Everything is a tool. Reach for the right one.

There are a lot of tools designers can reach for. Everything we use is just a tool no different than a hammer or saw. They help us build things. Each isn’t subjectively good or bad but can be more or less effective depending on the situation. A hammer is great for framing wood walls and less good for installing glass walls.

Tools are both opinionated and agnostic to the task. A word processor doesn't care if you write a love letter or a financial report but it does have an opinion if you try to use it to 3D model a car.

Tools are not inherently good or bad but they are situational. I am not a big fan of North Stars or vision videos but in the right situation they are effective.

Designers tend to reach for the same tool again and again out of habit. Since value always moves inside systems it is easy to reach for the wrong tool out of habit. choosing the right tool for the task is so important. What’s, maybe more important, is not using unnecessary tools. I have seen many times where artifacts are created that have no real impact or value on the end product. Large effort is put into creating something that does not move the team forward.

Because tools are situational, you need to ask yourself “is this right tool for the job?” and “do I even need to use this tool?”.