How to get what's available – game theory and governing dynamics · tsoon↓<br>Skip to main content<br>tsoon
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Refresh Conference 2023, Esko Lehtme presenting. Photo by Pilleriin KivisikkTable of Contents<br>Table of Contents
Refresh Conference 2023 -<br>This article is part of a series.Part 1:<br>Refresh Conference 2023 – showing meaning, not effort<br>Part 2:<br>How the UX maturity model drives strategic decision-making<br>Part 3:<br>Redesign your leadership using McKinsey's 7-S framework<br>Part 4:<br>This Article<br>Part 5:<br>Leveraging VRIO framework to boost UX team strategic impact<br>I took over a team of four. In the organization, design was understood as visual treatment. Where we actually fit in the product development value chain – and what we were genuinely worth – was unclear to most, and sometimes to us.<br>I was looking for ways to think about this strategically – how to change what design meant in the organization. We were still talked about as a visual beauty treatment service, not as business value drivers. Our position in the product development process was confusing to stakeholders, to product teams, and sometimes to my own team.<br>A thread on Reddit about stakeholder strategy mentioned game theory. Someone described how the structure of the questions – players, rules, resources, outcomes – had helped them rethink the politics in their organization. I recognized the situation immediately.<br>I knew I had a weaker position. I decided to make two bets: rising production first – clarify the design process using the double diamond framework, prioritize ruthlessly, generate small wins. Integration second – get designers into product development processes where the real decisions were being made. Game theory gave me the map for navigating what stood between me and both of those goals.<br>A Beautiful Mind - Bar Scene John Nash’s Equilibrium Game Theory1<br>Principles
Game theory is a branch of mathematics that studies decision-making when two or more “players” have conflicting interests . It analyzes strategic interactions between rational decision-makers in various fields, like economics, political science, and biology. Game theory provides a framework for understanding how people will make choices when trying to achieve their goals . It helps to predict the outcome of actions based on assumptions about other people’s behavior.<br>Charlie Munger emphasized the importance of combining numbers and psychology in business. Numbers provide precision; psychology deals with the unpredictable nature of human behavior.2 Game theory holds both at once.<br>A dominant strategy is one that produces the best outcome regardless of what the other players do. Identifying yours changes how you prioritize.<br>Questions
Who are the players in the game?
My map had three main players beyond the UX team itself. CPOs and Product Owners were the primary long-term stakeholders – they controlled what got built and in what sequence, and they wanted products that delivered measurable value. Delivery Team Leads made product teams work on agreed tasks; for UX designers embedded in product teams, they were critical partners who needed to understand exactly how UX fit into daily delivery. Senior management measured by numbers: active customers, profit, reputation, and customer satisfaction. For them, the UX team needed to be legible in those terms – or invisible.<br>What are the rules of the game?
With whom can I interact directly? Where do I need to use “messengers”?<br>How are decisions being made, and who has the final say?<br>What are the processes and schedules for gaining valuables?<br>What is the de jure and de facto power structure?<br>One specific rule revealed a critical gap: product owners couldn’t request UX team involvement through JIRA – they had to make agreements through informal channels. The de jure process said UX was part of product development. The de facto reality: access required a direct relationship.<br>What does each player value, and what is their motivation ?
Senior management moved on numbers – active customers, contracts signed, customer satisfaction scores. Every UX outcome needed to connect to one of those dimensions to register. CPOs and POs wanted products that succeeded and looked credible. Understanding this meant translating UX work into each player’s language.<br>Design leadership insights in your inbox<br>Bi-weekly from my practice. Every quarter, one piece I write only for subscribers – deeper than anything I publish elsewhere.<br>Email address
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What resources are available?
Financial, intellectual, power, and relationships are the primary business-driving resources. I had my team with their skills, capabilities, and available time. Also, I controlled their priorities and allocations. Most of my team’s competencies were unknown and not valued by others.<br>My manager owned the budget and had the final say....