Why I Wrote This Book What has kept me on my toes while being a software designer and practitioner is being a part-time teacher of the evolving discipline of user interface (UI) design and product strategy. Since 1993, I have taught everything from graduate-level courses for engineering students to adult education courses for working professionals who wanted to reposition their career tracks with more marketable skill sets. But there was never a perfect book in any of those situations that gave my students everything they needed. Instead, I was constantly hounded to share my presentation decks, sample documents, and templates. I wrote this book to finally consolidate into one resource everything I know about the practice of UX strategy, which I learned from my work with startups, agencies, and enterprises. I also hope that designers and product makers who are aspiring strategists will gain from my years of professional experience. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my professional and personal life, and they have informed my attitude toward trial and error. This is why even from the beginning I didn’t want to write a dry business or technology book. I wanted to write a book that chronicles the vitality and fluidity of what we actually experience in the real world of product design. I wanted to depict the entrepreneurial spirit, which isn’t just about success or techniques that always work. I wanted to share that journey with the hope that you won’t get as scuffed up as I did along the way.