Project visualiser^*

Everyone gets‑it

Imagine being able to point, say one short sentence, and everyone 'gets it'.

No matter how complex or fuzzy data, processes, information, domains, problems, and the solutions are.

And regardless of specialism, level, familiarity, or experience – they could have started in their job yesterday – they'll all see it.

Management decisions made easy

Why? Because they could see everything set-out logically, robustly, thoroughly, and above all clearly, at a level above anything they were seeing elsewhere.

It all evidenced diligence and coherence, which meant management teams could confidently agree on decisions.

^*This is such a new role, there is no neat label.

Accurate, informative, truly useful maps and diagrams can't be created without a lot of leg work, investigation, and analysis.

So I gather and process information, make sense of it with other findings, fill-in gaps by asking questions, check against other outputs, and iterate, until visuals are robust, clear, and add something to what's known… or what's not.

My work shines a light on what hides in plain sight, beyond where spreadsheets and data can illuminate. What comes in to view can be uncomfortable.

Some availability for short contracts

No one could agree what was wrong

Customer journeys – experiences – are fuzzy, complex, and essentially invisible.

Each part, or phase, of a journey is handled by a different team, with the baton (customer) passed from hand to hand. Only the customer sees the whole journey.

For these reasons it can be hard to understand the what and why when problems surface.

A $70m vertically integrated business based in Sydney, Australia, had exactly this issue. No one in the business could agree on why customers were inundating customer service demanding changes, and panicking.

The first image above is one of the iterations (there were many) of a visual description of what was really happening.

People from within the business were invited to challenge, correct or confirm the map. Because it was easily grasped (within minutes), regardless of experience or specialism, everyone was able to engage. Sessions were short and productive.

I call my work 'co-created' for this reason.

A clear summary = consensus

The second illustration shows the visual summary I was able to distill from the detailed investigation.

A bold diagram pin-points where a problem was happening. And where the problem was then rattling back and forth, upsetting customers, causing delays, and increasing costs.

The CEO had been trying to get clarity and consensus among the management team for over a year before this diagram helped everyone see it.

Once they did, they asked for a visual of what it could be – they were ready to change things.

The business chose to own and implement the changes itself, which is always an option.

• More than just a diagram:
• Worked with data analyst in the UK to understand financials, sales, and product performance.

• Articulated data and conclusions for presentation to business team, after landing in Sydney, Australia.
• Developed easily digestible map, drawing on SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) from business functions based at locations in Sydney, and up the coast on the Pacific Highway.
• Tested the accuracy of the map with SMEs, through several iterations.
• Based on findings, engaged with senior management team to outline a road-map to an improved journey.
• Distilled research and analysis into visual summaries for executive presentation.