This document discusses and recommends several tools for data collection, organization, brainstorming, workshops, visualization, and analysis. It recommends Mendeley for document management, cognitive mapping tools for capturing hierarchies and relationships, and brainstorming for information dissemination and energizing teams. Workshops are recommended when designed for specific problems and with commitment to follow-up. Visualization, stories, and PowerPoint are discussed as powerful communication tools. A variety of other tools like UML, Excel, and 3D printing are also mentioned.

1. A FEW OF MY FAVORITE TOOLS
A few tools for data collection, thoughts organization, divergence/convergence, and for managing complexity.

2. © Shimon Shmueli
Mendeleyor Zotoroare widely used in academia, but not so in industry. I use Mendeleyon my desktop and iPad for managing my document library. It allows me to classify and annotate documents, insert notes, tags, and share documents with others. An essential tool if you manage a large library of documents.

3. © Shimon Shmueli
I use cognitive mapping tools extensively for capturing hierarchies, structures, relationships, cause-effect, interactions, etc.
The top example on the right demonstrates the use of mind-mapping with a set of conventions for the development of a functional description of a complex software program. The bottom example is a customer journey for service, parking in Portland in this case. I also use simple & fast mind mapping for capturing information from stakeholders, but I have also came up with ways to fully specify user interfaces and systems of various kinds.
Similar approaches can be applied in many areas where lists of capabilities at various levels of abstractions and the relationships among them are needed.

4. © Shimon Shmueli
Brainstorming is an essential tool.
There I said it, contrary to the word on the street and to many research results.
True. If you expect new substantial revelations or breakthrough ideas out of brainstorming session, you are in for a disappointment. But there are a few realistic outcomes you can expect from structured (aka controlled chaos) sessions:
-Information dissemination.
-Putting teams on the same page.
-Capturing ideas, perhaps generating new ones from time to time.
-Energize teams (provided there is follow- up action).
On the right is the result (sorry, had to make it fuzzy) of a workshop where we captured what music meant to people. No surprises, that is other than that we found (again) that music plays a hugely important role in our lives and we don’t always realize it. That played quite a significant role in focusing some products and their marketing messages.

5. © Shimon Shmueli
Workshops are excellent tools when designed and structured specifically for the problem at hand, but just as importantly when there is commitment for follow-up. Otherwise they end up as feel good activities with not much to show beyond that.
I have successfully moderated workshops for:
-Design choices
-Creativity and innovation
-Market and user insights
-Marketing/product Strategies
-User experience

6. © Shimon Shmueli
Atlas.tiis a qualitative data analysis tool I started using recently. Beyond its intended original use, I am starting to see a lot of potential for applying it or tools like it in many design and business contexts where individuals and teams gather rich data from variety of sources and need to make sense out of the data by classification, linking among sources and data points, annotating, and adding notes.

7. © Shimon Shmueli
Visualization is powerful, so no surprise that our brain evolved to dedicate huge percentage of its resources to it. I am a big believer in mastering basic tools for visualization (design principles and tools, principles of perception and cognition) and the use of visualization for idea communications, internalization, and explanation.
In the example on the right I used a simple tangible metaphor (a guitar/phone switching box) to explain a communication protocol that is seemingly complex due to lingo and abstractions. Apparently, pretty much everyone understands that the same input can serve one device at a time; however, it is a bit harder to internalize a limitation like that when we talk about wireless communications.

8. © Shimon Shmueli
A large portion of our brain is also dedicated to stories, implicit and explicit. There are many ways to tell a story that are useful in the business context, from a short intro slide that uses an invented persona and a scenario to scenario playing in group setups.
A few related tools I have used and facilitated:
-Persona building (provisional and research- based).
-Storyboards (I facilitated the one of the right, but I was not the artist).
-Scenario envisioning and playing.

9. © Shimon Shmueli
I am a big fan of PowerPoint, which evolved into a very capable and flexible tool that can be applied to more than presentations. I use it for wire framing, system descriptions, producing short videos, and even collecting input from users. On the right is an example from a design I did for gaming keyboard where the software allows users to create light animations on the keys.

10. © Shimon Shmueli
Source: An Approach to the Measurement, Analysis, and Prediction of Brand Equity and Its Sources by V. Srinivasan, Chan Su Park and DaeRyun Chang
SOME MORE TOOLS
-Cognitive mapping, task analysis, cause-effect.
-UML/SysML(sequence, state machines, structures, use cases).
-Agile software development tools.
-Excel models, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, and Project.
-Paper and other low-fidelity prototyping tools.
-Various UX/UI tools.
-Adobe design suite.
-Rhinoceros 3D (a bit rusty, but I can come up to speed fast.)

11. © Shimon Shmueli
MAKING TOOLS
RepRapis a 3D printer that is precise enough to print most of the components needed to replicate itself. Not a complete solution, but a great metaphor to yet another aspect of the meaning of professionalism.
Craftsmen often make their own tools. It enables them to increase efficiencies, make work more fun, and often even do things in unique ways.
Be a tool maker. That’s my motto.
Shimon Shmueli
shimon@touch360.com