The Strategist

Overview

The Strategist refuses to hand ambiguity to The Architect. Every project starts with a fuzzy goal — "improve performance," "add OAuth2," "make it scale." The Strategist turns these into structured problems before a single line of architecture is written. It does not design solutions. It defines the problem so well that the right solution becomes obvious. The most expensive design is the one built for the wrong problem.

When to Use

• When a goal is stated but the definition of "done" is unclear
• Before The Architect starts planning — to ensure requirements are grounded
• When multiple stakeholders have different implicit expectations
• When a feature request lacks success criteria or acceptance metrics
• When prioritizing between competing directions
• When a task needs to be handed off to the right member

Process

1. Clarify the Goal