Individual Blog Post #2 - Strategic Vision

The coronavirus pandemic has presented numerous challenges across various sectors of our modern economy. This time has undoubtedly revolutionized the way in which the educational system conducts its services. Classes have migrated from traditional classrooms to online formats which has presented a whole set of new challenges for both educators and students.

The pandemic has made educational institutions enter an unknown environment which in turn has provided a massive shift in how business processes are handled. Two very important topics covered in class notably the Double Diamond Process and the Business Model Canvas are useful tools working in conjunction for the detailed analysis of how the novel coronavirus has completely transformed the education sector.

Double Diamond Process

Business Model Canvas

Double Diamond Design approach encompasses trying to gather an enhanced understanding of the situation and the users involved. Only the first diamond containing the Discovery and Definition stage respectively was considered when conducting the study. The discovery phase was first used when user interviews were conducted on four students for the creation of an empathy map, persona and customer journey. Defining the overall problem with remote learning based on the data gathered in the discovery phase, is at the cornerstone of the overall Value Proposition Canvas.

Reflection on the Value Proposition Canvas Workshop Experience

The Business Model Canvas is a business template outlining 9 business segments. The Value Proposition Canvas and Business Model Canvas both contain two key ingredients: the Value Proposition Map and Customer Profile. The Value Proposition Canvas is used to unite the target Customer Profile with the Value Proposition Map. The two ingredients making up the Value Proposition Canvas come together to create uniquely customized products/services for users. A takeaway from this exercise was that as one tries to find a pair of shoes that fit, the Value Proposition Canvas aims to find solutions for its target clients.

The Value Proposition Canvas, Value Map and Customer Profile are shown below.

Value Proposition Canvas

Value Map

Customer Profile

What was learnt from this experience was that different parts of the Value Proposition Canvas were based on Contextual Analysis Tools our group had used in the analysis of 4 student user interviews. These tools have helped us gain a better understanding of the target users and their wants/needs.

Creating the customer profile chart consisted of three main elements Gains, Pains and Customer Jobs. The persona profile contained the combination of both user pains and gains experienced while doing remote work. The customer jobs section was based on the most critical steps in the customer journey.

Developing the 3 part Value Map Diagram proved to require more extensive reflection. The Gain Creators section was entirely based on the opportunities part of the customer journey whereas the products and services section was based on the interview transcript and team discussion. The pain relievers were also based on the opportunities present on the customer journey map but also with team discussion ideas.

Overall, there was nothing that really surprised me but some insights were drawn from the Two By Two Model we built. This matrix outlines the organizational effort relative to the overall user experience and puts into perspective how much effort organizations should put into crafting ideal user experiences by using insights derived from the Value Proposition Canvas. Thus, the 2x2 matrix provides an overall blueprint of which tasks the organization should deeply focus on.

Two By Two Model

Looking into the Future

One tip for the future would be to spend more time reflecting on the bottom two quadrants in the Two By Two model, notably the amount of effort put into thinking about the potential user interface pitfalls of the organization. Visualizing potential problems could allow the organization to be better prepared to mitigate them.