2.5.2. Strategy

2.5.2.1. Definition of Strategy

The term “strategy” is derived from the Greek words:

stratégos, which means “general,”

stratos, which means “army,”

agein, meaning “to lead.”

Strategy, therefore, by dictionary definition, refers to a plan for the overall conduct of a war or sector of it.

By extrapolation, it has also come to mean a plan for the skillful overall conduct of a large field of operations, or a sector of such operations, toward the achievement of a specific goal or result.

This is planning that is done at upper-echelon level, as, if it is to be effective, it must be done from an overview of the broad existing situation. (The reader is trying to achieve success with your product.)

Strategy is therefore a statement of the intended plans for accomplishing a broad objective and inherent in its definition is the idea of clever use of resources or maneuvers for outwitting the enemy or overcoming existing obstacles to win the objective.

It is the central strategy worked out at the top which, like an umbrella, covers the activities of the echelons below it.

That tells us what strategy is.

What does strategy do? It provides direction for the activities of all the lower echelons. All the tactical plans and programs and projects to be carried out at lower echelons in order to accomplish the objective, stream down from the strategic plan at the top. It is the overall plan against which all of these are coordinated.

This gives a clear look at why strategic planning is so vitally important and why it must be done by the upper-level planning body if management is to be effective and succeed.

Strategy provides the bridge to carry the current situation towards the achievement of the purpose for that activity.

What happens if strategic planning is missing? Well, what happens in the conduct of a war if no strategic planning is done?

2.5.2.2. The Obstacles, Revisited

  1. Obstacle #1: The reader has limited time to achieve initial successes with your product before he gives up and starts looking elsewhere, either to other documentation, and if that’s not available, to another product.

Strategy #1: the documentation itself should be easy to find, and easy to access, and its introductory (orientation) material should answer the basic questions about the “thing” as quickly and succinctly as possible.

There are many common ways to address this, but the end result is that when the reader needs the material, it can be quickly at his fingertips, whether it be online, in the form of a pocketbook (for readers in the field), or a publication in a form that fits nicely on a shelf (or another storage place) near the reader when he needs it. It needs to have an introductory chapter that introduces the reader to the product, and to its parts if complex.

When the reader reads the material in sequence, he can easily follow the train of thought, and continue to understand what he is reading because it is in a logical, progressive, gradient sequence: prerequisite understandings are presented first, and more complex understandings come later and build upon the basics already presented.

If the reader encounters a word or symbol he does not fully understand, he must be able to look it up (if the definition is beyond the scope of the material). This prohibits the use of slang or local colloquialisms.

  1. Obstacle #2: For any given question the reader is asking “on the path” to that success, the reader has limited time to get it answered before he gives up, and again starts looking elsewhere.

Strategy #2: Here the reader is asking a specific question, he should be able to find its answer quickly. Every second and every minute counts. To handle this, and do so quickly, your documentation must be organized so that every approach the reader might take to find an answer to a question is met with swift success.

We know these approaches include:

  • Skimming the table of contents to find the applicable chapter and section. The table of contents therefore:

    • must be in a logical, progressive sequence, and

    • its chapter and section titles should be intuitive and apply directly to the material contained.

  • Once he has found what he is looking for, everything about that topic should be there in one place (chapter, section, etc.), including orientation about that topic, gradiently-progressing understandings, and full coverage to whatever extent he may need. If “expert” material is covered elsewhere, it’s location should be referenced so the reader can find it if/when he needs it and/or is ready for it.

  • Going to the search mechanism (if there is one) – electronic and/or index. The search mechanism must therefore be thorough enough that the user finds what he is looking for.