Technology Strategy Patterns

Chapter 3. World Context

In the previous chapter, we looked at how to reason in ways that will be applicable throughout your strategy patterns work. Now, we get to the heart of the creation patterns. 

The patterns presented here represent the broadest context—that of the world outside your own company. We start here to ensure your strategy work is properly grounded and that your more specific, local strategy choices consider important trends, themes, and vectors beyond the walls of your corporation, and even your industry. They’ll give you more empathy and understanding with your customers. These patterns will also help shape your views to ensure the technology strategies you create are the most applicable and supportable. Additionally, presenting your homework in these patterns will show your executive team that their concerns are your concerns, giving both of you the confidence that your technology strategy is aligned with the business, and not only a shopping list of shiny objects.

While these patterns could seem distant from your comfort zone in technology, that’s part of the point. People who are strategists for a living base their business decisions on this kind of work. Rooting your work in analyses of the climate and directions the broader world is taking will help make your strategy thoughtful, sound, and complete. Understanding the context and the language in which the business operates will give you a terrific boost in making your architectural recommendations best ...