I am enjoying this thread a great deal. Thanks to Dan for starting it! I look forward to seeing what you come up with on this topic in your new edition.
Some background: I do strategic UX consulting for clients who create (often complicated) applications for thinking work (e.g. a scientific data analysis tool). I would like to contribute four points: 1. Design strategy can be defined differently at different scopes 2. Design strategy can present frameworks for exploration and decision making 3. Effective design strategy outcomes can arise from ecosystems of conceptual design 4. Design strategies can be simultaneously communicated at multiple levels of detail --- 1. Design strategy can be defined differently at different scopes I agree with the previous comments on scope being important. When envisioning new or iteratively improved offerings, IxDers moving into more strategic roles find themselves in one of two generalized project situations: Case A. Top level "traditional / business" strategy is in place for their product or service, in which case design strategy can become "next level" extensions and conceptual visualizations of differentiated user experiences (and insightful, high value design strategy work may then lead to iteration back to reexamine initiating charters) Case B. Top level "traditional / business" strategy is not in place (or is in place, but is not very fleshed out), in which case design strategy efforts can encompass a much broader range of more "traditional" strategic activities, merging them with the conceptual design activities of Case A. This situation is a focus in the innovation literature. I often work in Case A situations, and with that in mind, here is a fairly rough definition from my recently posted e-book "Working through Screens": "Design strategy: The singular, relatively unchanging proposals that summarize the essence of an envisioned application's scope, core value, points of emotional connection, and approaches to mediating knowledge work. Design strategies are situated within a larger context of targeted user needs, technological possibilities, market forces, trends, and predictions. Product teams can use these strategies to drive clarity in their offerings and focus their members around a shared vision and goal set. Since they are derived from key business, marketing, and product development considerations, design strategies can be thought of as a lower level expression of a computing tool's initiating, high level charter." --- 2. Design strategy can present frameworks for exploration and decision making I believe that IxDers can learn a great deal from the critical brief writing found at many architecture, industrial design, and graphic design practices. Important, strategic insights do not just arise through ethnographic observation - they can also arise from designer-ly exploration and understanding of established and potential constraints. By creating frameworks that map things like trends, meaningful sources of differentiation, and potential experience attributes, IxDers can add considerable strategic value - especially when these "boundary objects" contain and reframe the findings and perspectives of other contributing groups within the organization. --- 3. Effective design strategy outcomes can arise from ecosystems of conceptual design "Mature" design disciplines often emphasize a conceptual design phase to explore multiple options within a framed problem space. Design action becomes a way of understanding, which can then iterated back into strategic arguments. The *process* of holistic, meaningfully branched conceptual design is much more difficult for software application than it is for a new mouse, but I believe that it is a major, largely untapped strategic contribution for IxDers. I see that IxDers turning onto Bill Buxton's sketching emphasis are heading in the direction of conceptual design as part of strategic thinking. What seems to be missing from his readers' posted outputs (the one's that I have seen in my surfing), is the holistic exploration of multiple genuinely different positionings as a means of understanding the "what-it's-like-ness" of potential experiences and discovering the "fittest" solution to a defined problem (from all of the valued perspectives within an organization). --- 4. Design strategies can be simultaneously communicated at multiple levels of detail Andrew asked a whole string of great questions, including: "What does "a strategy" look like? Is it a diagram? A narrative document? A phrase that the CEO repeats at every chance?" I have communicated design strategy outputs slightly differently on each project, depending on clients' broader organizational shapes, competencies, and goals. I have found that effective design strategies exist at multiple levels of detail, to be used in different circumstances. They can have catchy short names, short but informative stories that plant narrative seeds, summarizing visual models of their positioning and experience attributes, and extensive scenario sketch visualizations that set the "big picture" directions for subsequent definition, design, development. I hope these points are of interest - again, great thread! Thanks, Jake [email protected] www.flashbulbinteraction.com ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
