Strategy Best Practice
A well designed strategy ensures decisions are intentional, initiatives are prioritised, and execution remains tied to business outcomes.
Treat strategy as a repeatable cycle rather than a one-time document
In our last piece we discussed the fundamental pillars that make up a sound, well rounded technology strategy.
Here we discuss how to approach the process of developing a well rounded technology strategy.
A successful technology strategy isn’t built on inspiration alone, it relies on a disciplined, consistent, and repeatable process. Without a clear framework, strategies risk being reactive, fragmented, or misaligned with business priorities. Best practice shows that the organisations who excel at strategy execution are those who apply structure to creativity: balancing insight and innovation with a process that keeps everyone aligned, accountable, and focused on outcomes.
Phases of Strategy Development
What follows is a proven set of phases for strategy development. Together, these steps create more than a one-off exercise, they form a repeatable cycle that drives clarity today while embedding a culture of continuous improvement for tomorrow.
This list of soundbites is intentionally high level, very simple and focused on what matters most in the process of developing effective strategy.
Phase 1: Discovery & Context Setting
- Understand business strategy, goals, and challenges
- Assess current state technology, capability, culture, and maturity
- Stakeholder interviews and pain point discovery
Phase 2: Assessment & Gap Analysis
- Conduct gap analysis: business needs vs. current technology
- SWOT of technology landscape
- Benchmark against peers/industry
Phase 3: Vision & Guiding Principles
- Define target future state vision and strategic intent
- Establish guiding principles for decision making (e.g. “cloud first”, “AI enabled”, “security by design”)
Phase 4: Strategic Pillars & Initiatives
- Develop strategic themes (e.g. “Modernise Core Platforms”)
- Define major initiatives under each theme
- Map initiatives to capabilities, value drivers, and timelines
Phase 5: Roadmap Development
- Prioritise initiatives (value vs. effort, dependencies)
- Build multi horizon roadmap (12 – 36 months)
- Define quick wins vs. foundational capabilities
Phase 6: Operating Model & Governance
- Define how strategy will be executed: structure, roles, vendors, capabilities
- Establish governance model and processes for funding, measurement, and decision rights
Phase 7: Execution & Change Management
- Mobilise teams, build backlogs, and initiate delivery
- Embed change management, stakeholder engagement, and training
- Continuous feedback loops for adaptation
Phase 8: Review & Optimisation
- Measure success through KPIs and strategic outcomes
- Adjust strategy based on business, tech, or market changes
- Promote culture of continuous improvement
Final Thought
What This Means for Your Business
At its heart, strategy is not solely about where you want to go, it’s about having a process and the discipline to get there consistently.
A well designed strategy framework ensures that decisions are intentional, initiatives are prioritised, and execution remains tied to measurable business outcomes.
Best practice tells us that when organisations treat strategy as a repeatable cycle rather than a one-time document, they build resilience and agility. They can adapt to shifting technologies, evolving customer needs, and market dynamics, without losing sight of their long-term vision.
Winning with technology is about enabling your people, customers, and business to thrive – faster, smarter, and better. And the best way to achieve that is through a strategy process that is as robust as it is repeatable.
Our next piece in this three part series will explore learnings from real world examples of effective technology strategies.
- Part one; the pillars of a sound strategy
- Part two; the strategy development process
- Part three; examples of effective technology strategies
Want to explore how Trippl can help you design and deliver a technology strategy that creates measurable enterprise value?
Contact our team at hello@trippl.co to start the conversation.
