A common approach companies take with their strategies is one of "here's the strategy now lets see how we can deliver it" rather than "here's what we're proposing, lets check how we could deliver this" and then modify and or 'resource up' to make sure they do deliver it. Checking 'usability' of your strategy enables you to understand both the...

A common approach companies take with their strategies is one of "here's the strategy now lets see how we can deliver it" rather than "here's what we're proposing, lets check how we could deliver this" and then modify and or 'resource up' to make sure they do deliver it. Checking 'usability' of your strategy enables you to understand both the'structural' implications of pursuing certain strategies as well as the impact your workplace cultures will have on those strategies.

Usability testing (described as being the "measure of quality when interacting with something") observes how people interact with that product or service. This gives a much more realistic and richer understanding of the customer's experience of using that product/service, than traditional market research, which typically tells us what people think of a product or service and why think this.

This type of market testing is on the increase, with companies wanting the 'best bet' to focus on when launching new/revamped products or services. Research in a thesis by Eleke den Ouden from the Technical University of Eindhoven has been used to report that "Half of all malfunctioning products returned to stores are in full working order, but customers can't figure out how to operate the devices." In one experiment, den Ouden gave new products to a group of managers from consumer electronics company Philips Electronics NV, asking them to use them over the weekend. "The managers returned frustrated because they could not get the devices to work properly. Most of the flaws found their origin in the first phase of the design process -- product definition."

I've highlighted that last sentence as this can also be true of strategy development. Often strategies are unknowingly (and unconsciously) defined as a document used to tell people what needs to be done. If this is all the document is defined to do, you put your strategies at risk by missing the opportunity to test the 'usability' of the strategies while engaging everyone in the organization with the strategies. By deliberately defining a 'higher' purpose for the strategy document, e.g to engage people in delivery of 2,3,5,.. key initiatives, you change the process used to create the strategy information from one involving a chosen few, to one involving everyone.

Leaders who realise the power of engaging people with their company's strategies, apply the same reasoning for testing a product or service, to testing their strategies.

Think about this. Why would you not invest some extra time and money into 'testing' your strategies if that investment gave you a greater likelihood of having everyone engaged with strategies that would actually be implemented?

Contact me for my FREE e-book on how to test the usability of your strategies while having employees engage with them.

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