WBL Field Trip to SAP

     On the 7th of March we took a field trip to the office of a multinational software company in Manhattan. Known as Systems, Applications and Products, or SAP, this company develops enterprise software, or software used by businesses, and is a market leader in enterprise applications with almost 4/5ths of the world's transaction revenues going through an SAP technology. Some highly advanced technology they offer today are IoT, machine learning, and advanced analytics. Our trip to SAP wasn't to learn about the technology that goes behind their products, rather, the thinking that goes into making them. We learned about 2 analysis/problem solving strategies we can use regardless of if we are doing something as complex as developing a high, multi level AI or something as simple as making a website.
     The first strategy we learned was Design Thinking. This problem solving strategy has 5 stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test in that order. At empathize an abstract understanding of the problem must be developed. To do this a problem must be analyzed from the perspective of the audience, or people most affected by the problem. Common ways to put yourself in the audience's shoes are to interview a wide sample of the audience to record their opinions relevant to the problem and observing the behavior of the audience when faced with the problem to better understand them. Next comes defining the problem or figuring out what exactly is causing the problem. The observations of the audience must be broken down in this stage to find a common denominator, one thing everyone in the audience mentioned that is causing their problem (realistically there could be many main problems so it is up to the team which single one to deal with). Once a core problem is identified we move on to the ideate stage. Here, we brainstorm potential solutions to the problem we identified at the previous stage. No idea is a bad idea so it is welcome to get as many ideas out as possible but some ideas are more practical than others so by the end of this stage there are a few ideas selected to be the best to move on to the next stage and some good ideas are combined into one great idea. After the team settles on the good ideas the prototype phase begins. Storyboards of the solution in work are made and mock ups, cardboard and clay versions of a product, are made all in an effort to visualize the solution. Finally, at the test stage a final product is made and implemented. What works and what doesn't is analyzed and the whole thing starts again. At SAP we were given a presentation highlighting one story about MRIs that implemented this solution. The problem at hand was children were afraid to go into an MRI and needed to be sedated to do so. After looking at stories of many children it was figured out MRI machines themselves are scary looking for children. After ideating and consulting with experts it was thought making MRIs an adventure for children will make MRIs less scary. In implementation children due for an MRI were told they were going on a treasure hunt a week in advance. The MRI itself was painted to reflect the pirate ship/adventuring for treasure theme. On the day of the appointment children were not scared and, in fact, wanted to do it again.
     The second problem solving strategy was Sci-fi Thinking. It is less complicated than Design Thinking and an important addition to the ideate phase of the Design Thinking process. Under this strategy we think about solutions that many might call outrageous today but could be a reality tomorrow through advancement in technology. Not all solutions proposed under this method are practical and a majority won't see implementation until technology improves to make it reality but it is important to consider these ideas nonetheless. We were given an example of the transition from horse based transport to cars. Before the 1900s anyone would think getting rid of horses in transportation was ridiculous and would never happen. Yet at the turn of the century Henry Ford made it a reality with his Model T and anyone who invested in such proposition reaped the benefits. Those thinking it would never happen never prepared for the sudden change and lost in the end so it is always important to consider changes in the future; what seems impossible now could be reality in the future and closing your eyes to the idea sets you up for trouble down the road.
     It is important we learn these thinking strategies because when working in the CS field, whether it be web design or machine programming, we'll encounter many problems that need intricate analysis in order to solve them. Problems encountered in CS have many levels to them so using a strategy like Design Thinking gives us a template to follow as to how to break down, analyze, and try to solve the problem. In addition, considering how changes to technology could impact the way we deal with the problem is also important, especially in this age where a new ground breaking technology seems to come out every other year.