Matthew Holloway gave a presentation at UX STRAT USA 2021 on the topic: "Strategic Design: Where Are We Now?"

1. if at some point, I refer to your work: #sorrynotsorry.
Where are we now?

3. “Design strategy is the intersection
between business profitability and value
for people”

4. “Design strategy describes the
process of using design thinking tools
to find human-centered solutions to
complex problems.”
Is
^

5. “Strategic design posits that designers with
their human-focused approaches are even
more suited to solve humanity’s big problems
than lawyers and politicians.”

6. “Design strategy is a discipline which
helps firms determine what to make and
do, why do it and how to innovate
contextually, both immediately and over
the long term.”
A Business Model That’s their mission

7. “Design strategy is part of the product strategy
and it focuses solely on the customer, their
goals, needs and pain points.”

8. “Design strategy is the bridge between business
strategy, strategic planning, design thinking, and
design principles”
as well as, branding, product design, technology, UX,
packaging, marketing, competitive analysis…
“Bridge” = zero responsibility

9. Common Design Strategy how to’s include:
• Define your vision / product / brand
• Design your competitive advantage
• Run a series of design sprints
• Create a roadmap for design & business development
• Set measurable design and business goals
• Step3. Research and analysis

10. “Design strategy requires you to create
your entire corporate strategy around
design thinking and human-centered
design (HCD) principles.”

11. Design strategy influencers are full of horseshit.
KEY TAKEAWAY #1
KEY TAKEAWAYS

12. Putting the word strategy next to your
profession or a deliverable, does not
actually make it strategic.
KEY TAKEAWAY #2

13. Just because it’s designed by someone,
doesn’t mean that someone should be
you simply because you’re a “designer”.
KEY TAKEAWAY #3

14. Start Here
A N I N F L U E N C E R S ’ G U I D E T O
D E S I G N S T R A T E G Y
Even CrossFit doesn’t make you push a
rock up a hill that steep.

15. 1961
Mother
of All
Demos
1968
PARC
WYSIWYG
1974
UX
1992
Design
Thinking
UX
Strat
2013
?
2021
Mac
1984 2004
Dieter
Rams
CDO, Braun
T I M E L I N E
Design has been at the table, just not designers

16. “In an ideal world you wouldn’t need UX
strategy, because it would just be a component
of your product or business strategy.”

17. “Designers must go beyond integrative
thinking and fully understand (good) strategy
formation and action.”

18. B U S I N E S S S T R A T E G Y 1 0 1
Metrics
VISION
MISSION
OBJECTIVES
Initiatives
Priority
Timeline
Iteration &
Refinement:
• Market Trends
• Customer Research
• Competitive 360°
• Business Innovations
• Emerging Technologies
• Performance
• Economic factors
• …
Align & Execute
• Budgeting
• Workforce Planning
• Product Roadmap
• Go To Market
• R&D opportunities
• Investments (buy v.
build)
• Logistics
• …
Significant Shifts:
• Market Disruptions
• Regulatory Changes
• Macro-economic
factors
• M&A events
• CEO’s an asshole
Inspiration:
• C-Suite “Champions”
• Financial targets
• Investor commitments
• Dependencies
• Mitigating Risk
• Partnerships / M&A
Executive Offsites
Investor
Networking
All-Hands Meetings
Media Events
Manager Briefings
White Papers
…
C-SUITE
LEADERSHIP
X-Org Rollout

21. X - O R G R O L L O U T
Align & Execute
• C-Suite “Champions”
• Financial targets
• Investor commitments
• Dependencies
• Partnerships
Executive
Design
Research PM
Dev
Deliverables:
• Roadmap
• Product Strategy
(+UX)
• User Research
• Design System
• OKRs/KPIs
• Resource Planning
• R&D programs
• …
DESIGN STRATEGY
Vision: Design’s raison d'etre in your company
Mission: What design needs to deliver
Objectives: How design will help achieve the mission
Initiatives: Major design projects & programs
Priority: When & Why based on data not feelings
Timeline: Delivery including internal rollout
Metrics: Doesn’t count if you can’t measure it

22. Its 2021; if your company’s strategic
objectives do not place the same burden
on design that it does on engineering,
marketing, sales, finance, etc., you need to
take a long hard look at your organization
and its design leadership.

23. 1. Who determined those initiatives were critical?
2. What were the underlying drivers for creating them?
3. How much revenue is riding on those initiatives?
4. To whom and where do you report your progress?
S A N I T Y C H E C K :
What are all your strategic design initiatives?

24. You are not entitled to success.
KEY TAKEAWAY #4
KEY TAKEAWAYS

25. If your design leaders are not being taken
seriously, its time to find new leaders.
KEY TAKEAWAY #5

26. 1. Learn the politics.
2. Know how your company really makes money.
3. Know something your CEO doesn’t and deliver
impact with that knowledge.
4. Do it again.
5. Take responsibility for specific financial targets
then meet or exceed those targets.
6. Do it again.
7. Join/Found another company and do it all over.
EARN YOUR SEAT

27. Design, like ML and AI, is now valued for its
potential. And like them, there is fine line between
its use for good and its being exploited.
The companies you choose to enable by designing
for their gains, defines your ethics.
Your participation is consent.
FINAL THOUGHT

28. Q U E S T I O N S ?

29. A P P E N D I X

30. D O B L I N ’ S 1 0 T Y P E S O F I N N O V A T I O N
How you
make money?
How you align
talent and
assets?
How you
differentiate your
offering?
How you
ensure and
enhance your
value?
How you
represent your
offerings?
How you partner
with other
companies to
create value?
How you create
and develop
your offerings?
How you create
complementary
products & services?
How/Where
you connect
with your
customers?
How you
foster your
distinctive
experience?
Business
Model
Finance
Networking Channel
Delivery
Brand Customer
Experience
Process
Process
Structure Product
Performance
Offering
Product
System
Service

31. CCA’s MBA in Design Strategy
• Specialized graduate business program that prepares
you to lead firms that compete on innovation.
• We unite design, management, technology, and
generative leadership into a holistic framework for total
value creation.
• tackle the big challenge all organizations face and will
continue to face… what is the right thing to do next.
• Methods and skills to translate strategic foresight and
market insights into opportunities to create … value.
• We place a design lens on every aspect of a business -
from its business model to its culture - to shape new
ways to create and capture value.
CORE DMBA PILLARS
• Customer-centered
research
• Ideation, prototyping, and
iteration
• Business model design
• Design thinking
• Behavioral psychology
• Management science
• Experiential learning
• Ethical, sustainable
technology

32. IDEO.U Design Strategy Course Outcomes
• Identify a strategic problem that your organization faces,
frame it as a question, and brainstorm possibilities to solve it.
• Surface and pick the conditions that would need to be true to
make the possibility a winning strategy.
• Build and conduct different types of tests to help you choose
among your possibilities.
• Set your team up to be able to take action on the strategic
choices you make.