March 9, 2017
Newsletter

Let’s Talk About:

Start with Strategy

Are you building a skyscraper without a solid foundation? If you skip over the strategy phase, you just might be. Too many people want to move straight into solutions – wireframes, designs, code – without first digging into assumptions and objectives. This might seem like a shortcut, but it can result in competing visions, missed opportunities, or a great solution to the wrong problem.

A well-defined strategy is built on research, business goals, and user needs. It helps everyone agree on the who and why before deciding on how. It serves as a guidepost throughout the lifecycle of a project and beyond, helping to focus decision-making. It gives the work purpose and meaning.

Addressing strategy isn’t just for those with endless timelines and infinite budgets. Strategy can be tackled from many different angles and on many different scales. The right approach varies from project to project. The important thing is to address it early and revisit it often.

Do I Need a Strategy?


Community Thoughts on Start with Strategy...

  1. 1. Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior Mental models give you a deep understanding of people’s motivations and thought-processes, along with the emotional and philosophical landscape in which they are operating.
  2. 2. Strategy vs. Design Thinking Organizations looking to grow often find themselves caught between conventional and newer approaches to innovation. While traditional strategy calls for rigorous analysis and critical thinking, design thinking espouses ‘thinking by doing’. The key is to find the sweet spot between the two approaches.
  3. 3. Strategy by Design People need to have a visceral understanding—an image in their minds—of why you’ve chosen a certain strategy and what you’re attempting to create with it. Design is ideally suited to this endeavor. It can’t help but create tangible, real outcomes.
  4. 4. What is strategy? The practice of figuring out the best way to get from here to there.

Headed to SXSW Interactive this year? Join the Viget SXSW 2017 Happy Hour on Sunday, March 12, 2017 from 3pm-5pm CT @ Craft Pride!


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