An Introductory Review of Methods for the Articulation of Strategy in Design

Abstract

This paper presents an introductory review of methods to articulate strategy in design. Articulation is here seen as a process in which strategy is more or less strictly and explicitly identified and described, e.g. in relation to key ideas, directions to follow, goals and expected results. The paper surveys existing literature in design research and identifies two broad categories of methods for the articulation of strategy: (1) structured frameworks, and (2) vocabularies and principles.

Applying Theory of Change to strategy articulation cycles in design projects: Potentials and shortcomings through the Designscapes case study

“…In practice, re-articulating strategy means revising some of the core aspects of strategy along the way: goals, objectives, leverage points, allocation of resources. If strategy is characterized as finding a balance between ends, means and ways, while keeping an eye on risks as to achieve the impact needed to address a challenge (Simeone, 2019;Simeone, 2020), then the process of strategy articulation (and continuous re-articulation) has to do with finding the (possibly, ever-changing) sweet spot in which the core components of strategy are aligned. Now, because of the central role played by the negotiations among the various stakeholders and by their potentially conflicting agendas (Mirabeau et al, 2018), the processes of strategy articulation are not necessarily linear but rather might involve multidirectional moves in which, for example, different stakeholders might have different takes on what strategy to pursue and, therefore, multiple divergent strategy articulations can occur simultaneously and within the same organization or the same project.…”

Characterizing Strategic Design Processes in Relation to Definitions of Strategy from Military, Business and Management Studies

“…Strategic decision-making can occur when designers make long-terms plans and also when they actualize these plans by their day-to-day decisions, within or in collaboration with the organizations they are eventually working with (Friend and Hickling 2012). In these contexts, decision-making can be supported by strategic design processes ranging from the use of specific sequences of tools and methods, all the way up to vocabularies that can help look at the design process from a strategic angle and to the adoption of strategic principles (Simeone 2019). The aim of this paper is to examine such multifaceted views of strategic design by connecting them to characterizations of strategy elaborated in military, business and management studies.…”