Recently I completed the Blockchain strategy certificate at Said Business school, University of Oxford. One of the first things among the fire-hose of information received was a strategy framework in evaluating the suitability of Blockchain for a particular project. It is not meant to be a highly technical document. However its extremely useful set of questions and an evaluation criteria for many reasons. For example it is a simple evaluation process to identify the use case, and how it could potentially operate in order to create a business strategy. It can also help you navigate through many of the scammy ICOs claiming to be the next hot blockchain project.
Answer these questions to determine whether blockchain could help solve your use case:
Is there a predictable, repeatable process that lends itself well to automation?
- Is there an ongoing or long-running transaction or process, rather than a process that occurs only once?
3 Are there multiple stakeholders in this process or value chain?
4 Is the role of reconciling disparate data usually played by one party or a limited number of parties?
5 Remembering that value is not only monetary, is there an element of value transfer?
6 Is there value in an immutable record? Or is an immutable record a requirement?
If you answered Yes to any of the key criteria, consider the following questions to start planning how you would use blockchain:
PROTOCOL LAYER
Is it possible to use public blockchains? Or is there a defined need for a private implementation?
What are the design expectations regarding speed, programmability, or payment functionality?
Do you have developer resources available? Or is the protocol you’re using supported by a robust, sustainable open-source developer community with access to resources?
NETWORK LAYER
Who needs to run a node? Who has read access? Who has write access?
What are the technology integration requirements?
What are the data storage requirements regarding archiving and regulation?
APPLICATION LAYER
Who is going to use the application? What are the implications for user experience and design?
What is the existing organisational structure? And what behavioural patterns do users have today? How does this product or service fit into their existing workflow?
Are there any behavioural or organisational changes necessary to implement this use case?