Ever seen a product strategy that didn't seem quite right, but you couldn’t put your finger on why? Or worse yet, you couldn’t articulate what could make it better? Or even what makes a good strategy altogether?

You’re definitely not alone: while the term “strategy” has long ago entered the UX community’s collective lexicon, it still seems to raise more questions than it answers. But if strategy is, as they say, so critical to a business's success, then it’s worth for us to take a moment to get on the same page: what exactly are we talking about when we say “strategy”?

This talk will explore foundational principles and draw on classic business texts to provide a clear understanding of what exactly a strategy and more critically, what a good strategy, looks like. It will then use that foundation to pinpoint exactly how designers and researchers can play a vital role in ensuring that a given strategy is not only informed by, but fully differentiated through, a user-centered perspective.