>
> So when I ask, what should interaction designers know about strategy?
> You respond...
The other answers seemed to focus on strategy for a design firm ("how do we
get and retain more and better clients") or strategy for selling design to
clients ("how do we convince clients to value our services more?") I don't
think that's what Dan's asking for here, and IMO those topics don't belong
in an introductory primer to IxD. Those are also topics that have been
covered in depth by the consulting industry in general.
Here are some things I've either always wondered about, or learned about
only through osmosis or just asking a lot of dumb questions:
- How is it that a great idea for a product or service might not be
appropriate for a company at a certain point, or at all? Or, how does
strategy think about complementary products or ideas?
- How are competitors analyzed? What characteristics of competition might
suggest a product or service would be successful, or fail?
- How are markets determined? When is it best to be a first-mover vs.
fast follower vs. "best of breed"?
- What does pricing have to do with all of this? Pricing is a serious
black art (some might say "shot in the dark"), but when does free vs. cheap
vs. expensive matter, and what are the advantages of each?
- How are ideas and innovations worked into an overall strategy? Often
"strategy" seems to mean "we have a great idea for Widget 2.0", but how does
strategy affect the less-tangible process of innovation and development
inside a company? How is the sausage made?
- Finally and perhaps most importantly: what does "a strategy" look like?
Is it a diagram? A narrative document? A phrase that the CEO repeats at
every chance? A spreadsheet of numbers? None of these? Most of the time,
when you ask "and how does this fit into the overall strategy", there's not
going to be a plain-language answer. In the absence of clarity, what do you
look for to figure out what the strategy is?
Andrew
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