Design Strategy: Tactical Approach
We use the term “strategy” to describe a set of actions that will assist an organization in achieving its goals and distinguishing itself from competitors.
Typically, this would include:
Understanding what success means (and who it belongs to), and
- How it should be measured,
- What is the problem we are trying to solve,
- What is the unique value proposition,
- What are the design principles?
The design strategy takes into account desirability, viability, and feasibility. By aligning business goals, user needs, and technical constraints, the optimal solution is designed — one that has a competitive edge.
Design Strategy
Design strategy aims to help companies and organizations determine what to make and do and does so at the intersection of design, research insights, and business strategy, where design methods are used to develop furthermore illustrated strategies, as well as tactics for planning, implementing, or marketing.
So what is Strategy?
- When a user chooses a strategy, it affects the outcomes in a more smooth and comprehensive manner.
- Strategize in the process of devising long term action plans to accomplish a specific objective
- By using strategies, the problem is easier to understand & solve
What is a Design Strategy?
Every designer must be in agreement before beginning any design project.
- To get consensus up-front or to convey critical factors to a client or team
- A discussion of plans, goals and the scope of the project is essential
- The design strategy is a combination of business goals, design, and tactics
“Design adds value faster than it adds costs.” — Joel Spolsky
Value of a design strategy
Communication across departments
- Ensure all the goals are captured in one place and that all the details are captured under the canvas
- Compatibilities and incompatibilities in the documents
- Discussion of priorities, goals, and scope is allowed.
- Discussions should include plans, actions for accomplishing goals.
Describe the problem and what constitutes a good solution.
- This is the first step toward interface requirements
- Analyzes and identifies critical aspects of the solution
To the team, communicate a positive message
- Taking into account other people’s perspectives and concerns
- Trusting and valuing previous work
- The wheel need not be reinvented
- Maintaining the highest level of efficiency.
Improve efficiency by using existing documentation, if possible
In designing a strategy, the following three points need to be addressed:
- Problems & ongoing challenges
- Leveraging current successes & benefits
- The needs of clients/customers are unmet
- Behavior and attitudes of clients/customers changing
- Marketing treads & emerging ideas
- Distinguishing characteristics
Components of Design Strategy
How to achieve: A company’s goals in terms of sales, costs, name recognition, etc.
Groups of consumers: Primary users whose needs must be met by the design, while identifying their needs at this point is sufficient.
General Tasks: From a design standpoint, these are the tasks users should be able to accomplish
Technology constraints: Based on the technology of existing systems, architectures, standards, etc., what is possible. How do legal and compliance constraints affect your business?
Objectives for marketing and branding: Values and personality the interface must project or adjectives the design should suggest. Describes how the interface, products, and services differ from those of competitors
Key success factors: In order for What to achieve to be successful, several essential outcomes must be met. Measuring outcomes and describing them using metrics
A Design Strategy’s key benefits
- Attract more customers and increase their loyalty.
- Create revenue-generating opportunities to the fullest extent possible.
- Resources, development time, and costs should be optimized.
- Using user engagement, you can gain more insights.
- Reducing troubleshooting costs and associated time.
