Purpose of the Lab

• Mission: Tackle messy, wicked supply chain challenges with solutions that don’t just work—they scale.
• Vision: Be the bridge between academia, industry, and education to deliver real, measurable impact.

Why It Matters

• Empowering Change:
  • The tools we use shape how we collaborate, innovate, and grow.
  • Misaligned tools? They’re costly mistakes that derail progress.
• Collaborative Impact:
  • When we align our tools and processes, trust grows, results multiply, and everyone wins.

Today’s Focus

1. Learn from the Past:
   • What worked? What didn’t? Let’s call it out and own it.
2. Evaluate the Present:
   • Let’s take a hard look at what we’re using now and find the gaps.
3. Shape the Future:
   • Propose a smarter, more aligned toolset.
   • Compare options and commit to what works.

Key Challenges from Last Year

1. Unrealistic Expectations:
   • AI tools were overestimated—many weren’t ready or useful as imagined.
   • Workshops to build foundational knowledge were missing.
2. Insufficient Testing:
   • Platforms like WorkAdventure were not piloted before deployment.
   • Tools didn’t align with how the team or students naturally worked.
3. Misaligned Focus:
   • Students signed up expecting AI projects but encountered sustainability challenges instead.
   • Stakeholder trust was strained due to mediocre outcomes and tool issues.

Why It Matters

• Missed Opportunities:
  • Missteps in tool selection led to inefficiencies and unmet expectations.
• Trust Gaps:
  • Stakeholders lost confidence due to unclear goals and inconsistent results.

Improvements Moving Forward

1. Grounded Expectations:
   • Focus on tools that are ready for deployment and offer measurable value.
   • Pilot-test tools to ensure they align with team workflows.
2. Strategic Tool Selection:
   • Prioritize open-source, scalable tools that align with our goals.
   • Balance innovation with ease of adoption—minimize friction for users.
3. Stronger Engagement:
   • Improve stakeholder communication and align expectations early.
   • Tailor initiatives to match students’ skills and interests to increase engagement.

Current Tools in Use

1. Collaboration:
   • Microsoft Teams and email for communication.
   • Ad-hoc meetings for alignment, often student-led or manager-initiated.
   • WorkAdventure: Attempted as a virtual collaboration space but failed to engage students effectively.
   • OpenWebUI: Initially underwhelming due to small models; now improved but budget-constrained.
2. Data Collection:
   • Google Scholar, Sci-Hub, and Libgen for research.
   • Surveys conducted manually, inconsistent in quality and format.
   • No access to company-provided data for deeper insights.
   • Chainwize: Reverse AI mapping tool used, but results fell short of expectations.
3. Visualization:
   • PowerPoint and Excel used for static presentations and reporting.
   • Word for documents and articles but lacking interactivity or scalability.
4. Task Tracking:
   • OneDrive for document storage and email for task tracking.
   • No centralized system, leading to sporadic updates and misaligned efforts.

Key Facts About Current Tool Usage

Proposed Tools and Their Purpose

🗨️ Collaboration:
Mattermost: Open-source platform for real-time communication, team alignment, and stakeholder engagement.
Game Changer: Ensures seamless communication between diverse stakeholders while integrating task tracking and file sharing to eliminate silos.
Unique Use Case: Keeps students, mentors, and stakeholders aligned with transparent, real-time updates during hackathons and weekly check-ins.

📊 Visualization:
Quarto: Dynamic presentations and reproducible reporting.
Game Changer: Reduces manual reporting effort by 50% while integrating live data for decision-making.
Unique Use Case: Creates reproducible reports and strategic plans for stakeholder presentations, simplifying the reporting workflow.
Grafana: Live dashboards for actionable, real-time insights.
Game Changer: Tracks project KPIs and supply chain metrics in real-time, ensuring accountability and transparency.
Unique Use Case: Visualizes real-time progress and bottlenecks during supply chain simulations and pilot projects.

🔄 Task Management:
Mattermost (FocalBoard): Integrated task tracking to maintain alignment and visibility across teams.
Game Changer: Combines communication and task management in one system, eliminating workflow fragmentation and increasing efficiency.
Unique Use Case: Tracks student progress during hackathons and ensures team alignment across all eight steps of the value chain process.

Why These Tools?

Key Criteria for Tool Selection

Why the Proposed Toolset Works

Core Challenges

• 🗨️ Collaboration and Communication:
  • Seamless interaction among students, faculty, and stakeholders.
  • Centralized platforms to align efforts and manage projects effectively.
• 📊 Data Analysis and Insights:
  • Simplify data collection and integration for actionable insights.
  • Provide accessible, interactive visualizations to enhance decision-making.
• 🔄 Supportive Automation:
  • Automate repetitive tasks through pre-configured systems.
  • Ensure automations are easy to use without requiring setup or technical expertise.
  • Focus on streamlining workflows to improve efficiency and reliability.

Key Objectives

Pack 1: Current Setup 💼

The tools we’re using today.

• Collaboration: Microsoft Teams, Email
  
• Data Collection: Google Scholar, Sci-Hub, Libgen
  
• Visualization: PowerPoint, Excel
  
• Task Management: None / Ad-hoc
  
• File Sharing: OneDrive
  
• AI Support: GPT-4 (personal use, no shared access), OpenWebUi - Limited

Key Challenges:
- Fragmented workflows
- Limited scalability
- No buildup of knowledge
- No followup, no ability to scale
- Manual, error-prone processes

Pack 2: Current ++ 🚀

Small upgrades for big impact.

• Collaboration: Microsoft Teams, Mural, Excalidraw, Work adventure
  

• Data Collection: Google Scholar, Excel, OneDrive

• Grading and stakeholder input : Improved Google Sheets with stakeholder games.
  

• Visualization: PowerPoint
  

• Task Management: Trello
  

• File Sharing: Google Drive
  

• AI Support: OpenWebUI, Ollama (basic local AI) - GPT with Tokens + Expansion of the OpenWebui with all models.

Benefits:
- Familiar tools with added functionality.
- Hit home on our core, expand systems we know to be working.
- Reduces inefficiencies with minimal learning curve.
- Integrates lightweight AI for brainstorming.

Pack 3: Future State 🌟

Proposed tools for transformation.

• Collaboration: Mattermost + FocalBoard
  
• Data Collection: JupyterHub, Kotaemon
  
• Visualization: Quarto + Grafana
  
• Task Management: Mattermost (FocalBoard)
  
• File Sharing: Nextcloud, GitHub
  
• AI Support: Neo4j, OpenWebUI, BigAgi

Benefits:
- Fully integrated ecosystem.
- Enhances real-time collaboration and task alignment.
- Builds knowledge over time
- More “Adult” research.
- AI-driven insights for smarter decision-making.

Pack 4: Ideal 🌍

The dream setup for innovation.

• Collaboration: Mattermost + Work Adventure
  
• Data Collection: JupyterHub, Kotaemon, Neo4j
  
• Visualization: Grafana + Streamlit + Quant + Focalboard + Posit
  
• Task Management: Mattermost (FocalBoard), Jira
  
• File Sharing: Nextcloud, GitHub, SearxNG (search engine)
  
• AI Support: BigAgi, Qdrant, Crew AI, Ollama

Benefits:
- Real-time, immersive collaboration with Work Adventure.
- Advanced AI tools for automation, mapping, and insights.
- Scalability for global teams and multi-layered projects.
- Full control over data with maximum privacy and compliance.

Process Overview

Focus:

Understanding the problem, context, stakeholders , and tools accessible.

Theory U Phase: Co-Initiating ### Activities and Outcomes #### Step:

• Problem Identification and Stakeholder Mapping.

priveously done by:

• The hackathon, Desk research by the students.

Tasks:

1. Define the problem, goals, and challenges.
   
2. Identify key stakeholders and map their roles and influence.
   
3. Gather diverse perspectives through interviews or workshops.
   
4. Introduce Theory U principles to establish a shared vision.

Outcome:

• A well-defined problem statement.
  
• A clear map of stakeholders, their roles, and their interests.
  
• Alignment on shared goals and actionable next steps.

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Quarto is ideal for structured documentation due to its open-source nature and integration capability.
  
• Mattermost excels at team communication and alignment while being fully open-source.
  
• Alternatives like Slack and Trello are user-friendly but rely on proprietary or closed ecosystems.

Process Overview

Focus:

Collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative supply chain data.

Theory U Phase: Co-Sensing

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Data Collection and Preliminary Analysis.

Tasks:

1. Gather system data, including financial, operational, and regulatory insights.
   
2. Conduct stakeholder interviews and gather qualitative insights.
   
3. Analyze the collected data for trends and pain points.
   
4. Utilize reflective practices like journaling and group discussions to connect data to insights.

Outcome:

• A multi-dimensional understanding of the supply chain.
  
• Identification of pain points, opportunities, and areas for change.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Qualtrics is ideal for in-depth surveys and stakeholder feedback but requires a license.
  
• JupyterHub excels in collaborative data analysis and supports integration with other tools.
  
• Alternatives like Google Forms are user-friendly but lack advanced features for analysis.

Process Overview

Focus:

Generate and prioritize innovative solutions aligned with stakeholder insights.

Theory U Phase: Co-Presencing

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Solution Ideation and Prioritization.

Tasks:

1. Facilitate brainstorming sessions to generate creative ideas.
2. Use collaborative tools to visualize and organize solutions.
3. Encourage out-of-the-box thinking to explore unconventional approaches.
4. Prioritize solutions based on feasibility, impact, and alignment with goals.

Outcome:

• A diverse set of innovative ideas.
  
• Prioritized solutions ready for validation and refinement.
  
• Enhanced team collaboration and creative problem-solving skills.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Mural is a powerful tool for brainstorming, though it relies on a proprietary ecosystem.
  
• Excalidraw is a lightweight, open-source whiteboarding tool ideal for simple ideation.
  
• Alternatives like Trello and Figma offer additional collaborative features but come with sustainability or integration trade-offs.

Process Overview

Focus:

Test ideas, gather feedback, and improve solutions collaboratively.

Theory U Phase: Co-Creating

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Validation Through Stakeholder Feedback.

Tasks:

1. Develop Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to showcase solutions.
   
2. Present ideas to stakeholders for feedback.
   
3. Engage in co-creation sessions to refine solutions.
   
4. Iterate based on stakeholder input to improve alignment with needs.

Outcome:

• Validated ideas aligned with stakeholder requirements.
  
• Refined solutions ready for proposal development.
  
• Strengthened relationships with stakeholders through collaboration.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Nextcloud provides a secure and open-source platform for sharing MVPs with stakeholders.
  
• Qualtrics excels in collecting detailed feedback but requires a proprietary license.
  
• Google Forms and Slack are easy to use but less suitable for structured feedback and refinement.

Process Overview

Focus:

Develop detailed proposals and present implementation plans.

Theory U Phase: Co-Actualizing

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Proposal Development and Presentation.

Tasks:

1. Develop actionable implementation plans for selected solutions.
   
2. Create comprehensive proposals with timelines and resource allocation.
   
3. Design clear visual presentations tailored to stakeholder needs.
   
4. Collaborate with stakeholders to refine and finalize proposals.

Outcome:

• Well-structured proposals ready for execution.
  
• Clear and persuasive presentations.
  
• Stakeholder alignment on implementation and scaling.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Quarto is ideal for generating well-structured and reproducible reports.
  
• Dash and Grafana provide robust interactive visualizations for presenting data insights.
  
• Alternatives like PowerPoint and Canva are user-friendly but lack sustainability and advanced integration options.

Process Overview

Focus:

Engage the community and stakeholders to build awareness and secure commitment.

Theory U Phase: Co-Actualizing

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Community Engagement and Commitment-Building.

Tasks:

1. Organize events to share project goals and expected benefits.
   
2. Develop partnerships with key stakeholders and community members.
   
3. Create educational materials to highlight social and environmental impacts.
   
4. Collect feedback and foster local support for solutions.

Outcome:

• Increased community awareness and engagement.
  
• Strong partnerships and commitments from stakeholders.
  
• Effective dissemination of project goals and benefits.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Mattermost provides an open-source platform for streamlined communication.
  
• Nextcloud offers a secure, sustainable way to distribute materials and collect feedback.
  
• Alternatives like Google Drive and Slack are user-friendly but rely on proprietary ecosystems.

Process Overview

Focus:

Test solutions in real-world scenarios and refine them based on feedback.

Theory U Phase: Co-Creating

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Solution Testing and Iterative Realization.

Tasks:

1. Deploy a pilot version of the solution in a controlled environment.
   
2. Monitor pilot performance and collect data.
   
3. Conduct regular feedback loops with stakeholders.
   
4. Refine the solution iteratively based on real-world insights.

Outcome:

• Validated solutions with proven feasibility.
  
• Identification of areas for improvement.
  
• Enhanced readiness for broader implementation.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Prometheus and Grafana offer robust, open-source solutions for monitoring and visualizing performance metrics.
  
• JupyterHub supports detailed analysis and stakeholder collaboration.
  
• Proprietary alternatives like Tableau and Google Sheets are easier to adopt but less sustainable and integrative.

Process Overview

Focus:

Expand the solution to a larger scope and prepare for widespread adoption.

Theory U Phase: Co-Actualizing

Activities and Outcomes

Step:

• Scaling and Broader Implementation Planning.

Tasks:

1. Identify partners, funding sources, and other resources needed for scaling.
   
2. Develop a strategic roadmap addressing logistical, operational, and regulatory challenges.
   
3. Document lessons learned and create a framework for replicating the solution in other contexts.
   
4. Engage with industry experts to refine the scaling strategy.

Outcome:

• A strategic plan for scaling solutions effectively and sustainably.
  
• Secured resources and partnerships for expansion.
  
• A framework for replicating solutions across diverse supply chains.

Competitive Tool Analysis

Recommended Tools:

Alternative Tools:

Analysis:

• Forgejo supports scalable collaboration with strong version control capabilities.
  
• Neo4j provides advanced graph-based analysis for scaling challenges.
  
• Proprietary alternatives like Google Drive and Slack are easier to adopt but less sustainable.