Decision: Standards Strategy

Within the Core Competency Strategy decision pattern, there is a Standards Strategy decision that I have framed as “What is our strategy towards influencing or complying with relevant standards?”.  This decision addresses your general posture toward standards; you may have multiple instances (variants) of this decision, focused on specific technology or process areas.
Here are some [...]

Decision framework for competitive analysis

For every promising business opportunity or market segment that you may choose to pursue, there is a decision pattern that can be used to guide a quick, but effective competitive analysis.
I recommend that before you commit to a new opportunity, you quickly blitz through these decisions and “look under the hood” rather than depending on [...]

Decision: Information Architecture

Whether you are designing a product with lots of “smarts” (hence software) or a new service offering or an enhanced business process, you will likely face an important decision concerning your Information Architecture.  I’ve framed this decision (in the product context) as: “What is the top-level information model for the product, including the classes of [...]

Decision: Course Concept

To better serve educational institutions and businesses or non-profits with a training focus, I’ve added a Training Portfolio decision branch to the Decision Driven® Strategy decision pattern.  This leads to a set of courseware design decisions for each training course, beginning with a top-level Course Concept decision.
I’ve used earlier variants of this pattern to design numerous [...]

Decision: Service Flow - Engagement Model

The decision, Service Flow, is one of the more challenging decisions within the service design branch of the Decision Driven® Strategy decision pattern.  I’ve framed this decision as “What series of steps will deliver this service?  How will the engagement flow?”
Here’s the criteria pattern that I recommend when evaluating alternative service flow designs.

I’m certain that [...]

Decision: Tools for X

We all use tools to help us in business or life.  What factors should I consider when I’m faced with an important tool selection decision?  How can I avoid being ”snowed” by a salesperson’s pitch and by the gleaming (but not terribly useful) features that the tool tempts me to focus on?  I have to chuckle when I watch [...]

Decision: Strategic Partners

Most companies eventually have to seek out, evaluate and commit to various strategic partners, either through long-term supplier relationships or through mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.  Within the Decision Driven® Strategy decision pattern, I have framed the Strategic Partners decision as “Who are the strategic partners through which we will acquire core competencies?”.  Of course, this [...]

Decision: Technology Core Competencies

Any company that creates high-tech hardware and software products has to invest strategically in technology core competencies.  This technology portfolio provides the basis for building compelling, highly-differentiated products and avoiding the some of the perils of creeping commoditization.
Here’s an example of a spider chart evaluation of the technology portfolio for a fictional water filter company.  [...]

Decision: Market Research Strategy

“Look before you leap” is generally good advice before you do anything new and different.  Pursuing a new business opportunity or market segment is new and different enough to justify some proactive thinking before you dive in.  It calls for a Market Research Strategy.  I’ve framed this decision as “How will we gain insight into [...]

Decision: Market Positioning

The deepest branch within the Decision Driven® Strategy decision pattern begins with the Target Markets decision.  This is the natural fan-out point in your company’s decision model; for each market that you choose to pursue you will want to think through your market positioning.  I’ve frame the Positioning decision as “How will our products and services [...]