This paper report results from a project that deals with manufacturing strategy in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project followed an interactive research approach in an iterative manner through four main phases. With these four phases as a foundation, four case studies were carried out. As the project evolved, it became clear that the chosen research approach played a crucial role for the achieved results, which is also what this paper focuses upon. The paper argues that through an interactive research approach, working intensively together with the companies, we have been able to develop an easy-to-use tool that the companies can use and update as needed. The companies have all increased their knowledge on manufacturing strategy as a way of improving competiveness, The research team has increased the knowledge on how manufacturing strategy can be made available and useful for SMEs, and gathered this into an easy-to-use tool, the STRATEGO-tool.