Episode 20: Using Visual Thinking in Business Analysis, an Interview with Grant Wright

In this interview with Grant Wright we talk about Visual Thinking and how it can be used as a valuable tool for Business Analysts. Grant is a Visual thinker who helps organisations better articulate problems, generate ideas & co-create solutions. You can connect with him at www.thevisualjam.com 

To learn more about how you can used Visual Thinking in Business Analysis listen to the interview. Visual thinking involves seeing things in your mind's eye and then externalizing your thoughts in some way to help you make sense of things, explore ideas in groups, explain things to others, and much more. Visual thinking has become popular in the past ten years and often takes the form of hand-drawn visuals, but it does not have to be that way. Visual thinking can be used in various business applications, such as the five types of visual thinking types: visual analyst, visual co-creator, visual reporter, visual storyteller, and visual designer. Visual thinking can be applied to business analysis to improve data interpretation and decision-making by being conscious of how to visualize data to make a point, using metaphors combined with visuals to give data more meaning, and removing all unnecessary noise. Various visual thinking techniques, using hand-drawn visual elements, leveraging metaphors and visual storytelling, can be used to make many existing BA techniques more engaging and memorable. Visual thinking can be used throughout the BA life cycle, from situation investigation and understanding to learning and self-development. Visual thinking aids in the identification of business process improvements by using visual templates and canvases to help explore what is holding back the current process, and Rich Pictures or user journeys annotated with visuals to make sense of the "as-is" state and highlight opportunities for improvement. Visual thinking can be used to develop innovative business strategies by getting people to visualize different perspectives, providing structure to strategic conversations using mental models and visual templates. Visual thinking can be used to enhance collaboration between business analysts, stakeholders, and other team members by drawing something to make sense of it and then sharing it with others. Co-creating in groups can provide more perspectives, build on each other's ideas, combat the loudest/most senior person in the room syndrome, and absorb more complexity. Visual thinking can be used to present complex data in a way that is accessible and understandable to non-technical stakeholders by using storytelling and metaphors to make things more relatable.