The Language of Discovery: A Grammar for Designing Big Data Interactions
The oncoming tidal wave of Big Data, with its rapidly evolving ecosystem of multi-channel information saturated environments and services, brings profound challenges and opportunities for the design of effective user experiences.
Looking deeper than the celebratory rhetoric of information quantity, at its core, Big Data makes possible unprecedented awareness and insight into every sphere of life; from business and politics, to the environment, arts and society. In this coming Age of Insight, 'discovery' is not only the purview of specialized Data Scientists who create exotic visualizations of massive data sets, it is a fundamental category of human activity that is essential to everyday interactions between people, resources, and environments.
To provide architects and designers with an effective starting point for creating satisfying and relevant user experiences that rely on discovery interactions, this session presents a simple analytical and generative toolkit for understanding how people conduct the broad range of discovery activities necessary in the information-permeated world.
Specifically, this session will present:
• A simple, research-derived language for describing discovery needs and activities that spans domains, environments, media, and personas
• Observed and reusable patterns of discovery activities in individual and collaborative settings
• Examples of the architecture of successful discovery experiences at small and large scales
• A vocabulary and perspective for discovery as a critical individual and organizational capability
• Leading edge examples from the rapidly emerging space of applied discovery
• Design futures and concepts exploring the possible evolution paths of discovery interactions
10. Insight
Grasping or understanding meaning,
significance, and/or a solution.
A valuable change in perspective or understanding
that enables or guides further action.
12. “In the next ten
years, digital data
alone is expected
to grow 44 times.
By 2020, there
will be 4 billion
people online
creating 50
trillion gigabytes
of data.”
HP Intelligent Research
13.
14. Volume: yotta, yotta, yotta
Varied data ‘materials’
social, cultural, personal, environmental, economic, scientific
Full spectrum of granularity
Real-time & historical perspectives
Commoditized infrastructure
storage, processing, distribution, publishing
Data ecosystem(s)
15.
16.
17. “The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, to
process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to
communicate it's going to be a hugely important skill in the
next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for
elementary school kids, for high school kids, for college kids. Because now we
really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the
complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand
that data and extract value from it.”
Hal Varian
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Hal_Varian_on_how_the_Web_challenges_managers_2286
27. ‘Cliodynamics’ is a
transdisciplinary area of
research integrating
historical macrosociology,
economic history/
cliometrics, mathematical
modeling of long-term
social processes, and the
construction and analysis of
historical databases.
28. “The instability of large,
complex societies is a
predictable phenomenon,
according to a new
mathematical model that
explores the emergence of
early human societies via
warfare.”
“Capturing hundreds of years of human history, the model reveals
the dynamical nature of societies, which can be difficult to uncover
in archaeological data.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119151816.htm
29. “What we found are the
constants that describe
every city,” he says.
I don’t know anything
about this city or even
where it is or its history, but
I can tell you all about it.
And the reason I can do that
is because every city is
really the same.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19Urban_West-t.html
37. “The datasexual looks a lot like
you and me, but what’s different is
their preoccupation with personal
data.
They are relentlessly digital, they
obsessively record everything
about their personal lives, and
they think that data is sexy. In
fact, the bigger the data, the sexier
it becomes.
Their lives - from a data
data as lifestyle
perspective, at least - are perfectly
groomed.”
38. Discovery is the leading
emerging interaction category
of the Age of Insight
40. As I was waiting for a table at a
local restaurant the other day, I
flipped through a couple of the
free classified papers.
I was shocked to realize how
dependent I’ve grown on
three simple features that just
aren’t available in the analog
world: search, sort and filter.
http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/04/10/ui-patterns-for-mobile-apps-search-sort-filter/
46. The Language of Discovery:
A concrete descriptive language for
human discovery activity in diverse
contexts.
A simple and consistent vocabulary that
is independent of domain, role,
information type, etc.
47. Leverages what is common
in human discovery.
Allows for what varies in
contexts of discovery
57. Call Centers & Maintenance Data Quality &
Knowledge Repair & Governance
Mgmt Overhaul
Claims Analysis Enterprise Search
Digital Asset & Knowledge Mgmt
Mgmt
Warranty
Analysis Field Service Operations
Financial
Analysis & Planning
Analysis
Service Measure
Customer Human Capital
Risk Analysis
Support & Plan & Management
Maintain Operate
Market Research Program & Portfolio
Pricing Sell & Develop & Mgmt
Analysis
Deliver Produce
Manufacturing
& Quality Inventory &
Inventory &
Demand Visibility
Sales & Delivery
Customer Part, Commodity
Analysis Product & Supplier
Information Analysis
Market Spend
Mgmt
Intelligence
diverse roots Analysis
58. User Scenarios
“Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in
manufacturing and the field so that I can determine if I should replace
that part.”
- Engineering
“Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the
quality of the investment opportunity.”
“Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level
investment mix.”
- Portfolio Manager
“I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can
negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk
based on market indices.”
- Procurement
60. Literary Modes
“a broad, but identifiable literary method, mood, or
manner, that is not tied exclusively to a particular
form or genre.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(literature)
61. Argumentation
The purpose of argumentation (also called persuasive writing) is to prove the validity
of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and
argument that thoroughly convince the reader.
62. Discovery Modes
“a broad, but identifiable discovery activity that is
not tied exclusively to a particular context or
domain.”
64. Identifying Modes
“Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in manufacturing
and the field so that I can determine if I should replace that part.”
- Engineering
“Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the quality of the
investment opportunity.”
“Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level investment mix.”
- Portfolio Manager
“I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better
terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk based on market indices.”
- Procurement
Mode = ‘Comprehend’ (understand)
65. Comprehending
‘To generate insight by understanding the nature or
meaning of an item or data set’
e.g. “I need to analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform
brand strategy & communications plan” – Director, Brand Image
66. Identifying Modes
“I need visibility into the parts my colleagues are using globally in order to find the
best part possible for my assembly.”
- Engineering
“I need to identify customers/marketers/dealers failing & at risk of de-branding
based on performance problems.”
- Account Rep
“I need to identify problem/success areas and where to intervene and reward.”
- SVP Sales
“I need to identify the best customer/consumer/region targets for our brand/
products.”
- Brand Manager
Mode = ‘Explore’
67. Exploring
‘To proactively investigate or examine an item or data set
for the purpose of serendipitous knowledge discovery’
e.g. “I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better
terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk based on market indices”
– Procurement
77. 1. Replace a problematic part
(from sourcing, cost or technical
perspective)
2. ...with an equivalent or better
part
3. ...without compromising quality
and cost.
78. 1. Replace a problematic part
Analyze
(from sourcing, cost or technical
perspective)
2. ...with an equivalent or better
part Compare
3. ...without compromising quality
Evaluate
and cost.
79. Comparison–driven Search
1. Replace a problematic part
Analyze
(from sourcing, cost or technical
perspective)
2. ...with an equivalent or better
part Compare
3. ...without compromising quality
Evaluate
and cost.
80. 1. Analyze
2. and understand gaps between
current cost of commodity
3. versus best in class
manufacturing costs.
81. 1. Analyze
Analyze
2. and understand gaps between
current cost of commodity
Compare
3. versus best in class
manufacturing costs. Evaluate
82. Comparison–driven Search
1. Analyze
Analyze
2. and understand gaps between
current cost of commodity
Compare
3. versus best in class
manufacturing costs. Evaluate
85. Comparison–driven Search
Analyze Compare Evaluate
Identify parts used for same function as candidates for commonization and complexity reduction - Core Engineer
Replace a problematic part (from sourcing, cost or technical perspective) with an equivalent or better part without
compromising quality and cost. - Engineering
Compare our module set teardowns with competitive teardown information to see if we’re staying competitive for cost,
quality and functionality. - Engineering
Compare a lead's performance claims with relevant benchmarks to assess the lead's claims - Portfolio Manager
See the difference between what we are spending and what we should be spending to maximize savings (between
actual PO and should costs). - Procurement
Analyze & understand gaps between current costs of commodity versus best in class manufacturing costs - Cost
Estimators
86. Strategic Oversight
Monitor Analyze Evaluate
Monitor how well we are tracking to revenue and margin targets by division - SVP Sales
Monitor and grade incoming incidents; close incidents, add incident close codes - Supervisor/Inspector
Monitor global commodity use in relation to plan/guidelines to identify gaps that require corrective action - Core
Engineer
Monitor how well we are tracking to revenue and margin targets by division - District Manager
Monitor & evaluate how our brand is performing in re: revenue, margin, and market share targets - Brand Manager
Financial Analyst: Monitor & assess commodity status against strategy/plan/target
87. Exploration-driven Search
Explore Analyze Evaluate
Identify opportunities to optimize use of tooling capacity for my commodity/parts - Core Engineer
Identify sales opportunities and targets (increased key customer market share across categories/brands; upsell-cross
sell; promotional targets - District Manager
Evaluate & optimize our product portfolio: Which products should we de-list and retire? What new products should we
be making/selling? - Category Manager
Identify the best customer/consumer/region targets for our brand/products - Brand Manager
Determine suppliers to use for parts in my program and execute sourcing agreements - Core Buyer
Identify customers/marketers/dealers failing & at risk of de-branding based on performance problems - Program
Administrator
88. Strategic Insight
Analyze Comprehend Evaluate
Track module cost versus functionality over time to determine trends. - Engineering
Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in manufacturing and the field so that I can determine if I
should replace that part. - Engineering
Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the quality of the investment opportunity - Portfolio
Manager
Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level investment mix - Portfolio Manager
I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast
business risk based on market indices. - Procurement
89. Comparison–driven Synthesis
Analyze Compare Synthesize
Analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform brand strategy & communications plan -
Director, Brand Image
Find out how many parts I have in my module set of parts and find ways to reduce cost across them - Engineering
Formulate scope & strategy for sourcing and gap closure - Core Buyer
Analyze and understand a market: marketer network, competitive position, customer sat, & share, etc. to inform brand
strategy and communications plan - Brand Image Analyst
94. When I use the tool, I can...
Monitor
...currently popular colors over useful
intervals
Explore
...currently popular colors, or colors
popular in the past
Verify
That a color is popular now or in the
past
95. As a user, I can...
Analyze 1. Analyze the popularity
and importance of colors
over time to see patterns
2. Compare colors in terms
Compare
of importance and
popularity at various
cycles, trends, and
moments.
3. Evaluate colors vs. their
Evaluate
current and historic
importance and popularity.
Comparison-driven Search ...of colors I may use for my purposes
96.
97. As a reader, I can...
Monitor
...articles to see what is new and
available.
Explore
...available articles and topics to
identify those of interest to me.
Locate
... and read articles of interest,
supporting information, and
related materials.
98. As a reader, I can...
Analyze 1. Analyze events and topics
using the data and tools
provided
Comprehend 2. Understand the events
and topics using the
Guardian’s perspective
and my own.
Evaluate 3. Evaluate all perspectives,
as well as the actions and
decisions based on them.
Strategic Insight into events & actions of government & society
99. As a reader, I get...
Analyze 1. Analyze the causes,
participants and events of
the UK riots
2. Compare suggested
Compare
causes, insights and
explanations into the
events.
Synthesize 3. Synthesize these insights
into a coordinated
perspective on the riots
Comparative synthesis of all insights into the causes of the UK riots
100. My twitter home page allows me to...
Monitor
...the tweets of people I follow, my
followers, community interactions.
Explore
...trends and active topics, and
suggestions for people to follow.
Locate
..tweets, people, hashtags / topics
Synthesize
...new tweets via composition,
retweet, or favorite tweets.
101. The profile snapshot lets me...
Evaluate
...the author of a tweet to decide if I
am interested in them
Locate
...the profile and homepage of the
author of a tweet
102. A twitter profile page lets me...
Explore
...the authors profile to learn more
about them
Evaluate
...their activity, followers, tweets,
relevance to me
Comprehend
...the author’s interests, point of view,
103. Twitter Profile viewers can...
Explore 1. Explore the author’s
profile, activity and
community interactions.
2. Analyze the author’s
Analyze followers, activity, tweets,
community interaction,
who they follow.
Evaluate 3. Evaluate the author to
decide their relevance and
value.
Exploration-driven search ... for valuable people streams to follow
104. MICRO view - visual art
data: 25 canonical paintings representing
transition from realism to modernism,
1849-1916
111. To inform the core principles for the user
experience of the product
To coordinate the design of product
features and functions across channels
and form-factors
product
To evaluate the quality and success of
strategy, product designs, in terms of usability,
engagement, value, etc.
definition
To establish a roadmap for the product's
& design evolution and determine development
efforts
To shape strategy for a portfolio of
products by understanding the value
proposition of current and potential new
products
112. To guide the deployment of the product as
part of a solution for customers
solution identifying needs via scenarios and
other solution specification tools
design for crafting functional requirements and
product interaction designs for deployed
applications
customers To describe and publish patterns and best
practices in implementation of the product
- workspace, application, application suite
114. application Supply Chain Planning and Management
template
115. Role / Persona Scenarios & Goals
•
Create and update accurate forecasts on a weekly basis at a very detailed level, such as
the number of packs of each product SKU needed for a single store. Forecasts evolve
through several iterations before reaching their final state, allowing and requiring Planners
to incorporate data on sales, inventory, customer activity, etc. as it accumulates in real
Planner / Analyst
time.
•
Improve the accuracy of forecasts and forecasting methods by understanding the nature,
degree, and source of forecasting errors in reference to a large number of defined metrics
and performance measures
•
Analyze and understand changes in the factors affecting forecast accuracy, and enhance
forecasting methods to reflect these changes
•
Monitor and review the accuracy of Planners’ forecasts to assess individual and team
performance
•
Determine the specific metrics and performance measurements that Planning teams use
Planning Manager for reference, based on the long-term goals of the organization.
•
Evaluate and improve the effectiveness of forecasting practices and tools used by
planning teams
•
Achieve 100% forecast accuracy
•
Maintain forecast accuracy over time, and in all situations.
Planning Team
116. Role / Persona Modes & Mode Chains
Planners needing to create new forecasts based on previous forecasts and newly identified causal factors will
follow the Comparison-driven Synthesis chain (Analyze-Compare-Synthesize): this involves analyzing their
previous forecasts and comparing them to accuracy baselines and the expected impact of known causal and
correlating factors such as seasonal events or weather, then creating (synthesizing) new forecasts that
Planner / Analyst reflect insights realized from these activities.
Comparative
Analyze Compare Synthesize
Synthesis
Planners working to improve forecasting accuracy will follow the Strategic Insight chain (Analyze –
Comprehend – Evaluate), when they review previous forecasts to understand their accuracy and identify
possible sources of error: analyzing cumulative and historical accuracy and error rates to understand the
factors affecting those forecasts, then evaluating the relevance and usefulness of newly identified causal
factors by retrospectively including them in previous forecasts.
Strategic
Analyze Comprehend Evaluate
Insight
Planning Managers will follow the Strategic Oversight chain (Monitor – Analyze – Evaluate) when assessing
the performance of Planners: monitoring the accuracy of forecasts made by individual analysts and the team,
analyzing forecasts for patterns and trends in variance and accuracy, and evaluating the effectiveness of
analysts, and forecasting methods.
Planning Manager
Strategic
Monitor Analyze Evaluate
Oversight
117. Role / Persona Chains & Sequences
Planners will follow the Strategic Oversight chain for visibility into the status of their published final forecasts
vs. actual activity in the supply chain; when errors or variances beyond an acceptable threshold emerge in
one or more forecasts, they will switch to the Strategic Insight chain in order to understand the new
situation; they will move on to the Comparison-driven Synthesis chain to revise their forecasts to reflect
their newly generated insights and improved understanding; they will then switch back to Strategic
Planner / Analyst Oversight to maintain ongoing awareness of the accuracy and effectiveness of their revised forecasts over
time.
Strategic Strategic Comparison-driven Strategic
Oversight Insight Synthesis Oversight
Planning Managers seeking to improve the forecasting practices and methods of their teams will employ a
sequences of mode chains that begins with Exploration-driven Search, to identify exemplars of particularly
strong or weak forecasts and forecasting practices; they will move to Strategic Insight to understand how
and why these practices exhibit strength or weakness; Comparison-driven Synthesis will help Managers
Planning Manager formulate new or improved measurements and forecasting practices; and they will rely on Strategic
Oversight to gauge the effectiveness of new or enhanced practices once in effect.
Exploration-driven Strategic Comparison-driven Strategic
Search Insight Synthesis Oversight
118. Application Structure
3 screen types
each composed of defined components
visualization, navigation, tabular data,
search, context management, alerts, etc.
apps have multiple instances of screen types
each populated by differing data ‘content’
supports
119. Dashboard Screen Type
The Dashboard screen is designed primarily to enable the
Strategic Oversight (Monitor-Analyze-Evaluate) chain, by
presenting an overview of the major areas of supply chain
activity. Individual Planners use the Dashboard to Monitor
the accuracy of their own forecasts compared with
established baselines and targets. Planning Managers use
the Dashboard screen to Monitor the accuracy of all the
forecasts made by the Planning team.
One pane enables monitoring of each major area of supply
chain activity, such as Inventory or Capacity, providing
summaries of the status of processes via KPIs and
measurements using a component from our library, as well
as a chart presenting historical values of these measures for
Analysis via visualization component.
A list of alerts provides a guide to notable changes across
the supply chain, allowing Planners and Managers to
monitor, analyze, and evaluate notable events and changes
as part of a steady flow of information.
The Dashboard enables Planners and Managers to execute
the Strategic Oversight chain by following the linked data
points in charts, metrics and alerts ‘deeper’ into the
information for analysis.
Strategic
Monitor Analyze Evaluate
Oversight
Planner / Analyst Planning Manager
120. Trends Screen Type
Planning teams use the Trends screen to explore and understand the
state of the supply chain, and the accuracy of their forecasts over time.
For this purpose, the Trends screen is primarily designed to support the
Exploration-driven Search (Explore-Analyze-Evaluate) and
Comparison-driven Synthesis (Analyze-Compare-Synthesize) chains,
in which Planners and Managers seek to identify new patterns in time
and supply chain activity and suggest potential causal factors.
The value of the Trends screen is best understood in the context of
sequences of mode chains, such as Strategic Oversight in companion
with Comparison-driven Synthesis or Exploration Driven Search in
companion to Strategic Insight.
Exploration-driven
Explore Analyze Evaluate
Search
Comparative
Planner / Analyst Planning Manager Analyze Compare Synthesize
Synthesis
121. Analysis Screen Type
The Summary and Analysis screen is designed to support the Strategic
Insight (Analyze-Comprehend-Evaluate), and Comparison-driven
Synthesis (Analyze-Compare-Synthesize) mode chains. Each Analysis
screen in the template is focused on one sub-function of the supply chain.
This Analysis screen focuses on the forecasts and activity for ‘restocking’
of products in retail settings and various stages of the supply chain.
On the left side, the Search, Breadcrumb, and Faceted Navigation
components allow the user to manage the data that is presented in the
tables, charts, and lists to the right, by exploring the underlying information
space. They also communicate this context to users to keep them oriented.
At the top of the screen there is a ‘metric summary’, which follows on from
the performance indicators identified on the Dashboard, providing visibility
into the smaller scale measures that determine the status of the supply
chain; specifically, the accuracy of forecasts.
Below the summary, a group of components presents a visualization and
data grid of a single metric grouped by one or more variables (e.g. quantity
by product type) to enable analysis. These ‘metric breakouts’ help
Planners and Managers comprehend the factors contributing to the status
of each metric. This combination facilitates a wider range of analysis
methods than either presentation method supports alone.
At the bottom of the template, tables provide lists of the individual
transactions for detailed analysis and evaluation.
Strategic
Analyze Comprehend Evaluate
Insight
Planner / Analyst Planning Manager
Comparative
Analyze Compare Synthesize
Synthesis
129. Resources
The sensemaking process and leverage points for analyst technology as identified through cognitive task
analysis, Pirolli, P., & Card, S. (2005)
https://analysis.mitre.org/proceedings/Final_Papers_Files/206_Camera_Ready_Paper.pdf
Exploratory search: from finding to understanding, Gary Marchionini, Communications of the ACM, Volume
49 Issue 4, April 2006
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~i385t-sw/readings/Marchionini-2006-Exploratory_Search.pdf
Lamantia, Joe. “Goal Based Information Retrieval Experiences” JoeLamantia.com, (June 20, 2006).
http://www.joelamantia.com/informationarchitecture/goalbasedinformationretrievalexperiences
Lamantia, Joe. “10 Information Retrieval Patterns” JoeLamantia.com, (June 29, 2006).
http://www.joelamantia.com/information-architecture/10-information-retrieval-patterns
Lamantia, Joe. “Discovering User Goals / IR Goal Definitions” JoeLamantia.com, (June 24, 2006).
http://www.joelamantia.com/information-architecture/discovering-user-goals-ir-goal-definitions
Spencer, D. 2006. “Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them”. Boxes & Arrows:
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/four_modes_of_seeking_information_and_how_to_design_for_them
Bates, Marcia J. 1979. "Information Search Tactics." Journal of the American Society for Information Science
30: 205-214
Bates, Marcia J. 1989. "The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search
Interface." Online Review 13: 407-424.
Broder, A. 2002. A taxonomy of web search, ACM SIGIR Forum, v.36 n.2, Fall 2002
130. Resources
Cool, C. & Belkin, N. 2002. A classification of interactions with information. In H. Bruce (Ed.), Emerging
Frameworks and Methods: CoLIS4: proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Conceptions of
Library and Information Science, Seattle, WA, USA, July 21-25, 2002, (pp. 1-15).
Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Jarvelin, K. and Ingwersen, P. 2004. “Information seeking research needs extension towards tasks and
technology”, Information Research, Vol. 10, No. 1. (October 2004)
Kuhlthau, C. C. 1991. Inside the information search process: Information seeking from the user's perspective.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42, 361-371.
Marchionini, G. 2006. Exploratory search: from finding to understanding. Commun. ACM 49(4): 41-46
Norman, Donald A. 2006. Logic versus usage: the case for activity centered design. Interactions 13, 6
O'Day, V. and Jeffries, R. 1993. Orienteering in an information landscape: how information seekers get from
here to there. INTERCHI 1993: 438-445
Rose, D. and Levinson, D. 2004. Understanding user goals in web search, Proceedings of the 13th
international conference on World Wide Web, New York, NY, USA
Salton, G. 1989. Automatic Text Processing: The Transformation, Analysis, and Retrieval of Information by
Computer. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
Sutcliffe, A.G. and Ennis, M. 1998. Towards a cognitive theory of information retrieval. Interacting with
Computers, 10:321–351.
134. Comprehending
‘To generate insight by understanding the nature or
meaning of an item or data set’
e.g. “I need to analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform
brand strategy & communications plan” – Director, Brand Image
135. Comparing
‘To examine two or more items to identify similarities and
differences’
e.g. “I need to compare our module set teardowns with competitive teardown
information to see if we’re staying competitive for cost, quality and functionality”
– Engineer
136. Exploring
‘To proactively investigate or examine an item or data set
for the purpose of serendipitous knowledge discovery’
e.g. “I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better
terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk based on market indices”
– Procurement
137. Locating
‘To find a specific (possibly known) item’
e.g. “I need to find a new part with particular technical attributes and then source it from
the most qualified supplier”
– Engineer
138. Verifying
‘To confirm or substantiate that an item or set of items
meets some specific criterion’
e.g. “How can I determine if I am looking at the latest information for a part or supplier?”
– Supply Chain Specialist
139. Monitoring
‘To maintain awareness of the status of an item or data set
for purposes of management or control’
e.g. “I need to monitor at risk/failing customers/dealers so I can prompt my Account
Reps to fix the problems”
– Sales Manager
140. Analyzing
‘To critically examine the detail of an item or data set to
identify patterns & relationships’
e.g. “I need to know the cost drivers for a part such as materials that impact cost. Is the
relationship a correlation or step function for a part cost driver?”
– Engineering
141. Evaluating
‘To use judgement to determine the significance or value
of an item or data set with respect to a specific benchmark
or model’
e.g. “I need to determine my current state in my prints so I can evaluate if I have price
variation to negotiate a better price”
– Procurement
142. Synthesizing
‘To generate or communicate insight by integrating diverse
inputs to create a novel artifact or composite view’
e.g. “I need to prepare a weekly report for my boss (sales mgr) of how things are going”
– Account Rep
144. Comparison–driven Search
Analyze Compare Evaluate
Identify parts used for same function as candidates for commonization and complexity reduction - Core Engineer
Replace a problematic part (from sourcing, cost or technical perspective) with an equivalent or better part without
compromising quality and cost. - Engineering
Compare our module set teardowns with competitive teardown information to see if we’re staying competitive for cost,
quality and functionality. - Engineering
Compare a lead's performance claims with relevant benchmarks to assess the lead's claims - Portfolio Manager
See the difference between what we are spending and what we should be spending to maximize savings (between
actual PO and should costs). - Procurement
Analyze & understand gaps between current costs of commodity versus best in class manufacturing costs - Cost
Estimators
145. Strategic Oversight
Monitor Analyze Evaluate
Monitor how well we are tracking to revenue and margin targets by division - SVP Sales
Monitor and grade incoming incidents; close incidents, add incident close codes - Supervisor/Inspector
Monitor global commodity use in relation to plan/guidelines to identify gaps that require corrective action - Core
Engineer
Monitor how well we are tracking to revenue and margin targets by division - District Manager
Monitor & evaluate how our brand is performing in re: revenue, margin, and market share targets - Brand Manager
Financial Analyst: Monitor & assess commodity status against strategy/plan/target
146. Exploration-driven Search
Explore Analyze Evaluate
Identify opportunities to optimize use of tooling capacity for my commodity/parts - Core Engineer
Identify sales opportunities and targets (increased key customer market share across categories/brands; upsell-cross
sell; promotional targets - District Manager
Evaluate & optimize our product portfolio: Which products should we de-list and retire? What new products should we
be making/selling? - Category Manager
Identify the best customer/consumer/region targets for our brand/products - Brand Manager
Determine suppliers to use for parts in my program and execute sourcing agreements - Core Buyer
Identify customers/marketers/dealers failing & at risk of de-branding based on performance problems - Program
Administrator
147. Strategic Insight
Analyze Comprehend Evaluate
Track module cost versus functionality over time to determine trends. - Engineering
Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in manufacturing and the field so that I can determine if I
should replace that part. - Engineering
Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the quality of the investment opportunity - Portfolio
Manager
Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level investment mix - Portfolio Manager
I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast
business risk based on market indices. - Procurement
148. Comparative Synthesis
Analyze Compare Synthesize
Analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform brand strategy & communications plan -
Director, Brand Image
Find out how many parts I have in my module set of parts and find ways to reduce cost across them - Engineering
Formulate scope & strategy for sourcing and gap closure - Core Buyer
Analyze and understand a market: marketer network, competitive position, customer sat, & share, etc. to inform brand
strategy and communications plan - Brand Image Analyst