, 2008, pp. 70).

The visual information can pave the way to understand each other, lead people to a right decision and taking actions (Pearse, 2007; XPLANE, 2009).

In the process, Visual Thinking can engage people with the on-going creation of drawings. The drawings will eventually become a document of the session's progress and final conclusions. People can always recall their creative and inspiring ideas in the sessions on the products of Visual Thinking (Agerbeck, 2004; Pearse, 2007).

Based on the findings in the section, it is concluded in this work that Visual Thinkers work as a prism in sessions with instant drawings to trigger people to act, clarify people’s ideas, stimulating discussion, accelerate understandings and induce systematic thinking. (See Figure 1-2-3).

Figure 1-2-3

Visual Thinkers work as a prism in sessions with instant drawings to trigger people to act, clarify people’s ideas, stimulating discussion, accelerate understandings and induce systematic thinking.

1.2.3

Literature study

It has been suggested that visual reasoning is more universal than verbal reasoning (Murrey-Bradbury, 1995), and it is proved that visualization supports a diverse group to build shared Mental Models (Horn, 1998. pp. 234; Van der lugt, 2005; Landman et al, 2009). A number of scholars suggested that team performance in decision making can be improved with creation of shared (or team) Mental Models (Cannon-Bowers & Salas, 1997; Jeffery, et al., 2005; Lim & Klein, 2006). Creative qualities of instant visuals in problem-solving sessions are widely stated in literature (Mckim, 1972. pp. 119; Horn, 1998. pp. 203-222; Van der Lugt, 2002; Roam, 2008). In practices, Visual Thinking as a group facilitation method is generally applied in organizational change and problem mediation (Ball, 1998; Roam, 2008). In other words, the supporting role of Visual Thinking in creative problem solving is proved positive both in literature and in real practices. In business sessions, we can see increasing demands on dealing with problems in big and diverse groups who have different mental models of understandings of the problem, different solutions, and different communication. However, diverse mental models in a task can result in greater complexity of the work and poorer performance (Westbrook, 2006). Visibility and accessibility in visual language, as a key for clearing complexity (Horn, 1998, pp. 205-206; Pearse, 2007), is one of the valuable features that people can expect from Visual Thinking. Despite the popularity in real practices and investigations on Visual Thinkingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advantages, few researches have focused on the effects of Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience in group sessions while how-to-do manuals and literatures pay more attention on general techniques (e.g. Horn, 1998; Tyler, et al., 2005; Margulies, et al., 2005; Roam, 2008). One of the possible reasons to this is because Visual Thinking is a method demanding close coordination and interactions with participants in a dynamic context, such as diverse expertise, different backgrounds of clients, and different agendas. Visual Thinkers have to tune their techniques to adapt to the changeable context (See Appendix 3). As a result, due to the unpredictable reality, their personal experience is researched little in literature. Further explanations of the concepts of Mental Models, and creative problem-solving are described in the Appendix 14 and 15.

1.3

Fundamental features of Visual Thinking

In this section, the fundamental features of Visual Thinking in group sessions are further interpreted according to the findings in the background study in the section 1.2 and the reflection of the direct observation and discussion with JAMmers. It is focused on the reasons why Visual Thinking stands out as a facilitation method in business practice. 1.3.1

Rough sketches build common ground

Rough sketches offer a way to stimulate people reflect deep and respond to others openly (Mckim, 1972. pp. 103 & 111; Van der Lugt, 2002; Roam, 2008. pp. 25). The spontaneity and roughness of hand-drawn pictures make them less intimidating and more inviting (Mckim, 1972. pp. 119; Pearse, 2007). Participants respond better to hand-drawn images, no matter how rough, than to polished graphics. It makes it safe to offer up half-formed ideas for consideration (Van der Lugt, 2002; Pearse, 2007; Roam, 2008. pp. 25). This feature paves the way to shared understandings in multi-disciplinary team, where the team members can share their personal specialties in a friendly and same language (Horn, 1998. pp. 219-220). 1.3.2

Good involvement in problem solving process

Visual Thinkers have to keep asking questions to ensure drawings coherent to participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; stories. The participants can directly comment on the drawings and discuss with Visual Thinkers. With close communication between them, Visual Thinkers gain good chances to obtain insights and be involved in problem solving process.

Figure 1-3-1

Visual Thinkers have to interact with participants and engage in the problem solving process in order to translate participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ideas to correct drawings.

1.3.3

Speed up thinking process by slowing down first

With the help of instant sketching, people can think fluid and slow down their thinking instead of being rushed into another issue (Mckim, 1972. pp. 7; Pearse, 2007; Roam, 2008. pp. 45). Slower thinking process allows people think deeper, cohere each other, and see problems (Mckim, 1972. pp. 111; Horn, 1998. pp. 209-210; Van der Lugt, 2002). People have enough time to get an overview of a situation before they make proper decisions (See Figure 1-3-2). Therefore, Visual thinking actually speeds up the process because time spent in trial and error is less (Horn, 1998. pp. 234).

Figure 1-3-2

1.3.4

With a lift of Visual Thinking, people have enough time to gain an overview of the situation before they make final decisions.

Efficient solver to complex and fuzzy problems

Visual Thinking helps people think creatively in non-linear and even non-rational way while facing novel problems (Mckim, 1972. pp. 117-118; Horn, 1998. pp. 213-214; Pearse, 2007). Visual Thinkers simply take advantages of the natural talent for people to browse through the sea of information in graphics, and find out coherence which make meanings to them. This is what we do every day such as the psychological grouping phenomenon, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gestalt awarenessâ&#x20AC;? (Goldstein, 2001. pp. 145-181).

Figure 1-3-3

Visual Thinking is an excellent solver to complex and uncertain problems

1.3.5

Ongoing creation of visible overview lead to dynamic discussion

Compared to vocalized ideas, Visual Thinking provides a visual overview so that important factors are not lost in lines of words. Visual thinkers catch elusive information, record them on the paper and make them accessible as drawings (Horn, 1998. pp. 205-206; Pearse, 2007). People then can always build on each other's work or opinions without losing any positive details (Van der Lugt, 2002). The essence of hand drawings lies in inviting people to see and share. People will be more and more curious about what will happen next. The drawings can evolve with time and keep lasting effects after participants leave the workshop. People can get their inspiring moments back on the drawings. 1.4

Problem definition

The problem definition in Visual Thinking practice is defined based on the findings in section 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. The process of Visual Thinking in business sessions is still not well-described in JAM visual thinking, literature and international Visual Thinking practice, despite of the popularity in researching Visual Thinking method. The unknown Visual Thinking process, like a black box, influences both Visual Thinkers and session participants. On the one hand, Visual Thinkers cannot know how to keep producing the best outcomes that the drawings are leading to an inspiration, instead of only creating entertaining drawings. On the other hand, session participants can be skeptical about the effects of Visual Thinking and hesitate to cooperate with Visual Thinkers. Generally speaking, the Visual Thinking process in business sessions should be transparent and clear to Visual Thinkers and session participants. Otherwise, Visual Thinkers will be like a man with magic power but not knowing how to use it effectively. And the session participants will lose the chance to make the best use of Visual Thinking in the group sessions. 1.5

Goal of the graduation project

To address the defined problem, I have discussed with the company mentor and reached consensus to set the following goal of the graduation project. 

To decipher the “Magic” of Visual Thinking in business sessions.



To design a concept to inform it to JAMmers and session participants.

The process of Visual Thinking sessions is not well investigated yet. The advantages of Visual Thinking seem like hidden in a black box, which needs to be deciphered with a thorough research. The findings of the research in the context of JAM visual thinking can help Visual Thinkers to understand and harness the power of Visual Thinking. When the “magic” in the black box is deciphered, it will also become a basic foundation to continually improve the method. The second goal is to help Visual Thinkers to inform session participants the advantages of Visual Thinking. As a result, they can trust Visual Thinkers and work with them together in the problem-solving process.

1.6

Process of the graduation project

The study will first conduct an exploratory study on the processes, benefits, techniques of Visual Thinking in group sessions in order to understand what have been studied and defined about Visual Thinking process. Furthermore, based on the findings in a visual summary, the missing link in the previous studies on Visual Thinking process will be defined. In order to fix the missing link, an empirical research will be conducted in JAM visual thinking. Dealing with the dynamic and interactive context in Visual Thinking sessions, Contextmapping research method is chosen as the research method in JAM. This method will be able to identify the most influential features of the sometimes subtle and intangible effects of the JAMmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience in the changeable context. It will be also interesting and experimental to implement the Contextmapping research on a method, Visual Thinking, instead of an industrial product in typical contextmapping researches. The outcomes can shed the lights on other possible research fields of Contextmapping besides of industrial product design. The findings in the Contextmapping phase will be examined as the design requirements to design a concept for JAM visual thinking. In the end of the study, the concept will be realized as a physical toolkit.

Chapter 2 Exploratory Study In this chapter, an overall review is put on previous studies about Visual Thinking process in business sessions. We have learned that the potential of instant sketching is widely appreciated in literature and in real practice in the chapter 1. However, the unclear Visual Thinking process is a gap between instant sketching and logical thinking in business sessions. In chapter 2, an exploratory study is conducted to explore what are the still missing puzzles of the gap in Visual Thinking process. The findings of the exploratory study will pave the way to a further research in JAM visual thinking.

2.1

Preceding studies on Visual Thinking process in Sessions

In this section, two perspectives about Visual Thinking process will be introduced and compared. One is in the perspective of individual visual thinking process, and another is from the JAM visual thinking’s experience in group sessions. Although these two concepts are different from an individual activity to a group-level phenomenon, the similarities between them are worth to discuss. 2.1.1

Individual visual thinking process

Visual perception proceeds from global structuring towards more and more fine-grained analysis (Novon, 1977). This is people’s nature to extract from a general view of a picture more and more as they keep looking at it. An idea of Individual visual thinking process has been suggested by Mckim, R. H. (1972, p.6) (See Figure 2-1-1). He pictured the activities, whether they are “perceptual, inner, and graphic images”, as three kinds of visual imagery: “Seeing”, “Imaging”, and “Drawing”. The three are interacted in a fluid and dynamic way practiced as an active interplay (Mckim, 1972. p.7). People keep cycling through the overlapped visual imagery until the problems are solved.

Figure 2-1-1

Individual visual thinking process suggested by Mckim, R.H. (1972, p.6)

Roam D. (2008, p.80) suggested a further explanation of individual visual thinking, which provides detailed ways of “Seeing” (Mckim, 1972. p.6). He proposed the process of individual visual thinking as four steps: “Looking”, “Seeing”, “Imaging”, and “Showing” (See Figure 2-1-1). “Looking” involves scanning the environment in order to build an initial big-picture sense of things, while simultaneously asking the rapid-fire questions that help our minds make a first assessment of what is in front of us. “Seeing” is about selecting which inputs are worth more detailed inspection. This is based on recognizing patterns sometimes consciously, oftentimes not. “Imaging” is what happens after the visuals have been collected and selected, and the time comes to start manipulating them. “Showing” is to summarize all that we’ve seen, find the best framework for visually representing 23

our ideas, nail things down on paper, point out what imagined, and then answer our audience’s questions. It is not always linear. When solving problems with pictures, going back and making changes is one of the most valuable parts of the whole approach. It is suggested that people have a natural talent to deal with a great amount of visual information, and these information can be quickly selected and clustered in order to find patterns underneath. The first two steps (“Looking” and “Seeing”) could happen in a split second, and the later two steps (“Imaging” and “Showing”) would need further contemplation in the thinking progress.

Figure 2-1-2

2.1.2

Individual visual Thinking Process proposed by Dan Roam (2008, p.80)

JAM Visual Design process

In JAM visual thinking, they suggest an approach called “Visual Design Thinking” from their experience in the sessions. The process of the Visual Design Thinking is described as the following stages; “Collecting elements”, “Finding coherence”, “Composition”, and “Translation” (See Figure 2-1-2). “Collecting elements” is to discover basic elements of a story by asking questions about, for example, what kinds of the problem are and who will involve in this. “Finding coherence” is to browse through the elements and find the linkages between. “Composition” is to draft a blueprint of all elements and explain their linkages in an overall picture. “Translation” is to select a metaphor and develop the blueprint into a convincing picture with all elements and clear linkages in-between. In practice, there is no particular order in these four stages. The thinking process can perform in a cycle or jump into the other stage randomly.

Figure 2-1-3

JAM Visual Design process

2.1.3

Comparison

We can learn interesting similarities between these two concepts of Visual Thinking process. Roam‘s (2008) concept (See Figure 2-1-1) describes a basic cognitive principle for an individual. JAM’s concept (See Figure 2-1-2) is based on real practice in group sessions from JAM’s experience. It implies that, whether the Visual Thinking process is in an individual experience or a group-level phenomenon, they are both based on basic and natural principles in people’s mind. According to the similarities to Individual visual thinking, group Visual Thinking is a method which inherits the advantages of individual visual thinking. People follow a similar pattern (See Figure 2-1-3) to use their vision to sort the visual information, to find connections, and to interpret meanings of things. This is very crucial for people to elaborate complex situations in daily life, and that is simply the way happening thousands time a day in human’s mind.

Figure 2-1-4

Comparison: Individual Visual Thinking Process and Group Visual Thinking Process

2.2

Visual summary of general Visual Thinking process

In this section, a visual summary of Visual Thinking process is composed of the proposed process, techniques, and benefits in group sessions. Based on learned insights in the section 2.1.1, Visual Thinkers utilize the cycling thinking process in a fluid and dynamic way, moving from one loop to another. Therefore, “flowing water” is suggested as a metaphor to represent the fluid thinking process creating by Visual Thinkers. The water metaphor also implies the possible underlying flows and connections between each stage in the Visual Thinking process (Horn, 1998. pp. 209-210). 2.2.1

Make your thinking flow

Visual Thinkers help the team thinking fluidly from the beginning of the sessions to the end result by creating a flow (Mckim, 1972. pp. 7; Pearse, 2007; Roam, 2008. pp. 45). This flow is suggested to run through four stages: "collecting elements", "finding coherence", "composition", and "translation" (See Figure 2-2-1). “Collecting elements” is when people try to explore and lay out all helpful data on the table. “Finding coherence” is when people start to find out linkage between data and cluster them. “Composition” is to figure them out in a bigger and logical scale. “Translation” is to transfer the result in composition with a meaningful metaphor which can motivate and inspire people in the end. They are natural procedures which are defined in individual visual thinking process and in JAM Visual Design process (See the section 2.1.2).

Figure 2-2-1

Visual Thinkers help the team thinking fluidly from the beginning of the sessions to the end result by creating a flow

2.2.2

Slow down and speed up

Visual Thinking process is non-linear and non-rational (Mckim, 1972. pp. 7; Pearse, 2007; Valenza & Adkins, 2009). The concepts of Visual Thinking process described in the section 2.1 indicate the underlying flows while people shift from one stage to another intuitively. Instead of running in a linear route, it is naturally cycling randomly in each stage when people try to get more in-depth insights with no rush (See Figure 2-2-2). To understand the problem in hand, rather than to gain the solutions first, is what people need first while facing a novel and complex issue. Smooth thinking process allows them to think deeper and avoids people to jump to conclusions too soon. Although it takes longer in each thinking stage, people can focus on what really matters and spend less time in trial and error. Eventually, the slow but smoother thinking process indeed speeds up the whole progress in a rather efficient fashion. (See also section 1.3.3)

Figure 2-2-2

Instead of running in a linear route, the thinking flow is naturally cycling randomly in each stage. With the help of Visual Thinking, participants can eventually speed up in less decision making time.

2.2.3

Techniques of Visual Thinkers

Besides of drawing skills, Visual Thinking requires knowledge of observational skills, group dynamics, and journalism in order to obtain and transfer explicit and implicit information in group sessions (Horn, 1998. pp. 119-120). The following points are a list of techniques used by Visual Thinkers. 1.

Acute Observational skills

Visual Thinkers have acute observational skills that take into account both verbal and nonverbal data (Tyler, et al., 2005). It is also a period for participants and Visual Thinkers to “collect elements” or “look” in Visual Thinking process. 2.

Fast catch: Word/image graphic recording

Visual thinkers draw images and symbols appealing to the visual and emotional parts of our brains, while adding supporting structure through color, arrows, and groupings (Tyler, et al., 2005). Participants and Visual Thinkers here start to “find coherence” between objects or “see”. 3.

Deep listening: Story/metaphor graphic recording

Visual Thinkers translate the story of individuals to a visual that captures the essential metaphor (Tyler, et al., 2005). In other words, Visual Thinkers have to think about what information and what level of detail is most useful to facilitate the group (Agerbeck, 2004). Participants and Visual Thinkers here try to “compose” and “translate” or “image” and “show” in Visual Thinking process.

Figure 2-2-3

Visual Thinkers utilize multiple techniques which are not limited in drawing skills only in group sessions 28

Holistic reflection

Visual Thinkers can be designated to circulate among the large and small groups. The holistic reflection illustrates the larger perspective, the underlying connections beneath what appears to be surface differences (Tyler, et al., 2005). Participants and Visual Thinkers translate the overall result into a meaningful metaphor. The process is like “Translation” or “show” in Visual Thinking process. 5.

Graphic journalism

Visual thinkers ask questions to gather more data when a concept or story is either too complex for instant visual recording or not understood due to a lack of proper information (Tyler, et al., 2005). 6.

Have your voice

Visual thinkers create spaces in which individuals can express themselves. People who use these relatively anonymous spaces therefore found a place for the voice they could not use in the group (Tyler, et al., 2005). For example, participants in a workshop can use post-its freely to commend on a given poster which could be titled as “Add Your Voice”, “Future Suggestions”, or “Graffiti”.

2.2.4

Benefits of Visual Thinking

The benefits depicted here are bred with smooth thinking flow in group sessions (See Figure 2-2-4). 1.

Free your mind

Because no single individual is responsible for the outcome, there is no pressure for individuals to express their ideas. It also makes it safe to offer half-formed ideas for consideration (Pearse, 2007). 2.

Keep participants focus

People like seeing other people drawing. The spontaneity and roughness of hand-drawn pictures make them inviting. And it is clear to see the pictures drawn out step-by-step (Roam, 2008, p. 25). 3.

Make participants engaging

On-going picture is an engaging tool which focuses the group as they work. Visual Thinking provides an accessible, dynamic, and evolving record of conversations (Tyler, et al., 2005). 4.

Motivate stakeholders

Companies have hired Visual Thinkers to motivate employees, drive sales, convince decision makers and improve processes. 5.

Provide a space where participants feel heard

Graphic recordings provide a form of communication that adds to spoken language and allows people to feel validated in the process of group sessions (Tyler, et al., 2005).

Figure 2-2-4

Benefits grow automatically with the fluid flow enhancing by the multiple techniques.

2.2.5

Living Picture

Ongoing creation of drawings results in a living document and keeps lasting effects after participants leave the workshop (Tyler, et al., 2005). People can always come back to refresh their mind and recall their inspiring moments. The drawings are crucial triggers for the stakeholders to image and to action in a shared direction (See Figure 2-2-5).

Figure 2-2-5

Ongoing creation of drawings results in a living document and keep lasting effects after participants leave the workshop.

2.2.6

Visual summary of this section

In Visual Thinking sessions, Visual thinkers use multiple techniques, such as “observation skills”, “fast catch”, “deep listening”, “graphic journalism”, and “holistic reflection”, to make the flow smooth in sessions. It slows participants to think deeper and focus in a given stage until they gain necessary insights. Participants eventually accelerate their speed because of less time on trials and errors. Visual Thinking also ensures the participants to help cycle fluidly through underlying flows in between stages intuitively. During the process, the Visual Thinking flow breeds abundant benefits such as “keep participants focus”, and “motivate stakeholders”. The benefits of the Visual Thinking process grow automatically with the smooth flow, and, also after the sessions, the results of the sessions are translated into a living picture and become a drive for all participants. The figure 2-2-6 also provides a general overview of Visual Thinking process in sessions.

Figure 2-2-6

Conceptual Model of Visual Thinking sessions

2.3

Limitations of the preceding studies

The visual summary in section 2.2 provides a general overview about the processes, benefits, techniques in Visual Thinking sessions. However, it is under ideal situations which could not be applied in a dynamic reality. There are missing puzzles with a value to apply further researches on Visual Thinking process. Two limitations of preceding studies are discussed, and one specific focus for the following research is concluded in the end of this section. 2.3.1

Lack of research on Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interactions with the dynamic context

Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience plays a crucial role in responding to dynamical contexts in Visual Thinking sessions. There are many how-to-do manuals about Visual Thinking method already focusing on the implementation of icebreakers in multi-disciplinary teams (See Appendix 6. & Appendix 7) and the techniques to develop proper Infographics to report the results (See Appendix 8). But the barricades of thinking flows in the process are rarely discussed even though they offset the performance in the sessions. It is probably due to a changeable, dynamic, and non-linear fashion in Visual Thinking sessions. It is proposed in this work that, for different individual Visual Thinker, the techniques will alter depending on their personalities, their backgrounds, and the real situations according to the composition of the team, the environment, etc. However, there is little attention being paid on these interactions in academic researches and studies in international Visual Thinking practice.

Figure 2-3-1

Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience plays a crucial role in responding to dynamical context in sessions and deserves better understandings in further research.

2.3.2

Lack of research on Visual Thinkers’ deep interactions with session participants

In order to arouse deep reflection and further actions, the drawings in sessions should be informative and coherent with the context in the discussion (Tyler, et al., 2005; Valenza, & Adkins, 2009; XPLANE, 2009). Although Visual Thinking helps thinking flow smooth in sessions, a smooth thinking flow cannot always guarantee a picture leading participants and other stakeholders to what they all agree on and motivate them to action. The variables, which are yet represented in the conceptual model, are embedded in the process to reach hidden insights deep in people’s minds, and shared visions and solutions in group discussions. In order to reach the gold in the sessions, the thinking flow cannot only run on the surface of people’s thoughts, but it should dive deep to people’s insights and lift them up to “Shared visions”. Furthermore, one of the fundamental features of Visual Thinking, “Slow Down and Speed Up” (See section 1.3.3), is a proper example to represent the benefits of running deep. People need time to get in-depth insights in the thinking process. However, if the flow runs too fast, people will simply drift fluidly on the surface to the end. This efficient process will not guarantee a thorough solution because the process is not reflective to every one’s thoughts in mind. The final result in this case will be superficial with no proper “translation” (See the section 2.1.2; Mckim, 1972. pp.103), which is actually the critical issue in JAM visual thinking (See the section 1.1.3).

Figure 2-3-2

This drawing depicts Visual Thinking processes in sessions: to reach hidden insights deep in people’s minds, come to shared visions and solutions, and finally realize the ideas in practical actions in Visual Thinking sessions. The fluid thinking flow is important but not enough.

2.4

Conceptual Framework for a Visual Thinking process

Based on the discussions in the section 2.3.2, it is suggested in this work that the flow in the figure 2-3-2 could be summarized in four stages and five major processes in a given Visual Thinking session (See Figure 2-4-1).

Figure 2-4-1

2.4.1

The proposed flow in the figure 2-3-2-1 can be categorized in the four stages and five major processes.

Four Stages in Visual Thinking Sessions

The suggested four stages of Visual Thinking sessions are “Shared Mental Models (Common ground)”, “Personal insights”, “Shared Vision”, and “Action”. A.

Common ground (Shared Mental Models)

Multi-disciplinary groups need to form shared understandings (Common ground) to communicate (Landman, 2009). The stage is the foundation for a group to talk and work together. B.

Personal insights

The stage, “Personal insights”, is where people’s personal ideas and thinking lie on. The drawings need to connect to people’s personal ideas. Visual thinkers have to work on detecting people’s real thinking and try to associate the different insights with each other (Mckim, 1972. pp. 111). C.

Shared vision

“Shared Vision” is the stage where people share coherent ideas about the issues of the session. This vision is a higher level concept of the shared Mental Models, such as a shared future strategy to an issue (Van der lugt, 2000). Shared visions in a team take more time to transform and develop in 35

order to reach the core of issue and provide clear motivation for “Action”, compared to shared Mental Models (Mckim, 1972. pp. 111). D.

Action

This stage, “Action”, is where people realize the shared vision in a practical plan. One of the purposes in the Visual Thinking is to eventually create new thinking with drawings which triggers people to action (See section 1.2). However, having shared Mental Models is not enough to trigger radical or lasting actions for an organizational change. People need clear motivation with the shared vision.

2.4.2

Five Processes in Visual Thinking Sessions

In terms of the activities of Visual Thinkers, there are five major processes, “Grounding”, “Diving”, ”Showing”, “Lifting”, and “Landing” in a Visual Thinking session. These five major processes will happen in between the four stages. A.

Grounding

In a multi-disciplinary group, Visual Thinking can help to build shared understands in which people can communicate on a common ground. Visual Thinking in this process provides a common language (visual language) and works as a catalyst to create a fluid thinking flow (Horn, 1998. pp. 234; Pearse, 2007). This process also includes the preparation before the sessions. B.

Diving

Visual Thinkers in this process dive with people to gain the personal insights. Visual Thinkers concentrate on all information they can detect in the process and help participants to gain deeper insights with instant sketches (Tyler, et al., 2005; Van der Lugt, 2002). C.

Showing

Visual Thinkers visualize the personal insights to bring it to the stage, “Shared Mental Models”, where people can really see and discuss each other’s ideas. As a result, the insights can be discussed and be built on with others’ ideas (Van der Lugt, 2002).. D.

Lifting

The “Shared Mental Models” can be leveled up to the stage, “Shared vision” through the transformation in Visual Thinking, for example, to give a proper metaphor to describe a potential crisis in the market (Van der Lugt, 2002). E.

Landing

After a team forms a shared vision, the shared vision needs to be developed into a down-to-earth solution. In this process, Visual Thinkers will work with the clients closely to finalize the realistic solution. The “Landing” process can last longer after the session ends.

2.5

Proposed focus for the following research

Human interactions in Visual Thinking process in group sessions are suggested as the focus of the following research. Based on the discussion in the section 2.3.1, how Visual Thinkers respond to the dynamic and diverse reality in sessions, such as different backgrounds of participants, and different issues, should gain further studies. Visual Thinkers have to utilize their experience to interact with the dynamic context properly and quickly. The interactions in Visual Thinking process are still unclear although it is crucial factor to a successful Visual Thinking session. Learned from the discussion in the section 2.3.2 and 2.4, the missing puzzles in preceding studies are the stages, “personal insights” and “shared vision”. Visual Thinkers should dive deep into people’s insights and lift them high to shared visions to reach the goal of Visual Thinking, to effectively help participants see problems and solve them together. All of the mentioned activities require close interactions between Visual Thinkers and session participants. Therefore, I proposed the focus on the human interactions in the Contextmapping research in the context of JAM visual thinking. It is important to explore how Visual Thinkers interact with the dynamic context and what the most critical problem is when they interact with session participants. The conceptual framework proposed in the section 2.4 is to help to define the focus in the Contextmapping research phase. Consequently, it will serve to sort the results in the Contextmapping research.

Figure 2-5

Human Interactions: the missing puzzle in Visual Thinking process

Chapter 3 Contextmapping Research The process and findings of Contexmapping research is recorded in the chapter. The goal of the research and two research questions focus human interactions in Visual Thinking sessions based on conclusions in the chapter 2. Contextmapping is chosen as the research approach because of its advantages to record and decode dynamic, human behaviors and activities, which fit in non-linear Visual Thinking processes (Sleeswijk Visser, et al. 2005). In the process, seven participants are interviewed, and two case studies are conducted. The data collected in the phases is coded, categorized, and analyzed with an experimental analysis approach. First, the human interactions in the Visual Thinking process are explored and defined in JAM visual thinking context. Secondly, the most critical problem in the Visual Thinking sessions is discussed and concluded. The conclusions of this chapter are presented in the end of the chapter.

3.1

Goal of the research

The goal of the research is to understand human interactions and to define the most critical problem when JAMmers interact with the context of JAM visual thinking. It is suggested in this work that human interactions in the Visual Thinking sessions are what JAMmers do, interact with, and expect for in Visual Thinking sessions. 3.2

Research questions

How do JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?

What is the most critical problem when JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?

The research question 1 focuses on three aspects, ‘’Characteristics”, “Techniques”, and “Roles/functions”. As we discussed in the section 2.3, Visual Thinkers’ experience in Visual Thinking sessions is about how people deal with the dynamic contexts by proper techniques related to roots of different characteristics. Research question 2 focuses on the “Problems & solutions” in the sessions, which paves the way to identify the most crucial problem in the interactions of Visual Thinking sessions. 3.3

Research method and process

Contextmapping research method is applied in this research to explore subjects’ experience in both explicit and implicit information (Sanders, 2001; Sleeswijk Visser, et al. 2005). Visual Thinking process is non-linear, even non rational (Pearse, 2007; Valenza & Adkins, 2009) and mixing up within the interactions between participants and Visual Thinkers in sessions. Therefore, the contextmapping method is helpful to record what JAMmers say, do, know, feel, and dream for their experience in the Visual Thinking sessions (Sleeswijk Visser, et al. 2005). The study is not meant to support or reject the conceptual framework, but to explore the context, and uncover unexpected directions of the following Conceptualization phase. With the features of sensitizing phase in the Contextmapping research, the subjects can take the sensitizing steps as a stairway to gain personal knowledge effortlessly (See Figure 3-3-1). This knowledge is tacit or even latent knowledge (Sanders, 2001). Tacit knowledge is knowledge that cannot readily be expressed in words. Latent knowledge is knowledge which people even do not know they possess but only feel it.

Figure 3-3-1

Participants can gain personal knowledge effortlessly in Contextmapping research.

The process of the Contextmapping research involves several phases: “Preparation phase”, “Sensitizing phase”, “Deep reflection sessions”, “Case studies”, “Analysis”, and “Communication” (See Figure 3-3-2).

Figure 3-3-2

3.3.1

Processes of Contextmapping Research

Preparation phase

In the preparation phase, I design the procedures, select participants, and create materials using in Sensitizing phase and Deep reflection sessions. 3.3.2

Sensitizing phase

In this phase, three-day sensitizing tasks consisting of little exercises each day are designed and sent to participants several days before the Deep reflection sessions. JAMmers reflect on their personal information, general experience, and specific experience as a Visual Thinker in Visual Thinking sessions in the three-day tasks (See Table 3-3-1 and the Appendix 9 & 11). Seven participants have finished the sensitizing phase. Five of the seven participants have been observed and asked questions about their doings in the process. Background information of the participants is listed in the Table 3-3-2. An example of three-day tasks is presented in the Figure 3-3-3.

Table 3-3-1

Procedures of Sensitizing phase (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3) and Deep reflection phase (Day 4) 40

Age

Years as Visual Thinker

Location

Observation

1.5

JAM office

yes

1.5

JAM office

yes

JAM office

yes

JAM office

yes

JAM office

yes

Home

Table 3-3-2

Figure 3-3-3

3.3.3

Participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Background Information

An example in the second day task in the Sensitizing phase

Deep reflection sessions

In the Deep reflection sessions, participants reflect on what they have done in the sensitizing phase. Interview questions are asked in each step of the session (See Appendix 10 & 12). They are asked to present and to explain their reflections of the possible problems and solution on the conceptual framework (See the section 2.4). Three participants have finished both of the sensitizing phase and deep reflection sessions. Their background information is shown in Table 3-3-3. An example is shown in the Figure 3-3-5.

Age

Years as Visual Thinker

Location

1.5

JAM office

Table 3-3-3

Background Information of participants in Deep Reflection Sessions

Figure 3-3-4

Figure 3-3-5

3.3.4

A participant in the Deep Reflection session

An example of the results in the Deep reflection phase

Case studies

Case studies phase sheds the light on the knowledge about what JAMmers do and how JAMmers implement Visual Thinking in sessions. The activities of the JAMmers and interactions between JAMmers and participants in the sessions are recorded on observation notes. After each session, the JAMmers are interviewed with specific questions to clarify why and how they act in the sessions and to make sure the content of the observation notes is correct. Detailed description of the observation notes and results of interviews in two case studies is presented in the Appendix 13. 3.3.5

Analysis

The data collected in the sensitizing phase, the deep reflection sessions, and case studies are coded. Detailed description and results of the coding process are recorded in the Appendix 11 and 12. The 42

coded phrases are categorized in the four major groups. The four groups are examined in experimental analysis methods to answer research questions. The findings of the experimental analysis and discussion to research question 1 and research question 2 are further present separately in the section 3.4 and section 3.5. 3.3.6

Communication

In the final phase, the findings in the Contextmapping research are presented as inspirations and directions for the Conceptualization phase. The purpose of the Communication phase is to demonstrate the findings, uncover unexpected directions, and provide design requirements for the following Conceptualization phase.

3.4 3.4.1

Findings on research question 1: Human interactions in Visual Thinking process. Analyses

In order to answer the first research question, “How do JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?”, the coded phrases are categorized in three major groups, “Characteristics”, “Techniques”, and “Roles/functions”. An experimental analysis is applied for further investigation. Based on the findings in literature study (Horn, 1998. pp. 209-210; Pearse, 2007), the emotional dimension of Visual Thinking is as important as the logical dimension, for example, to be able to empathize with others’ difficulties. I apply a two-dimensional map to demonstrate the coded phrases of each group in line with Visual Thinking’s reality. These Two dimensions are identified as “hard and soft” and “outward and inward” because Visual Thinking is not only to solve practical problems but also to support group interactions in the sessions. The key words in two-dimensional map have been discussed with JAMmers, and we have consensus with this idea (See Figure 3-4-1). The “hard and soft” dimension differentiates the coded phrases from the logical and rational inclination (hard) to the emotional and empathetic inclination (soft). And the “outward and inward” differentiates the coded phrases from the tangible and physical activities (outward) to intangible and mental activities (inward).

Figure 3-4-1

Proposed two-dimensional map to identify the coded phrases

These coded phrases in three groups, “Characteristics”, ”Techniques”, and “Roles/Functions” are mapped on the two-dimensional map. Three posters of each group are composed (See Figure 3-4-4, 3-4-5, and 3-4-6). In each poster, coded phrases with similar meanings or inclinations are identified as a small group (See Figure 3-4-3), and the general content of each cluster is summarized in a specific term. Furthermore, three summarized posters are integrated into one general poster on the same two-dimensional map. On the new general poster, the relationships between each categories and each specific term are ready to identify and discuss. The discussion on the new poster will lead to an understanding to human interactions in Visual Thinking sessions. The results of the analysis and discussion are described consequently in the section 3.4.2 and the section 3.4.3.

Figure 3-4-2

Process of the experimental analysis method

Figure 3-4-3

Example of the Cluster with Related Coded Phrases and a General Tem, “Passion finder”

Figure 3-4-4

Coded Phrases Clustered in “Characteristic” Category

Figure 3-4-5

Figure 3-4-6

Coded Phrases Clustered in “Technique” Category

Coded Phrases Clustered in “Roles/functions” Category

3.4.2 1.

Results

General characteristics

The coded phrases clustered in the figure 3-4-4 are summarized in the figure 3-4-7 and Table 3-4-1. Each cluster is named a specific term which represents the essence of each characteristic. A brief description of each characteristic is also defined according to the contents of the coded phrases and presented in the Table 3-4-1.

Figure 3-4-7

Summarized results of the “Characteristics” category

Table 3-4-1 Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Characteristics” category 1

Characteristic

Description

Related Codes

Take command

To take the lead of the team in order to “simplify the

E-S1-2, E-S1-e, E-S1-6

complexity” 2

Active

To be like a rolling stone, “always doing something” and eager

D-S1-C, D-S1-d, E-S1-6,

to give outputs

F-S1-d,

Enthusiastic

To be passionate and keep high spirit all the time

B-S1-4, G-S1-3 B-S1-d, F-S1-a,

Cheerful

To be good at cheering people and be happy to do this

G-S1-1 C-S1-3, C-S1-4, C-S1-F, D-S1-a, F-S1-b

Curious

To be interested in people’s doing, thinking, and interactions

A-S1-a, B-S1-2, B-S1-b, C-S1-c, F-S1-1, F-S1-2,

Sensitive

To be “sharp and alert” in the sessions to receive diverse inputs

C-D-6, F-S1-2, G-D-1 G-S1-c

Empathetic

To be able to “understand people’s real thinking” and have “an

A-D-2, B-S1-1, B-S1-3,

ear for the weak”

D-S1-e,

To be a good listener and be able to wait for the best timing to

E-S1-4, E-S1-c, F-S1-e F-S1-c, CA1-9, E-S1-b,

intervene

G-S1-d

Patient

Approachable

To be friendly to people and eager to help

A-S1-1, E-S1-b

Open-minded

To be open to “all the information in the air”

B-S1-c, B-S1-e, E-S1-d, F-S1-c, G-D-2

Honest

To be true to “own weakness”

E-S1-3, E-S1-a

Creative

To be able to do new things and love to create new things

A-S1-2, E-S1-1

Intelligent

To think a lot while in a group or as an individual. “If you

A-S1-3, A-S1-c, C-S1-1,

wonder, you are one step closer to god.”

C-S1-2, C-S1-d

To be flexible in different roles, such as “doing and thinking”,

A-S1-b, C-S1-a, C-S1-e,

“serious and easy-going”, and “part of a group and part of an

D-S1-f, E-S1-5, G-S1-b,

individual”.

G-S1-e, G-S1-4

Changeable

Table 3-4-1

Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Characteristics” category

General techniques

Integrated with results of the general characteristics (See the central circle of Figure 3-4-8), the coded phrases clustered in Figure 3-4-5 are summarized in Figure 3-4-8 and Table 3-4-2. Each cluster is named a specific term which represents the essence of each technique. A brief description of each technique is also defined in the Table 3-4-2, according to the content of the coded phrases.

Figure 3-4-8

Summarized results of the “Characteristics” category and the “Techniques” category

Table 3-4-2 Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Techniques” category 1

Technique

Description

Related Codes

Drawing

Drawing as the most basic technique mentioned to

A-S2-e, B-S2-e, B-S2-h,

communicate ideas

C-S2-2, D-S2-e, D-S2-f

Asking question

To see if the drawings connect to and express people’s ideas

C-S2-b, D-S2-d, F-S2-b,

Presenting

To be able to explain ideas or meanings of the drawings

G-S2-b A-S2-b, B-S2-e, E-S2-f

Entertaining

To cheer up the participants

B-S2-1, B-S2-a, F-S2-e

Listening

To listen to what participants say carefully

A-S2-a, B-S2-C, C-S2-a, D-S2-a, E-S2-a, F-S2-a,

Observing

To pay attention on the holistic atmosphere

B-S2-d, D-S1-b, G-S2-a, G-S2-1 D-S2-1

Feeling

Imagining

To use “empathy” and “intuition” to understand the

A-S2-C, D-S2-b, D-S2-c,

underlying feeling in people’s minds

D-S2-h

To freely explore and make a good use of “the image

B-S2-I, C-D-12, G-S2-c,

database”

D-S2-h

Social skills

To pay attention to smooth people’s interactions

A-S2-1, A-S2-d,E-S2-c

Problem-solving skills

To “pay attention on the process” of discussion and to “use

A-S2-2, A-S2-3, B-S2-f,

creativity to associate things”

D-S2-g, CA1-11

Organizing

To structure the ideas in a logical order

B-S2-b, B-S2-2, E-S2-b

Rules of layout

To make the drawings as convincing statements

B-S2-g, C-S2-c, E-S2-d

Switching

To be able to switch quickly between thinking, drawing,

A-D-1, C-S2-3, G-S2-2

listening, talking etc.

Table 3-4-2

Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Techniques” category

General roles/functions

Integrated with defined characteristics and techniques (See circles in the center of Figure 3-4-9), the coded phrases clustered in Figure 3-4-6 are summarized in Figure 3-4-9 and Table 3-4-3. Each cluster is named a specific term which represents the essence of each roles/functions. According to the contents of the coded phrases, a brief description of each roles/functions is also defined in the Table 3-4-3.

Figure 3-4-9

Summarized results of the “Characteristics” category and the “Techniques” category the “Roles/functions” category 50

Table 3-4-3 Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Roles/functions” category 1

Roles/functions

Description

Related Codes

Dedicated recorder

JAMmers are “stand-aside recorders” to “notice and note

C-S3-7, C-D-2, G-S2-4,

what happens” for the participants to reflect on and to

G-S2-h, G-S2-g

remember 2

Patient Journalist

JAMmers ask questions and listen carefully to know if the

A-D-3, A-D-22

drawings are correct or not 3

Moment creator

JAMmers draw the “unexpected” ideas in different

A-D-8, F-S2-2, F-S2-3, F-S2-h

perspective and create the “A-HA” moments for participants 4

Truth teller

JAMmers challenge the complacent participants to face their

G-S3-1, G-D-4, G-D-6

actual situations 5

Mood softener

JAMmers help participants keep the momentum in a serious

C-S3-8, C-D-3, F-S2-f

discussion 6

Sensitive balancer

JAMmers are “sharp and alert” to receive tangible and

A-D-4, A-D-10, G-S2-1

intangible information and to communicate them in a balancing way 7

Pattern spotter

JAMmers are “like a bird” flying high to get an overview of

A-D-4, G-S2-5, G-S2-i

issue and expressing it to the participants 8

Dreamer

JAMmers image freely on a “blank paper” with participants

C-D-4, G-S1-2

Passion finder

JAMmers awaken participants their own passion with the

A-D-6, C-S2-1, C-S2-2, C-D-5

drawings 10

Dispute resolver

Solution hunter

JAMmers bridge the gap between participants’ ideas with

A-S2-g, C-S3-1, F-S2-1,

the drawings

F-S2-g, CA2-6

JAMmers “use drawings to trigger creativities” for the

A-S2-f, A-D-7, C-S3-9

participants to find solutions 12

Discussion supporter

Table 3-4-3

JAMmers use drawings to “keep people focus” and help

A-D-5, B-S2-3, B-S2-g,

them to solve problems themselves

F-S2-1, G-D-5, G-D-10

Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Roles/functions” category

3.4.3

Discussion

The answer to the research question 1, “How do JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?” is discussed based on the results of analysis in the section 3.4.2. I have discussed the content of general poster (See Figure 3-4-9) with the JAMmers, we have consensus that the two-dimensional map can be identified as four parts: part A (Top-right), part B (Top-left), part C (Bottom-left), and part C (Top-right). (See Figure 3-4-10)

Figure 3-4-10

The two-dimensional map is identified as four parts.

The content of each part features a specific type of interactions. Part A is an inside-out process to process received data into systematic and organized thinking. Part B is a logical output to translate the logical thinking into convincing and clear drawings in order to lead sessions to correct direction. Part B is an outside-in process to read people’s thinking, body language, and the group dynamic to understand their intentions and to gain key triggers. Part D is an empathetic output to surface people’s expectations and to trigger their inspirations and actions. If the poster is rotated 45 degrees anti-clockwise, the renewed mapping actually sheds the light on the right-brain and left-brain sides of interactions of JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions (See Figure 3-4-11). JAMmers bring these two sides together by switching around these two sides of their brain and apply proper techniques to deal with the dynamic context in sessions. The processes of switching (inside-out and outside-in) also play a key role to support the flow of the thinking in the sessions and to balance these two sides dynamically. To sum up, the left-brain and the right-brain are not contradicted but complete each other with proper processing.

Figure 3-4-11

If the poster (Figure 3-4-10) is rotated 45 degrees, the renewed mapping sheds the light on the right-brain and left-brain sides of interactions of JAMmers. 52

3.4.3.1

General Visual Thinkers in Visual Thinking sessions

According to the findings in the section 3.4.2 and the initial analysis in the previous page, general Visual Thinkers can be described as the composition of general characteristics and techniques which are summarized in the section 3.4.2. General Visual Thinkers are the core of the figure 3-4-12. They use their instincts and trained techniques to react to the dynamic reality in Visual Thinking sessions.

Figure 3-4-12 The renewed mapping.

In Visual Thinking sessions, the characteristics of Visual Thinkers are made of two main parts, “Rational” (Left-brain) and “Sensitive” (Right-brain). On the one hand, Visual Thinkers have to be rational and square to convince people. On the other hand, Visual Thinkers have to be sensitive and flexible enough to understand people’s true expectations. In the relation of techniques, Visual Thinkers use logical thinking to lead session participants with clear pictures in the left hand side, like a grown man. And in the right hand side, Visual Thinkers are like a curious girl to discover inspirations and support people. Therefore, general Visual Thinkers can be depicted as a double-sided person in order to face different challenges in both ends of the spectrum. (See Figure 3-4-3-13)

Figure 3-4-13

Participants can gain personal knowledge effortlessly in Contextmapping research. 53

3.4.3.2

Four major roles of JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions

Based on the findings in section 3.4.2 and the consensus with the JAMmers, it is suggested in this work that the four corners of the renewed mapping also indicate the four major roles/functions of the JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions (See Figure 3-4-14 and Figure 3-4-15). -

The essence of the inside-out process (Part A) indicates that JAMmers’ nature is to actively support discussion and thinking flow in sessions, which meets the description of “Discussion Supporter”.

The essence of the logical output (Part B) indicates that JAMmers compose systematic and organized drawings to convince and challenge participants, which represents fairly the value of “Truth Teller”.

The essence of the outside-in process (Part C) indicates that JAMmers utilize their all sensory to receive explicit and implicit information in order to follow the dynamic context, which fits the description of “Sensitive Balancer”.

The essence of the empathetic output indicates that JAMmers use empathy to find out participants’ motivation and inspire them with proper drawings, which is in line with the function of “Passion Trigger”. Passion Trigger inherits the essence of Passion Finder and also the value of JAMmers’ approachable characteristic.

Figure 3-4-14

The four major roles/functions in the general two-dimensional poster

Figure 3-4-15

The four major roles/functions in the renewed mapping 54

A detailed explanation of four roles/functions is as the following. 1.

Truth teller

JAMmers challenge the clients about the reality they avoid to face, such as complacence and ignorance. They have to be able to differentiate the essences in the sessions and express them honestly to the participants. Taking advantage of hand drawings (See the section 2.1), the challenge can be less intimidated than the one in face-to-face confrontation. A typical quote related to the role/function is as the following: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like the dinosaur I drew to depict the state of being of my client because it confronted him with his actual situation. Once seen, denial becomes impossible.â&#x20AC;? (G-S3-1)

Table 3-4-16

Truth teller in Visual Thinking sessions

Discussion supporter

JAMmers support the discussion in the sessions with the coordinated interactions. They are just like to dance with the participants, sometimes leading and sometimes following. If the flow of the communication is good, they keep it with the drawings. If the discussion does not work well, they have to take the lead and show them the possible direction. A typical quote related to the role/function is as the following: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am dancing with the participants to lead them.â&#x20AC;? (G-D-5)

Figure 3-4-17

Discussion Supporter in Visual Thinking sessions

Passion Trigger

JAMmers trigger people’s actions by creating the moments which awakens their passion. The typical quote related to the role/function is as the following: “I like to astonish them by making a lot of drawings and draw unexpected ideas” (F-S2-2 & F-S2-3)

Figure 3-4-18

Passion Trigger in Visual Thinking sessions

Sensitive Balancer

JAMmers have to keep sensitive all the time in the sessions to observe and listen carefully about people’s doing and talking. They also pay a great deal of attention on the group dynamics to address unnecessary tensions. They balance the certain participants’ dominance by using drawings to surface unheard voice. A typical quote related to the role/function is as the following: “I have to keep alert and sharp in the whole sessions. Sometimes it is difficult for me.” (C-D-6)

“I have an ear for the weak.” (E-S1-4)

Figure 3-4-19

Sensitive Balancer in Visual Thinking sessions

3.4.4

Visual translation of the results

Figure 3-4-20

How do JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?

This is a poster to depict “How do JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?”. I chose the metaphors, a blue man and an orange girl, to represent the characteristics and techniques of the JAMmers. Like a grown man, they have to organize received data into systematic drawings and express them logically to convince people. Like a little girl, they need to be curious and empathetic to understand people’s inner expectations and personal insights. They have to switch these two sides in order to respond to the dynamics of the group in the sessions. There are four major roles/functions in the four corners of the poster, which are “Truth teller”, “Passion trigger”, “Discussion supporter”, and “Sensitive balancer”. The first two roles are performed as the leading roles in sessions while the last two roles mostly play supporting roles in the group. 59

3.5 3.5.1

Findings on research question 2: Critical problems in interactions with dynamic context Analyses

To answer the research question 2, “What is the most critical problem when JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions?”, the coded phrases from the Sensitizing phase and the Deep reflection phase are partly categorized in a group, “Problems & solutions”. The conceptual framework is applied to map the coded phrases (See Figure 3-5-1). The results of the “Problems & Solutions” are clustered based on the conceptual framework (See Figure 3-5-3). The coded phrases with similar meanings or inclinations are put together in clusters, and each cluster was summarized in a general problem (See Figure 3-5-2). Summarized problems are examined in the section 3.5.2. The most critical problem is identified and discussed in the section 3.5.3. In the section 3.5.4, the summarized problems are translated into individual identity cards for each problem to provide the insights for further solutions.

Figure 3-5-1

Figure 3-5-2

Conceptual framework of Visual Thinking sessions

Sample of the Cluster with Related Coded Phrases and a General Tem, “Time issue”

Figure 3-5-3

3.5.2

Coded Phrases Clustered in “Problem & Solution” Category

Results

The clusters in Figure 3-5-3 are summarized in the Table 3-5-1, which presents a brief description of the findings of problems, JAMmers’ suggested solutions, and related stages or processes in the conceptual framework. The suggested solutions will be tagged as “Positive” if the suggested solutions are present from positive experience by the participants. And if not, the suggested solutions will be tagged as “No clear suggestions”. A detailed discussion is in section 5.3.2. Table 3-5-1 Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Problems & solutions” category

Problems & solutions

Related Codes

What is my role? And where is my stage?

A-D-15, C-D-9,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

C-D-10,

Grounding: It is the process when people build up the shared Mental Models.

C-D-15, E-S2-1,

b. Brief description

E-S2-2, E-S2-3,

Participants and facilitators in the sessions are usually ill-informed about the roles/functions of

E-S3-1, E-S3-5,

JAMmers and even misunderstood. This common reality results in the neglect of the participants

E-S3-c, E-S3-b,

or a bitter competition with the facilitators who indeed should cooperate with JAMmers. Most of the time, JAMmers have only several minutes to introduce their roles/functions to the

E-S3-5, CA1-1, CA1-2, CA1-3,

participants in the sessions.

CA1-6, CA1-7, c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (No clear suggestions) One suggestion is to send the briefing to possible facilitators in advance. However, in the reality, facilitators are difficult to contact with, and the majority of the participants are still not involved. Another possible solution is to arrive before the sessions and talk to the facilitators and the participants about what they are going to do. But the facilitators and the participants might not take the unplanned introduction serious.

CA2-1, CA2-4, CA2-5

Low-motivated participants

A-D-21,

a. Related Stages or processes in the Conceptual framework

G-S3-3, G-D-9

“Shared Mental Models”: This is the stage where people start to discuss based on the built shared Mental Models. b. Brief description Participants are low-motivated in the sessions and take the sessions less serious. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (Positive) The possible suggestion is to “confront them with their actual situation”. The drawing itself can be less provocative to argue face-to-face. This suggestion is proved positive by participant G from his experience. 3.

Too many Jargons in a large group with diverse specialties

A-S3-C

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework “Shared Mental Models”: This is the stage where people start to discuss based on the built shared Mental Models. b. Brief description The participants have rather diverse specialties in a big session, and the numbers of jargons they use can be overwhelming and hard to prepare in advance. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (No clear suggestions) The possible suggestion is to study the topics and possible participants before the sessions and to be active to ask questions.

Difficulties to follow up the discussion

C-S3-1, C-S3-2,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

C-S3-5, C-S3-6,

“Diving”: This is a process to dive with people’s thinking to gain deeper insights. b. Brief description It is demanding for less experienced JAMmers to fast “drawing and listening at the same time” while following up the discussion. They are lost in the fast-changing roles/functions. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (Positive) One suggestion is to draw as early as possible even before to think, and “the drawings occurred while listening and drawing without knowing where it came from and where it would end in”. This suggestion is proved positive by participant C from his experience. It also implies that experiencing the real sessions is necessary to develop the ability and the confidence.

C-S3-a, C-S3-c

Disputes in-between groups

C-D-16-1,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

C-D-16-2,

“Diving”, “Showing”, and “Lifting”: The three processes are generally the time when the

C-D-16-3,

participants are generating ideas and opinions. CA1-5, CA1-10 b. Brief description Participants “tend to argue on practical limitations”, such as the limitation of the budget, instead of looking for visionary viewpoints. And the face-to-face confrontation sometimes results in an endless argument. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (Positive) The suggested solution is to “connect different opinions on an abstract level” in the drawings, which help the participants “let go of the practical limitations first” and to gain a wider vision. This suggestion is proved positive by participant C from his experience. The drawings can simply catch the arguing participants’ attention and together look at a drawing explained by the JAMmer. The participants can then focus on the real issue instead of the confrontation with each other. This suggestion is proved positive in the first case study. 6.

Difficulties to find a good timing to intervene

C-S3-b, C-D-17,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

CA2-2

“Showing”: This is a process to visualize the personal insights to bring it to the stage, “Shared Mental Models”, where people can really see and discuss each other’s ideas. b. Brief description It is hard to find a good timing to intervene the consequent discussion, especially when the roles/functions of the JAMmers are not clear in the session. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (Positive) The suggested solution is to inform well the facilitators to cooperate before the sessions. Or be alert and patient for the chance to intervene. It is proved positive in the second case study. 7.

Dominant participants or facilitators in the discussion

A-D-18, B-S3-a,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

B-S3-b, B-S3-c

“Shared Mental Models”, and “Shared Vision”: This is a stage when people discuss and integrate mutual ideas. b. Brief description Dominant participants or facilitators in the discussion usually take the control of the discussion to his/her opinions while other participants hardly share their ideas and opinion but to follow. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (Positive) JAMmers should try to intervene early and use the drawings to bring the other participants’ ideas and opinions on the table. JAMmers can also use the drawing skills and presentation to emphasize the unheard voices.

No further usage of the drawings after the sessions

A-D-11,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

A-D-12,

“Action”: This stage is where people realize the shared vision in a practical plan.

A-D-13,

b. Brief description

A-D-14, C-D-8,

The drawings are left aside after the sessions and could not be a positive trigger for clients to

G-D-8

take actions. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (Positive) The drawings can be examined by asking three key questions: “Is the drawing logical?”, “Do I feel happy?”, and “Does the drawing lead to proper reactions?” This suggestion is proved positive by participant A, C, and G from their experiences. 9.

Time issue

A-S3-2,

a. Related Stages or Processes in the Conceptual framework

A-D-16,

“General issue”: This is a issue which generally affects the overall performance of the Visual

A-D-19, B-S3-d,

Thinking sessions. C-D-11, F-S3-a, b. Brief description

F-S3-b

It takes time to “shake Mental Models loose and rebuild them”. Most of the JAMmers pointed out that the shortage of time is a common issue in Visual Thinking sessions. However, if the process takes too long, the participants and JAMmers can be too tired to focus as well. c. JAMmers’ suggested solutions (No clear suggestions) There is no clear suggestion about the “Time issue” in the research results.

Table 3-5-1

Summary of the description and the related coded phrases in the “Roles/functions” category

3.5.3

Discussion

As a result in Table 3-5-1, it is suggested that problem 1, problem 8, and problem 9 are the three mostly mentioned problems in this research. Problem 1 is especially obvious in the numbers of related coded phrases, participants, and case studies. Moreover, the summarized results in the table 3-5-2 indicate that problem 1, problem 3, and problem 9 are still lack of clear solutions in JAMmers’ experience. Combined these findings together, problem 1 and problem 9 are both mentioned frequently in the JAMmers’ experience and uncertain about the clear solutions. Problem

Positive solutions

What is my role? And where is my stage?

Low-motivated participants

Yes

Too many Jargons in a large group with diverse specialties

Difficulties to follow up the discussion

Yes

Disputes in-between groups

Yes

Difficulties to find a good timing to intervene

Yes

Dominant participants or facilitators in the discussion

Yes

No further usage of the drawings after the sessions

Yes

Time issue

Table 3-5-2 Results of Possible Solutions to each problem

Problem 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are mainly mentioned by less-experienced JAMmers. It is suggested in this work that, with the growth of the experience and matured techniques, the problems could be addressed. These suggested solutions also imply that there is no rush to finish the learning period if they are on the right track, since this is a crucial time to build up techniques and personal confidence. According to the insights, I categorized the six problems as “technical problems: problems can be solved with the growth of experience and mature techniques”. They can be addressed when JAMmers gradually gain experience in real practice and also learn solutions from more-experienced JAMmers. The identity cards in the section 3.5.5 can be a possible solution to help to share the experience for less-experienced JAMmers. Generally speaking, technical problems are less critical than problem 1, problem 8, and problem 9. For problem 8, there is already a positive solution which is to keep asking questions if the drawings fit in people’s ideas (See Table 3-5-1). It also takes time to achieve the goal and needs the cooperation of the facilitators and participants. Therefore, the reasons why this problem is so frequently mentioned in this research are probably the lack of time (problem 9), and the ill-informed session participants which behave low cooperated (problem 1). The time in the sessions should be sufficient “for deconstruction and reconstruction of mental models” (F-S3-b) and not too long in case to “be too tired do ‘lifting’” (A-D-19). An efficient Visual Thinking process empowered by matured techniques should be solutions to technical problems (See Figure 3-5-4). As a result, the experienced JAMmers should have no problems about “Time

issue” since they obtained more experience and mentioned few technical problems. However, this is not in line with the results of Analyses. “Time issues” is actually mentioned by both less experienced and experienced JAMmers. It implies that the potential problems in “Time issues” are not originated from technical problems.

Figure 3-5-4

Effects of Visual Thinking empowered by having more experience in the sessions

According to the findings in the research, the ill-informed role of the JAMmers in the sessions result in early and lasting struggles for JAMmers to make Visual Thinking effective. (See Figure 3-5-5) This is the most common phenomena depicted in the interviews and the observation of two case studies. As a result, time is wasted to gain a proper status and to make Visual Thinking effective.

Figure 3-5-5

General reality in the sessions

The problem 1 is the most critical problem in Visual Thinking sessions due to its common presence and influences in other problems. There is no exception for less-experienced and more-experienced JAMmers to face the loss of valuable time in the early phase of a given session. The majority of participants and facilitators in the sessions usually do not know what JAMmer is doing for, and the JAMmers can only use several minutes to introduce themselves. An ineffective introduction of the roles and functions of Visual Thinkers indeed results in an inefficient Visual Thinking process. Therefore, the problem 1 is concluded as the most critical problem when JAMmers interact with the dynamic context in Visual Thinking sessions. The solution to problem 1 should help the JAMmers to skip the early lose of time and reach the goal efficiently.

3.5.4

Visual translation of the results

These nine problems defined and discussed in the section 3.5.3 are presented in identity cards depicting its scenarios, quotes, seriousness, and suggested solutions. Problem 1 is categorized with three stars as it is the most critical problem. Problem 8 and Problem 9 are categorized with two stars, and the rest of the problems are categorized with one star. Problem 1__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 2__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 3__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 4__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 5__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 6__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 7__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 8__________________________________________________________________________

Problem 9__________________________________________________________________________

3.6 3.6.1

Conclusions Balancing JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions

Compared to the results in exploratory study, the findings in the Contextmapping research provide new perspectives on Visual Thinkers’ characteristics, experience, and how they perform their roles/functions with their natural instincts and learned techniques in Visual Thinking sessions. In the poster in the section 3.4.4, it provides a balanced and dynamic figure of the JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions, which switches from “the right-sided brain” (the blue-man side) to “the left-sided brain” (the orange-girl side). Although the drawings usually seem done effortlessly by JAMmers in the sessions, indeed JAMmers have to put all of their efforts to perform the roles, in which drawing is only one of the key processes in organizing, imagining, “reading”, and etc. And the activities in these processes can eventually help to establish the flow of the discussion and communication in Visual Thinking sessions. 3.6.2

Demands for a proper solution to the crucial problem in JAM

The findings in the section 3.5 indicate clearly that the JAMmers need to inform and impress the participants and facilitators well in the introduction, in which they can convert their stereotype that drawers cannot be a logical thinker. Otherwise, the stereotype can result in other critical problems afterwards, such problem 9, “Time issue”. Therefore, the conceptual design will be the goal to address the problem 1, “What is my role? & where is my stage?”, in the Conceptualization and Evaluation phase.

Chapter 4 Conceptualization We have discussed in the chapter 3 that the most critical problem in the context of Visual Thinking sessions is the misunderstood roles/functions of Visual Thinkers in the sessions. This common reality results in the neglect of participants or a conflict with facilitators who should cooperate with JAMmers. However, JAMmers usually have only several minutes to introduce their roles/functions to the participants in the sessions. In order to solve the problem, a concept will be developed to inspire participants and facilitators initial awareness about Visual Thinking in the beginning of the sessions. As a result, the effectiveness of Visual Thinking will not be shadowed by the stereotype. A goal of the conceptualization phase will be defined in the beginning of the chapter. The requirements for this concept will be formulated in the section 4.2 based on conclusions and findings in the chapter 3. Proposed concepts will be explored and the process is depicted in the latter section. An evaluation will be conducted with the JAMmers in JAM. Their feedback will be evaluated to refine the conceptual design. A final concept will be presented in the section 4.5.

4.1

Goal of the conceptualization

In order to avoid the stereotype which is common reality and the most critical problem in sessions, the goal of the conceptualization is to stimulate an early curiosity of session participants. Therefore, the participants can share the stage with JAMmers and be prepared to respond to JAMmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; questions and drawings during discussions.

Figure 4-1

4.2

The design goal is to develop a design for the JAMmers to gain understandings of participants and facilitators about their roles/functions in the beginning of the sessions.

Requirements

4.2.1

Awareness hammer broadcasting the advantages of Visual Thinking.

The design should help JAMmers to inform their presence as Visual Thinkers in sessions by stimulating their curiosity about Visual Thinking. Participants can therefore anticipant the JAMmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; involvement in the process instead of ignoring them.

Figure 4-2

The design should help JAMmers to inform their presence as Visual Thinkers in sessions.

4.2.2

Open to evolve into JAMmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; personal tool.

To take advantages of the creativities and diversities in their changeable characteristics, the design should be flexible for the JAMmers to adjust and feel comfortable to use. The JAMmers are like creative chefs. All we need to do is to provide them the best ingredients and they can cook a dish suitable for their instinct and experience.

Figure 4-3

4.2.3

The design should be flexible for the JAMmers to adjust and feel comfortable to use.

A sharing trigger for JAMmers to exchange experience.

The design should trigger JAMmers to share their experience in gaining awareness from the participants in Visual Thinking sessions.

Figure 4-4

The design should trigger JAMmers to share their experience in Visual Thinking sessions.

4.3

Concepts development

4.3.1

Name card

To gain an early attention from participants, it is possible to take advantage of the timing to exchange name cards. It is a social ritual widely accepted. When name cards are exchanging, a close and personal interaction is also created in between JAMmers and participants. Without knowing what will be the next graphics on the card, every introduction could be a little, fresh challenge for the JAMmers to express stories behind each card. A.

Description

This concept is a series of folded cards printed illustrations which content the essential elements in Visual Thinking (See Figure 4-5). The illustrations are mainly distilled from the findings in the chapter 3. Each illustration represents one key characteristic, technique, or role/ function of Visual Thinkers in sessions. For example, Visual Thinkers have to switch swiftly and frequently between being logical and being empathetic (See 4-6). JAMmers can choose to have all the cards in hand or only parts of them. Therefore, the name card is shown in different illustration each time.

Figure 4-5

These name cards are a series of illustrations representing key characteristics, techniques, and roles/functions of Visual Thinkers in group sessions.

Figure 4-6

Visual Thinkers have to switch swiftly between being logical and being empathetic.

Scenario

Before the start of a given session, JAMmers talk to participants randomly and ask to exchange name cards and take one card out from a stack of the folded cards. The participants could be curious about the illustrations or the way it looks like. This social event simply creates a chance for JAMmers to introduce themselves. With the reference of the illustrations, JAMmers can tell the participant a brief introduction of the illustration, which expresses how Visual Thinker works and influences the thinking process. The introduction process can be a little challenging and fun for the JAMmers by randomly-appeared illustrations (See Figure 4-7). The JAMmers therefore can also be aware of what his/her role in the sessions and how they can introduce it better and better. C.

Possible benefits

Arousing instant awareness of participants

Speaking out for JAMmers themselves

Flexible to compose customized story for different JAMmers

Figure 4-8

Prototypes of Name card

4.3.2

Info cube

With the advantage of 3-Dimensional form, the info cube can represent the dynamic and cycling flow of Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; roles/functions and interactions in Visual Thinking sessions (See Figure 4-9).

Figure 4-9

This concept is a polyhedron consisting of triangular and square facets.

Description

This concept is a polyhedron consisting of triangular and square facets. The essential elements of Visual Thinking described in the section 3.5.2 and 3.6.1 can be pasted on the square facets. The arrows can be pasted on the triangular facets. Both of the essential elements and the graphics of arrows are printed on stickers, and JAMmers can compose their own storyline by pasting the stickers on the polyhedron (See Figure 4-10).

Figure 4-10

Essential elements in Visual Thinking and graphics of arrows are printed on stickers. JAMmers can compose their own storyline by pasting the stickers on the polyhedron.

Figure 4-11

Taking the advantage of the 3-Dimension form, the elements can be linked by the arrows as a complete cycle which represents the dynamical roles and techniques of the JAMmers.

Taking the advantage of the 3-Dimension form, the elements can be linked by the arrows as a complete cycle which represents the dynamical roles and techniques of the JAMmers (See Figure 4-11). Two-way arrows indicate â&#x20AC;&#x153;switchingâ&#x20AC;? between their nearby elements. One-way arrows indicate the direction of flow. The building process of the storyline is also a time for the JAMmers to organize their personal introduction as a Visual Thinker. B.

Scenario

JAMmers can arrive the session earlier and make a use of the time when people are orientating the surroundings and people. The JAMmers can introduce their roles and functions in the session when people are curious about their doing. Or the JAMmers can simply approach participants to have a quick chat and introduce themselves. Introduction with Info Cube can be done one-on-one and in a small group when the JAMmers demonstrate the storyline in their Info Cubes. C.

Possible benefits

A complete and cycling flow of Visual Thinking can be represented naturally in the concept.

Flexible in a brief inspiration or an elaborate story of Visual Thinking.

Building process allows the JAMmers to compose their understanding about Visual Thinking

coherently.

Figure 4-12

Prototypes of Info Cube

4.3.3

Story telling cards

Participants can play the cards in a group. By using the cards to compose their own solutions to given situations, they can learn the roles and functions of Visual Thinking in sessions.

Figure 4-13

To create the storyline of the cards helps participants experience Visual Thinking.

Description

This concept is a group of double-sided cards which content the illustrations of important roles, techniques, and goals in Visual Thinking (See Figure 4-14). Participants follow the guidance of the JAMmers to experience Visual Thinking process in problem solving sessions (See Appendix 16). In 12 to 15 minutes, participants play the roles of Visual Thinkers, practice Visual Thinkersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; techniques, and try to reach the goals. They can also learn difficulties and values of Visual Thinking.

Figure 4-14

This concept is a group of selected cards which content illustrations of important roles, techniques, and goals in Visual Thinking

Scenario

The cards can be use as the warm up activities in Visual Thinking sessions. A group of people is gathered and guided by one or two JAMmers. The JAMmers will ask participants to choose a card and introduce participants about the meanings of each card. Consequently, each one gets the role card can form his/her group, with whom possess a technique card or a goal card. A special situation will be given by the JAMmers, and the participants will be asked to solve the given situation by practicing their roles. The warm up session will end up in a reflection on their doings in the process. C.

Possible benefits

Understanding Visual Thinking in practicing themselves.

Communicating values of Visual Thinking in a dynamic and interactive way.

A large group can be involved tog

Figure 4-15

Prototypes of Story cards

4.4

Evaluation

These proposed concepts in the section 4.3 are evaluated with JAMmers. The JAMmers are asked to simulate the possible scenarios and give their feedback about if the concept meets the requirements depicted in the section 4.2. The key points of the feedback are listed as the following. 4.4.1

Feedback on the concepts

Concept 1: Name card This concept to arouse the curiosity early is welcomed by all of the JAMmers. JAMmers agree that the concept can express the essence of Visual Thinking in a creative and inspiring way, which fits the requirement, â&#x20AC;&#x153;awareness hammerâ&#x20AC;?. The double-sided concept is welcomed by the advantage to show that the inner logical thinking is also part of their values in sessions. The portable size is also welcomed by the JAMmers, which people can simply put it in their wallets. However, there are doubts on the timing to deliver the name cards in the beginning of sessions. Only one of the JAMmers confirms that it is a proper timing while the majority of them is used to deliver name cards after sessions. They also suggest that to deliver name cards is too time-consuming to make effects in a large session. Concept 2: Info cube This concept is valued as the most original and eye-catching concept. JAMmers all agree that it provides multiple ways to demonstrate the story behind the concept. It could catch longer attention while people play with it because of its handy size and shape. JAMmers do not agree that the concept can express the value of Visual Thinking clearly because the intriguing shape can mislead people to a different interpretation instead of focusing on the relationships of the small drawings. They also point out that it will take time to express the story and can only be useful when you demand several minutes in a small group. Concept 3: Storytelling card The storytelling cards are valued to involve a group to spend quality time understanding Visual Thinking. The flexibility of the concept is also credited by the JAMmers. However, it will require a decent amount of time which is not realistic in generally tight-scheduled sessions in JAM visual thinking. This reality makes the concept difficult to be implemented in the practice of Visual Thinking sessions.

4.4.2

Discussion

The double-sided concept in “name card” indeed gained the most positive feedback in its value to imply that the functions of Visual Thinkers in sessions do not only lie in the entertaining drawing skills. It will arouse the curiosity on Visual Thinkers’ doing and help to break the long-lasting stereotype that the drawers are artists but no serious thinkers. The concept should affect people in a very short time and inform the values of Visual Thinking clearly but not overwhelmingly. The concept is expected to make effects with a group of people in a short time. Otherwise, the concept cannot influence the performance of a Visual Thinking session significantly. To sum up, the double-sided concept embedded in “name card” is the concept which is worth to build on to inform participants correctly with its simplicity and potential to break people’s stereotype on Visual Thinkers. It is also suggested that JAMmers could develop their own idea based on the double-sided concept, which they can feel comfortable to use. One of the JAMmer has developed his own ideas based on the concept. The JAMmer chose the name card which he thinks it is proper for him to deliver the name cards in the beginning of sessions. The idea will be presented in the next section as the conclusion of the conceptualization phase.

4.5

Suggested idea based on the final concept

This idea is based on the “double-sided” concept which is meant to inform session participants the potential of Visual Thinking and infiltrate their stereotype on drawers in order to gain the early stage in Visual Thinking sessions. The suggested idea is presented with a short description. Double-sided name card This idea is to develop a double-sided name card (See Figure 4-16). On one side, it is a serious and polished portrait photo. On the other side, it is a hand drawing self-portrait on a piece of rough paper. This concept is to play upon with people’s stereotype that science and art cannot coexist. It is going to express the idea that actually Visual Thinkers’ works are completed with the coexistence of values in these two sides of brain.

Figure 4-16

This concept is to express the idea that actually Visual Thinkers’ works are completed with the coexistence of values in these two sides of brain.

Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1

Evaluation of objectives of the project

The goal of this project is to decipher the “Magic” of Visual Thinking in business and to develop a concept to inform it to JAMmers and session participants. The researches in the chapter 1 and chapter 2 are conducted in order to define where the “Magic” lies. Since the problem is fully defined, the Contextmapping research in the chapter 3 is conducted to decipher it. Furthermore, by finding the most critical problem in JAM visual thinking, I tried to bridge the final gap with the suggested solution which is a concept depicted in the chapter 4. In the chapter 1, it is presented that the progress and efforts of Visual Thinkers to bridge the gap between visuals and logical thinking. “Visuals” and “Logical thinking” have been torn apart for a long time by the educational systems. As we have discussed, the gap is still not bridged because of the unknown Visual Thinking process which leads to poor performance in the practice of JAM visual thinking. In the chapter 2, the Visual Thinking process is researched to find out the missing links in the fields of literature and international practice of Visual Thinking. It is proved that human interactions are the missing link which is crucial but lack of thorough research on it. It is also suggested that the un-deciphered “Magic” of Visual Thinking is the human interactions in sessions. The contextmapping research is conducted to understand the human interactions in Visual Thinking sessions and to find the critical problem which hinters the interactions in sessions. Visual Thinkers in sessions are defined as a human plays multiple roles and, by switching around the left-brain and the right-brain, bridge the separate ends again. The dynamic balance, between these two ends, results in an effective means for people to think logically with creativities and inspirations on a common ground. This definition of Visual Thinkers in sessions demonstrated that the “Magic” of Visual Thinking in sessions, in fact, lies in the harmony of left and right side of the brains. In the chapter 3, the most critical problem is defined as a stereotype which leads to a early misunderstanding about the functions of Visual Thinkers in sessions. This is the final piece of puzzles to finish the bridge. In the chapter 4, the final suggested concept, double-sided name card, is designed to infiltrate people’s stereotype and to fit into JAMmers’ personal preference. Therefore, I conclude that the “Magic” of Visual Thinking in sessions is fully deciphered and represented. And the further goal to inform it to JAMmers and session participants is fulfilled in the suggested concept which can lead to a correct direction to enhance the effectiveness of Visual Thinking in sessions in JAM visual thinking. To sum up, efforts in the development of Visual Thinking in decades have built a firm foundation. Right now, it just needs a tipping point to break down the stereotype built by the modern educational system. And I believe the suggested concept will serve itself as the tipping point to bring people’s brain in a harmony again.

5.2

Application of Contextmapping research method

Supposing the Contextmapping research method is developed to explore and define a usage context of a physical product, there would be a question that if this product-oriented approach can be incorporated into a facilitation methodology which involves a dynamic context. Considering the major benefit of the Contextmapping research, surfacing the inner thinking, feeling and ideas of people, the high intensity of human interactions in Visual Thinking sessions indeed demands this kind of approach to thread through the complexity and unpredictability of the dynamic context. The results of the research question 1 (See section 3.4) have represented abundant in-depth knowledge in how JAMmers (user) implement Visual Thinking (product) in sessions (context). The complex relationships therefore can be mapped in a logical and understandable way which leads to a further visual translation. As a result, I conclude that the Contextmapping research method can be applied on a given field which involves intense human interactions and multiple variables in the context. 5.3

Further study

Although the result of the study suggests a positive improvement of understanding Visual Thinking in sessions, several directions of further researches can be suggested to follow up in the fact of the limits of time in this graduation project. 5.3.1

Potential negative Roles/functions in sessions

A successful session probably needs not only catalyst of the discussion but also friction. In the research of this project, the defined roles of JAMmers in Visual Thinking sessions are generally positive and supportive. However, there are some situations when session participants behave ignorant to their responsibilities, deny active participation, and even show disrespect to their works. The JAMmers indeed avoid these kinds of sessions. If they are in that situation, they are forced to behave negative intentionally to evoke participants in an aggressive way. This kind of last resort for the JAMmers can lead to harsh confrontation and embarrassing moments. These situations are not mentioned clearly and also not shown common in the results of this project. it is only mentioned from time to time by the JAMmers when they talked about the conclusions of the Contextmapping research when it is too late to conduct another scientific research on this topic. Despite of the concerns of harsh confrontation, there is potential to manipulate the negative roles/functions of the JAMmers in order to deal with unfriendly and passive participants. If they could be played well, from JAMmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feedback, the effectiveness of Visual Thinking sessions can be enhanced intensively. Therefore it is suggested in this work to conduct the later research on the negative roles/functions of the JAMmers and find a way to take advantages of them to improve the interactions in Visual Thinking sessions. 87

5.3.2

Specific demands of different session participants

Based on the feedback in JAM visual thinking, session participants can be identified specifically as clients, process facilitators, participants, JAMmer leader, and JAMmer supporters. A brief description of each group is as the following. Clients are people who offer the case but not always participant the sessions. Process facilitators sometimes organize the sessions and have to control the process of the sessions. Participants are the majority of the session participants, who have the least chance to see and talk with JAMmers before sessions. JAMmer leader is in charge of the communication with the process facilitator in sessions. JAMmer supporters are mainly to support the discussion with drawings in sessions. Under the identification, a research can focus on the specific demands and problems of each group to insure an effective session which meets expectation of all parties. 5.3.3

Researches on preparation and evaluation of the sessions

The focus of the research can be extended on the preparation before sessions and on the evaluation after sessions. In this research, the focus is basically on the processes in Visual Thinking sessions. However, a good or bad preparation can already influence the performance of Visual Thinking in sessions. Furthermore, a well-designed feedback system can help JAMmers monitor the feedback of session participants. This feedback can help JAMmers to improve their performance according to the real responses. There is already an initial investigation about this topic conducted in JAM visual thinking. Here I suggest the future researches can follow her studies to design a systematic mechanism to document and evaluate the feedback of session participants about the performance in the preparation and the process of sessions.

Chapter 6. Reflection This chapter looks back on the project and discusses learned lessons. 6.1 6.1.1

Challenges in this project Specification of the problem definition

In the beginning of this project, the first and the biggest challenge is to narrow down the research field by defining a proper problem. In fact, It took me nearly five months to grasp concrete orientation of the problems, and they were still subjected to later modifications through the whole project. The field of this project is based on a dynamic context which depends heavily on human interactions. Therefore it demanded much time on keeping observing and questioning in order to make sure the essence of the problem is not from a subjective opinion. 6.1.2

Scheduling

My project management is another issue of the challenges in the project. The approach and tasks taken in the study considered appropriate since the feedback of the results are positive. However, time estimation is far from realistic in this project. Part of the reasons is the ill time management due to my endless curiosity in the field of the study. I usually dive too deep and did not notice that the time is running out. The ill time management, in fact, results in a series of problems in the progress of the project and miscommunication with the supervisory team. Another reason to the issue is the difficulty to demand time from usual busy JAMmers for a thorough interview. In spite of their eager cooperation, the early planning should be always made or it would result in an endless waiting and delay of the schedule. 6.2 6.2.1

Skills and knowledge development Academic reading and writing

During the graduation project, my English reading and writing skills were improved intensively with time. There are learned lessons about structuring the findings and reporting them in an academic way. 6.2.2

Conducting Contextmapping research method

The practice of Contextmapping research method is one of the meaningful improvement I made in the project. There are diverse requirements of techniques for conducting the approach, such as observational research, development of the research materials, interview skills, project management, interpretation, conducting workshops, and communication skills. All of the practice counts for me to work in the field of industrial design in the near future. 6.3

Further improvement

If there is the chance to redo the project, I will try my best to prepare a practical planning first and stick to the planning. Because there is no clear-cut planning in this project, it was completely a continuing process of trial and error. The lessons in the project have taught me that without a clear

planning, the inefficiency could result in unpredictable outcome and the process cannot be evaluated and improved later on. Now I have more realistic view than I used to have. I can be more practical in the project management. The time wasting on trial and error can be put on developing more profound findings and contribute more in the field of research.

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