Digital Empowerment: Revolutionizing SMEs in Jalisco
Project: "Digitaliza tu PyME"
Client: PLAi (Open Innovation Platform of Jalisco State)
Duration: 2022 - 2023
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The "Digitaliza tu PyME" project focuses on digital literacy for SME owners in Jalisco, Mexico. The project involved coordinating with government, companies like Oracle and Google, and universities such as ITESO and UNIVA. Key activities included designing a program structure, managing resources, negotiating project terms, and leading the project to successful completion. My approach focuses in integrate e-learning and mobile-learning, creating a Telegram community with over 2,000 members and directing interactive Zoom sessions. The project's success facilitated the connection of SMEs with capital programs like FOJAL. At the end, we help over 4,000 SMEs through this program.
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Proposal
The coordinator's participation in the first edition of the 'Digitalize your SME' program was suspended. The PLAi team looked for someone with the right profile to coordinate the subsequent editions, someone who had the skills, knowledge, and experience both in the operational aspects of coordination and in the topics related to innovation.
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The PLAi team requested the collaboration of Monse Moreno, a specialist in service design and communities, to coordinate the second edition of the micro-program, as she had already participated in the first edition by teaching a class on 'agile methodologies'.
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Monse Moreno suggested creating a community for the program and proposed using 'Telegram' as a communication channel because of its capacity to host more than 300 members while providing greater security for them, especially as there was no budget.
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The suggestion to design and manage the community through the Business Geek® team as a form of sponsorship was accepted.
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Following a positive response, it was decided to create a second community for the second edition.
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2
Brief Description and Objectives
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Description: The problem to be solved is to define how the student experience and the experience of the speakers should be.
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Objectives: Understand the needs and expectations of each of the users involved in the microprogram. Assess the design and structure of the program and the feasibility of improvements.
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Scope: Implement a digital transformation program for SMEs. At the beginning the client expected to benefit 100 SMEs. There were no internal coordination processes established, although some formats were already in place.
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How Might We: How might we effectively identify and integrate the diverse needs and expectations of all users involved in the program?
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3
What I Discovered and Learnt (In progress)
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Methodologies:
First Co-Design Exercise Methodology
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Digitalize Your SME Program: One of PLAi's most significant programs, addressing a latent need for digital literacy among a key segment of the state's economy: SMEs.
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Instructional Design: Focused on the needs of SMEs. Employed two mechanisms for user needs research and understanding of the local enabling environment: Diagnostic Questionnaire and Focus Groups.
Academic Partners and Speakers
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Microprogram Co-Design: Collaborated with 4 educational institutions, entrepreneurs from Jalisco, business chambers, other public entities, and participation from the Inter-American Development Bank.
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Tools Used for Understanding and Empathizing with SMEs: SME Questionnaire, Workshop with Digital Transformation Experts, SME Co-Design Sessions, Universities.
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Outcome of the Sessions: Generated a brainstorming session with co-design participants. Due to the lack of observations, written analysis, or conclusions from the first coordination, inferences were made about the development of the first edition and potential improvements for subsequent editions.
Report on the First Edition: Results of the Digitalize Your SME Microprogram August-December 2021
Methodologies implemented in the Program Design:
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Archetypes: Idealized representation of a group of users with similar characteristics and behaviors.
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Engagement: Interaction and participation of the user with a product, service, or platform.
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Service Blueprint: A set of interactions and user experiences throughout the program.
The experience of each profile is directly affected by these factors.
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Discoveries:
Engagement Analysis
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Authors: Silberberg, M., Cook, J., Drescher, C., Jo McCloskey, D., Weaver, S., & Ziegahn, L.
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Analysis: Identification and categorization based on the engagement parameters that were manifested.
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Evidence: Descriptive table of how the engagement parameters manifest and screenshots of the exact moment of each interaction.
Archetype Analysis
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Reference: Benjamin Chesluk - Rethinking users.
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Archetype Analysis: Identification of which archetypes fit the profiles interacting with the object - understood as the 'Digitalize Your SME' program.
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Selection of Archetypes: Categorization of users by archetype, based on their functions and context.
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Profile-Archetype Relationship: Defining situations in which the profile aligns with each archetype.
User Journey
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Journey Mapping: Identification of the general phases of the program and what each general profile needs to know, do, and have.
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Mapping Archetypes Within the Journey: Identifying the phase of the journey where each archetype manifests.
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Learnings:
Engagement
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Cultural Differences: Consideration of cultural differences among states when having a guest is important.
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Communication Plan: Should include individual facilitation time.
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Community Sustenance: Projects should foster bonds and motivation among members to sustain the community and continue the knowledge transfer after its conclusion.
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Incidents and Lessons: Positive interactions overall, with one technical issue with a student, leading to the learning to ask for a Gmail account for registration.
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Motivational Actions: Organic communication in live video format was most motivating for students.
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Challenges: Following up on technical cases and actions within the platform.
Archetype Analysis
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Initial Perception: Before this exercise, students were viewed as a general user: An SME.
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Archetype Findings: 8 different archetypes were identified within the program experience.
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PLAi Team as Users: Recognized as important users of the microprogram experience.
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Surrogate Users: Consideration for the first time to design onboarding for them to avoid disrupting planning.
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Persona Profiles: Discovered 8 persona profiles playing the role of student in the program.
User Journey
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Archetype Placement: Located the 8 archetypes in their corresponding journey stage.
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Different Experiences: Found 5 different archetypes in the student experience, 4 in the ally experience, and 5 in the speaker experience.
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Recommendation: Suggest a space to share final products of each topic and the module in general.
Types of Interaction
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Attendance: Member is present and stays till the end.
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Contribution: Member participates verbally and in group activities.
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Employee Relationship: Interaction as an employee.
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Member Interaction: Engages with other members, fostering good relations.
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Working on Own Problems: Recognizes and strives to solve personal problems.
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Working on Others' Problems: Encourages others to find solutions and helps achieve group goals.
Unique Group Dynamics
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Welcome/Introduction: First contact, creating a comfortable environment for future interactions.
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Contracting (Recontracting): Members show interest in continued learning and growth within the community.
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Feedback: Comments and suggestions about member feelings, guiding future improvements.
Direct Singularities - Private messages to the facilitator
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Thanks and Compliments: Regarding the program, facilitation, PLAi.
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Alliances: Questions about ally programs, attention to allies.
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Contact with Speakers: References and recommendations on program topics.
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Continued Learning: Inquiries about other programs and next steps.
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Feedback/Program Queries: Doubts about Moodle exercises and Masterclass activities, technical case attention, and program application queries.
Live Sessions - Camaraderie among presenters
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Enjoyment of speakers interacting with each other.
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Feeling of knowing the speakers.
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Qualified professional speakers.
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Desire to follow/read certain speakers.
Community Aspects
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Community-Connection: Value received from other users, interest in contributions.
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Community-Coproduction: Contributing to discussions, socializing.
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Community-Inspiration: Feeling empowered, inspired by others.
From Subsequent Editions Onward
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Proposal: Redesign the program considering general profiles (Student, Ally, Speaker, PLAi Team), archetypes present throughout the 4 general profiles' experiences, and user personas specific to the general student and speaker profiles.
Opportunities from Discovered Archetypes
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Archetype Moments: Students attending from office, becoming generative users, dependence in technical issues, oblique users appearing when direct users share experiences.
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Opportunities: Facilitate sharing experiences, anticipate and encourage positive participation, communication policies for technical support, benefits for adding program participants, onboarding for substitute speakers, realistic responsibility limits for PLAi team, value proposition for indirect users.
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User Journey - Findings
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Planning Stage
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Co-creation with Profiles: Engaging with profiles by playing the role of corresponding archetypes throughout the experience.
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Archetypes Appearing Between Module 0 and Module 1
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Recommendations:
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âš Diverse Profiles: Remember varied profiles, such as the student, who could be an employee, entrepreneur, freelancer, consultant, or non-local.
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âš Dependent Users: Ensure that dependent users (students, facilitators, and speakers) have complete information and a contact channel to resolve doubts without triangulation.
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💡 Oblique Users: Consider oblique users (PLAi team and their responsibilities outside of Digitalize Your SME) and anticipate potential unwanted scenarios. Aim for a pleasant experience for them.
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Dependent User Profiles: Facilitator, Student, Speaker
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Oblique User Profile: PLAi Team
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Graduation Ceremony
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Co-creation with the Same Profiles: Engaging with profiles by playing the role of corresponding archetypes throughout the experience.
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Archetypes Appearing Between Module 1 and the Graduation Ceremony
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Recommendations:
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âš Additional Synchronous Events: Consider other synchronous events alongside the ceremony, encourage physical participation of those located in Guadalajara.
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💡 Sharing Space: Create a space to share final products of each topic and the module.
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âš Information for Generative Users: Provide information, policies, values, and channels to generative users (facilitator, student, and speakers) to create a good experience for other users.
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âš Anticipating Substitute Participation: Guide substitute participation to ensure a good experience for students.
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💡 Opportunity with Listeners: Consider people who listen to Zoom sessions without necessarily being enrolled in the program as an opportunity to offer value.
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4
The End Result (Pending completion)
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Result:
Comparative Analysis - Numerical Data from Three Editions
Dimension
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Scope
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2021 vs 2022-A:
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Decrease in SME reach, increase in reach among business people.
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Same learning path with less content, fewer speakers, and shorter duration.
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Average perception of quality remained stable (4.8 - 4.7 average rating).
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Decrease in the number of businesses diagnosed with the Digital Checkup (247 - 144 businesses).
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2022-A vs 2022-B:
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Increased reach for both SMEs and business people.
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Microprogram rating remained at 4.7/5 in both editions.
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Population
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2021 vs 2022-A:
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Increase in average age from 39 to 41 years.
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Significant decrease in municipal level reach (55 to 34), as well as international reach.
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Integration of the population from Nuevo León, with 386 registrations and 140 attendees.
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Gender participation difference remained in the same proportion.
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2022-A vs 2022-B:
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Average age remained at 41 years.
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Attendance
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2021 vs 2022-A: Average attendance remained stable.
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2022-A vs 2022-B: Decrease in average attendance from 203 to 178.
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Participation by Sectors
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2021 vs 2022-A:
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Services and commerce sectors remained the main focus of participant challenges.
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2022-A vs 2022-B:
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Participation by sectors remained with the same ranking.
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Primarily from services, commerce, and industry sectors.
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Increase in the percentage of participation from the service sector.
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Quantitative Analysis​
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General Direction of the Three Exercises
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Scope
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Considering the unit "SME", there is a noticeable trend of decrease. However, the reach among professional individuals remained stable with only a minimal difference, suggesting that more precise definition of profiles and users could lead to a better understanding of the population and its behavior.
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Population
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The average age consistently remained stable at 41 years.
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The reach at the municipal level continued to decrease, ultimately reaching down to 23.
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Attendance
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Attendance consistently stayed above 200 but exhibited a downward trend.
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Participation by Sectors
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The service and commerce sectors are the primary areas where participants face challenges. This consistent focus on these sectors indicates their significant role in the program's context and the relevance of the program's content to these sectors.
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Comparative - Adaptations and Experimental Activities for the Second and Third Edition
First Edition
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Facilitator: Yolanda Martínez.
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Duration: From September 28 to December 9, 2021 - Consists of three modules delivered through Zoom, including 11 masterclasses and 22 mentorships.
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Format: Masterclass with camera off and microphone muted, open chat + mentorship with camera off, microphone open by turns, and open chat. Access to the account on PLAi campus.
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Content: The speaker proposes the contents and objectives of each session.
Second Edition
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Facilitator: Monse Moreno.
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Duration: From May 12 to August 9, 2022 - Consists of four modules delivered through Zoom, including 17 masterclasses and 9 mentorships.
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Format: Same as the first edition.
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Content: The coordinator: a. Selects the topic and facilitates it to the speaker. b. Reviews the contents with the speaker.
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Community: Access to the TG group, invitation from Zoom to integrate the chat in TG, follow-up on participant responses in the chat, first customer service contact from the chat for redirection to the competent PLAi area.
Third Edition
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Facilitator: Monse Moreno.
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Duration: From September 1 to December 1, 2022 - Consists of four modules distributed in 17 masterclasses and 9 mentorships delivered through Zoom.
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Format: Same as previous editions.
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Content: The coordinator sets: a. Objectives. b. Topics. c. Necessary theory to fill out a format proposed by coordination. d. Co-design presentation in the speaker's workshop.
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Community: Access to the TG group with sessions after the masterclass during Module 0, follow-up on participant responses in the chat, first customer service contact from the chat for redirection to the competent PLAi area.​
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Outcome:
Numerical Data of the Three Editions​
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Achievements:
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1,664 SMEs​
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2,485 business owners
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Average asistance: 195 persons
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552 businesses with Digital Check by BID
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Program grade: 4.7/5​
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5
What I Did / Next Time I Would…
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Role:
Participation in Final Co-Design Sessions
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Description: Attended the closing sessions of the previous coordinator's exercise and participated in brainstorming.
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Project Information Collection
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Description: Participated in various meetings to familiarize myself with the project for continuation.
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Scheduling
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Description: Defined the 2022 calendar as a team (knowledge).
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Program Redesign
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Description: Based on observations and my own research, proposed changes in form. The same structure was maintained, only some topics and their order were changed.
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Logistics Coordination
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Description: Worked with the logistics coordinator for communication with other departments, design of communication artifacts. Held weekly sessions with the knowledge, communication, and logistics team.
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Coordination with Speakers
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Description: Contacted speakers to introduce the project, invite them to participate, and provided all necessary information. Had one to two sessions to land objectives and topics. After their participation, thanked them via call or message, invited them to the closing and to participate in future editions.
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Informative Session Design
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Description: Designed structure and script for the informative session of the 2nd edition. Participated in the informative session of the third edition.
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Coordination and Facilitation of Live Sessions
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Description: Implemented the synchronous and asynchronous communication plan. Addressed all student concerns. Sent motivational messages and additional information related to session topics.
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Activity Booklet Design (Ed. 3)
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Description: In the third edition, designed a booklet with activities for each topic. Some formats were designed by the speakers, others we selected together.
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Coordination with NL Team (Ed. 3)
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Description: Held weekly sessions with the NL team and followed up with speakers through contact provided (Leticia Treviño).
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Directing the Program Closing Event
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Description: Acted as master of ceremonies for both closings, which required writing scripts, collecting testimonials, directing the logistics coordinator, and public relations with attendees and partners.
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Design, Management, and Facilitation of the Community
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Student Facilitation
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Description: Daily communication with students through the TG group. Communication was both scheduled and organic, with a priority on video format.
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Speaker Facilitation
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Description: Invitation to participate in the chat and introduction in the chat before the session.
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Ally Facilitation
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Description: Reviewed messages to be shared. Triangulated with social communication. Posted messages about their offerings. Redirected students to the ally in case of doubts or interest.
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Personalized Attention in Direct Messages
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Description: Varied interactions, including mentoring on doubts about the covered topics, mentoring on activities in the booklet and knowledge platform, technical assistance: Redirecting with logistics coordination, advice regarding educational offerings.
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Information
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Description: Design, writing, and scheduling of the communication plan. The Business Geek team designed, wrote, and scheduled the communication plan approved by the social communication team.
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After - Q&A After Module 0 Sessions (Ed. 3)
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Description: In the third edition, implemented a containment activity due to perceived student anxieties. Throughout Module 0, opened a space called After, a live session within the TG chat to socialize topics covered in the Masterclass and address feelings of fear, frustration, and discomfort that students might experience when confronted with a vast amount of new information.
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Future Approach:
Proposed Route to Improve User Experience
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Design the Persona Profile for Each Archetype: Conduct thorough user research and gather as much information as possible about the profiles participating in each edition. Define the moments when each profile adopts a user archetype.
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Redesign the Experience of Each Profile: Consider the insights or findings from this research to incorporate them into the user journey.
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Design Planning by Co-Creating with All Profiles: Take into account each archetype and include them in the co-design of each edition.
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Recommendations for Each Phase
Planning
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Design possible futures where archetypes like the dependent, oblique, and surrogate appear.
Module 0
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While registrations are still open, consider the user as the main referrer of the program. Therefore, constantly socialize digital artifacts to facilitate program invitations. Use gamification to incentivize the number of effective invites, as well as fun challenges that turn invitees into companions on a growth adventure, overcoming challenges together as part of a community.
Module 1
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Record manifestations of surrogate, dependent, or generative users. Create a space to share final products of each topic and the module.
Module 2
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Record manifestations of surrogate, dependent, or generative users.
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Create a space to share final products of each topic and the module. Attend to and record all anomalous interactions, identifying the phase, archetype, context, and opportunities.
Module 3
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Ensure that all archetypes have the necessary artifacts to demonstrate the benefits of the microprogram (instructions for generating certificates, thanks to speakers, invitations to the ceremony, access to recordings).
Graduation Ceremony
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Design a separate journey, with all the points of contact of the experience at PLAi facilities, from the perspective of all archetypes that are part of the microprogram and those that will only manifest in this phase (oblique and indirect who are in the facilities and are affected by the event).
Post-Closure
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Passive community facilitation
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Organic networking
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Dissemination of PLAi offerings
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Dissemination of PLAi partner offerings
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Program closure in the chat
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Facilitator's farewell and creation of space for:
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Sharing final products
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Achievements
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Reflections
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Social networks
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6
Me and My Journey / New Skills Developed
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Personal Reflection:
I love this project. This program stands as a landmark in my career. Embracing the role, I dared to break traditional boundaries by implementing unconventional methodologies. The daily interaction with students via the Telegram group was not just a task but an emotional journey, connecting deeply with their aspirations and fears. Spearheading the 'After' sessions was a leap of faith, an endeavor to address the underlying anxieties and uncertainties students faced with new information. This personal, profound engagement has not only been a turning point in my professional path but also a heartfelt affirmation of my commitment to human-centric service design. It was an exploration into the unknown, driven by a sincere desire to enrich and transform the educational experience, making each interaction not just an exchange of knowledge, but a shared, transformative journey. This experience has been a profound testament to the power of empathy and innovation in service design, reshaping not only how I approach my work but also how I perceive the impact of our roles as designers on individual lives.​
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New Skills:
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Advanced Community Management: Developed deeper expertise in managing and engaging diverse communities, particularly using digital platforms like Telegram.
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Innovative Communication Strategies: Gained proficiency in blending scheduled and organic communication, with a focus on video content to enhance user engagement.
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Empathetic User Support: Enhanced my ability to offer personalized support and mentorship, addressing specific user queries and technical challenges.
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Dynamic Content Curation and Presentation: Improved skills in curating and presenting content in a way that resonates with varied audiences, including speakers, allies, and students.
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Emotional Intelligence in Facilitation: Deepened understanding and application of emotional intelligence in addressing user fears, frustrations, and discomfort in learning environments.
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Gamification Techniques: Learned to apply gamification strategies to increase user participation and engagement, particularly in encouraging program referrals.
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Effective Coordination with Diverse Stakeholders: Strengthened my coordination skills with a range of stakeholders, including logistics coordinators, speakers, and educational allies.
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Data-Driven Decision Making: Enhanced ability to make informed decisions based on user feedback and interaction data.
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Creative Problem-Solving: Developed more nuanced problem-solving skills, especially in creating and implementing the After Q&A sessions to address user anxieties.
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Public Speaking and Event Management: Gained experience in directing significant program events, such as the graduation ceremony, which involved script writing, testimonial collection, and public relations.
Let's work together!
Enhancing people's experiences, one service at a time.
Contact me at monserratmoreno86@gmail.com