Comments on: VizThink and the City of Austin

By: Sunni

Sunni — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:16:26 +0000

Hey Sharon! I was going to solicit your input on the process since you’ve been through numerous visual thinking processes yourself. Yes – I have all of those same questions. Some people expressed confusion as to what they were supposed to do, but then you have to wonder whether those people are learners that like to “hold hands” most of the time. Many people forged ahead and used their own skills at sense-making so that part was interesting for me to witness. I’ve heard from the City and they were very happy with the content generated. So my real comments where about how we got from a to z, not whether we got to z because, for our client we certainly did.

By: Sharon Henry

Sharon Henry — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:11:00 +0000

It was interesting to see a different way to experiment with visual thinking. And with a large group, an element of “wild and untamed” is to be expected. I know the exercise was running tight on time at the end, but I would have been curious to hear plus/delta comments from the participants, and hear initial reactions from the city stakeholders. What was most surprising about what they saw? I’m sure the results will give the City some great food for thought.

By: Sunni

Sunni — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:58:46 +0000

Hey Honoria, I don’t have any doubts about your depth of knowledge OR experience. I was just questioning my own understanding and the experience the participants had. Let’s discuss by phone so I can get some education. I know the City was delighted.

By: honoria starbuck

honoria starbuck — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:42:23 +0000

Ooops, the plan was actually based on theory of adult learning and emergent design theory. Sorry I didn’t explain the theoretical underpinnings to address WTF questions. And the outcome was pretty solid for the city which is the point of the process. I’d love to hear from others about the experience.