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1.  Participants  use  sliders  to  express  their  opinions  on  statements  about  the  issue  under  investigation  -­‐  this  determines  their  position  in  Opinion  Space.  

2.  A  discussion  question  asks  for  practical  solutions.  Considered  responses  are  more  likely  because  participants  know  their  comment  will  be  evaluated.  

3.  Opinion  Space’s  visualisation  allows  participants  to  see  where  they  stand.  Participants  can  then  read,  rate  and  respond  to  the  comments  of  others.    

4.  These  ratings  allow  the  best  insights  to  be  identified  and  the  authentic  voice  of  the  community  to  be  heard.  

 

                                                                                             

 

Project  Half  and  Simplification  Research  Introduction  At  Unilever,  we  want  our  organisation  to  be  a  simpler  place  to  work  so  we  can  focus  our  time  on  what  really  matters:    growing  a  sustainable  business  AND  achieving  a  good  work/life  balance.    We  would  like  you  to  give  us  your  feedback  and  suggestions  as  to  how  we  can  make  this  happen,  while  also  reviewing  some  of  your  colleagues’  ideas  and  rating  how  effective  you  think  they  are  –  very  similar  to  some  social  media  applications.    We  will  do  this  via  a  collaborative,  online  tool  that  will  enable  us  to  gain  valuable  insights  on  your   collective  opinions  and   suggestions.   These   collective   views  will  help  guide  decision-­‐making   on   how   to   simplify   our   business   and   empower   us   all   to   only   focus   on  what   really  matters.    Feedback  is  anonymous  so  please  be  a  candid  as  possible.    

How  it  Works  The  online,  collaborative  tool   is  called  Opinion  Space.     It   is  a  collaborative  environment  that  displays  comments  using  data  visualisation  instead  of  a  traditional  list-­‐based  format.  Conversations  displayed  in  lists   can   quickly   lead   to   information   overload,   so   Opinion   Space   employs   advanced   statistics   to  produce   an   intuitive   graphical   map.   In   addition   to   allowing   participants   to   navigate   the   discussion  more  easily,   the  visualisation  also  ensures  that  each  participant  has  an  equal  chance  of  being  heard.  Participants’   ratings   of   each   others’   comments   are   used   to   give   prominence   to   the  most   insightful  comments  without  the  need  for  a  moderator.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                               

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Frequently  Asked  Questions    

1.  Why  do  I  have  to  rate  the  five  initial  propositions?  

This  is  a  way  to  get  a  baseline  understanding  of  your  opinions  about  the  issues.  Your  ratings  are  used  to  position  you  so  that  you  are  near  users  with  similar  opinions.  

2.  How  do  I  know  where  I  am?  

You  are  the  blue  bloom.  

3.  What  does  my  position  mean?  

The   position   of   your   bloom   is   determined   by   the   data   entered   by   you   and   the   other  participants   on   the   five   initial   statements:   it   is   computed   using   statistical   dimensionality  reduction  techniques.  Opinion  Space  is  designed  to  move  beyond  the  usual  left-­‐right  linear  spectrum   to   display   a   diversity   of   opinions.   (Please   note   that   your   initial   ratings   of   the  statements  are  fixed  and  cannot  be  changed).  

4.  How  do  I  interpret  Opinion  Space?    

Rather  than  orientation  of   the  axes,  Opinion  Space’s  “map”  should  be   interpreted  by  the  distance   relationships  between  blooms.   If   two  people  have   similar  opinions   their  blooms  will  be  close  to  each  other.  

5.  Why  are  some  blooms  larger  than  others?  

Reputation  algorithms  automatically  bubble  up  the  best  responses.  The  size  of  a  bloom  is  a  reflection  of  how  much  other  participants  think  that  your  response  is  insightful.    

6.  What  does  the  colour  of  a  bloom  mean?  

The   colour   of   a   bloom   is   dictated   by   how   much   of   a   priority   participants   believe   your  suggestion   should  be   for   simplification.  Comments   that   are   should  be  higher  priority   are  associated  with  purple/red  blooms  compared  to  yellow/orange  blooms.  

7.  How  do  I  rate  other  peoples’  suggestions?  

You   should   rate   other   participants’   suggestions   by   clicking   on   their   bloom  and  using   the  sliders   in  the  bottom  right,  underneath  their  comment.  You  should  rate  each  response   in  terms   of   how  much   of   a   priority   it   should   be   for   simplification   and   how   insightful   that  suggestion   is.    You  will   see  a  “+1”  when  you  rate  each  comment.  The  number  of  blooms  you  have  explored  is  displayed  in  the  bottom  left  corner.    

8.  How  many  suggestions  should  I  rate  or  respond  to?  

As  many  as  possible.  But  please  rate  at   least  20  comments  –   it  should  take  you  about  10  minutes.  

9.  How  many  times  can  I  visit  Opinion  Space?  

You  can  visit  Opinion  Space  as  many  times  as  you  like  during  the  completion  period.  

10.  Why  does  my  bloom  move  some  days  even  though  I  haven't  changed  my  opinions?  

We  run  Principal  Component  Analysis   regularly   to   re-­‐compute   the  best  possible  mapping  into  two  dimensions,  and  this  often  gives  new  meaning  to  the  axes  of  Opinion  Space.  While  your  bloom  remains  at  the  same  location,  as  defined  by  your  responses  to  the  five   initial  propositions,  its  projection  onto  two  dimensions  may  change  periodically.  

 

                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                               

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11.  Are  all  of  the  blooms  in  Opinion  Space  shown  at  once?  What  if  it  gets  too  cluttered?  

Showing  you  all  participants’  blooms  at  once  would  be  information  overload  –  exactly  what  Opinion  Space  is  designed  to  overcome.  We  show  you  a  stratified  selection  of  20  blooms  at  a  time  that  you  can  rate  and  respond  to.  The  remaining  blooms  can  be  seen  as  grey  dots  in  the  background.  We  use  algorithms   to   select  which  20  comments   to   show  you  based  on  how  many   times  various  blooms  have  been   rated,   recency  of   the  bloom  and  diversity  of  underlying  opinion.  In  this  way  all  blooms  have  an  equal  chance  to  be  heard  

12.  What  if  I  have  rated  all  20  suggestions?  

After  rating  20  blooms,  a  new  batch  of  suggestions  will  appear  for  you  to  rate.  

13.  What  if  someone  makes  an  inappropriate  comment?  

Inappropriate  comments  can  be  reported  by  clicking  the  “Inappropriate”  button  

14.  What  statistics  can  I  see?  

If  you  click  the  “Stats  button”  you  can  see  the  number  of  participants  who  have  rated  your  comment  and  two  charts  that  display  how  others  are  rating  your  comment  on  insightfulness  and  level  of  priority.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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