Mastering UX Strategy: Transitioning from Tactical to Strategic Design Thinking

Do you want to grow your impact as a UX designer? Then, it might be time to enhance your skills in strategic design thinking.

When I started in the field of human-computer interaction design (which later turned into UX), I was driven mainly by the goal of making technology simpler for the user. I wanted to make an impact and help to make technology accessible and usable for a broader audience.

Soon, I had to learn that there is more than one side to a problem and a solution. There are more than just user needs. There are technical requirements, and there are business goals.

You are probably familiar with this UX Venn diagram, which defines UX as the intersection of user needs, business objectives and technical requirements.

While I knew about it, I didn’t understand what to do with it — until I hit rejections of my “UX solutions” (because of business or tech constraints). This is when I realized that UX is not just about problem-solving; it’s about multi-dimensional problem-solving.

For a long time, UX designers were missionaries who tried to promote the “trade” of product design: not just business goals and tech were relevant, but also the customer (or user).

And it seemed we made progress: UX became increasingly popular within organizations. But instead of making user needs an equal part of the equation (business + technology + users = product with great UX), it turned into a checklist item. Businesses wanted shortcuts to adding some “UX spice” to their product design: give me some best practices. UX design started to have less and less to do with “users.” The role of a UX designer turned more into an “experience design expert” and soon into a “visual design problem solver.”

This is where we got stuck in our mission: we stopped doing tactical UX design; we solved immediate design problems. Customers get lost during checkout — let’s fix the UX. Users don’t find their way around — let’s improve the IA and navigation.

Solving design problems is relevant. But to solve a problem, you need to understand it—not just from a user perspective but from all three angles of our Venn diagram. You need to apply strategic thinking to define the sweet spot, the best solution for all three areas (users, technology, and business).

To increase your impact as a UX designer and move beyond execution, you need to get into strategic UX design.

Tactical vs. Strategic UX Design: Understand the Difference

Let’s look at the difference between tactical and strategic UX design.

---

You are tactical in your design anytime you are working on a specific design problem. The problem can be simple or complex, requiring quick fixes or building a completely new solution or feature. But all your design effort is functionality-focused.

Signs You’re Stuck in a Tactical Role

• • The product (or outcome) has already been predefined

• • You’re focused on building the product right

• • Research tasks are mostly focused on usability

• • Your work is very project-based, with a discrete focus

Results of Tactical UX Thinking

• • Lack of involvement in decision-making processes.

• • Being brought in late to projects.

• • Limited influence on product direction. 

---

Strategic design happens when you go beyond solving a single problem. Instead of diving into a specific project, you start by looking at the big picture:

• • What is the current situation (of our product, our customers, our business)? What is not working well?

• • What do we want to accomplish by solving it (for our customers and business)? What will be improved?

• • What do we need to get there? What do we know? What do we need to understand better?

Signs You’re Using Strategic UX Thinking:

• • You are focused on your users’ overall experience, independent of the product

• • You accumulate insights that help with business decisions, not just a specific product

• • You support teams across the company, not just the product design team

Benefits of Strategic UX Thinking

• • Greater impact on product success.

• • Enhanced career growth and recognition.

• • Increased job satisfaction and professional fulfillment. 

 

How to Build Strategic Skill Sets

Now that you understand the difference between strategic and tactical UX design, how do you move from one stage to another?

Here are some areas to work on to improve your strategic thinking skills.

 

Start Asking “Why” Before “How”

In your next project, start by asking questions before diving into solutions.

• • Why are we solving this problem?

• • What are the business and user goals behind this project?

Take Action: Practice this in your next project by writing down the problem statement and the desired outcome before sketching any solutions. This habit will gradually shift your focus from execution to strategy.

 

Conduct Regular Stakeholder Interviews

Develop a habit of interviewing stakeholders to understand their goals, challenges, and expectations. This will help you align your design work with broader business objectives.

Your stakeholder is anyone who will be affected by your project and (or) has input for your project. If you’re redesigning a checkout process, interview the marketing team to understand their goals (e.g., reducing cart abandonment), the customer support team for common user pain points, and the sales team for insights on customer objections.

Take Action: Schedule regular (i.e. monthly) check-ins with key stakeholders to discuss ongoing projects, gather feedback, and understand their priorities. Document these conversations to track how your work is contributing to strategic goals.

Use Strategic Frameworks to Guide Your Design

Incorporate strategic frameworks like SWOT analysis or the Business Model Canvas into your design process. These tools can help you think about the broader context of your work.

• • A SWOT analysis can help you to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to your design problem. It’s a good tool to use in combination with a competitive analysis.

• • A Business Model Canvas is a great way to understand business objectives and the bigger picture of the project you will be working on.

Take Action: Pick a current project and create a Business Model Canvas. Map out how your design impacts critical elements such as customer segments, value propositions, and revenue streams. This exercise will train you to consider the business implications of your designs.

Prioritize User and Business Outcomes Over Deliverables

To move from tactical to strategic thinking, shift your focus from creating deliverables (like wireframes or prototypes) to achieving specific user and business outcomes. Think about ways to measure these outcomes. For example, if you are working on improvements for a landing page, don’t just focus on the visual layout; think about how your design can impact business (e.g., increase the conversion rate) and satisfy users (e.g., find all relevant information).

Take Action: For your next project, define the desired user and business outcomes at the start. Regularly check if your design decisions are contributing to these outcomes. Reflect on this at the end of the project to assess your strategic impact.

 

Engage in Cross-Functional Collaboration

To see the bigger picture (to think strategically), you need to expand your knowledge. This is best done by learning from each other. Start actively collaborating with teams and people outside of design, such as marketing, product management, and sales. Invite them to a customer journey map workshop or a user research insights share.

Take Action: Organize a cross-functional meeting or workshop to collect inputs on your design activities. Consider facilitating a customer journey map workshop or a design thinking workshop with a cross-functional team to solve a business problem collaboratively.