How to Construct a Winning Digital Transformation Strategy, Architecture, and Blueprint?
Digital Transformation is a lot less like rolling out technology and a lot more like building a house.
Why is it so?
That is what I am going to explain it in this article.
My name is P. K. Saxena and I am CTO of Sofcon Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
In brief Sofcon Systems India is having 27+ years of experience in the field of Automation Solutions
and now has started helping their clients in their migration path to Industry 4.0.
For the purpose of this journey my guide is Eric Kimberling who is the CEO of Third Stage Consulting
which is an independent consulting firm that helps clients throughout the world with their Digital Transformation journeys.
Since one of the biggest things Eric learnt with his Digital Transformation journeys is that it is similar to building a house.
Hence whatever I have learnt from Eric’s experience I will be sharing it here in this journey with you.
In fact whatever knowledge we gather by building a house, we can apply the same to our Digital Transformation journey.
Likewise I will describe in this article how Digital Transformation is more like building a house than you may think otherwise.
As well as I hope that this approach of mine will help in explaining some of the importance of key work streams within Digital Transformation process
and also within its strategy.
The Architect’s Blue Print
Generally one of the biggest dynamics we see and one of the biggest pitfalls we see is that
organizations fall into temptation of jumping straight into deploying technology in their organizations.
Basically it happens because they feel that they have identified their needs.
Also it happens because they have defined what they want out of technology deployment.
Since they have identified the best technology solution or solutions that are the best fit for their organization.
Hence they simply jump straight into designing, building and deploying technology in their organization.
As a result it poses a big problem for them and
therefore it will lead them to certain challenges during Digital Transformation journey.
Similarly as we know that a house cannot be built effectively without a Blueprint from an Architect.
Hence you also need a Blueprint for your implementation of Digital Transformation in your organization.
In other words, rather than just defining your high level business requirements & picking software accordingly
you need to start building stuff such as
Checking implementation readiness time /
Status at phase zero of your transformation / and
What you want your future state organization to look like
As well as other aspects of your Digital Transformation.
For instance many times Software Vendors and System Integrators will suggest you not to worry about the Blueprint.
Because they will help you do that and it is possible that they may do it to some extent.
Although they may help you define how the software should be built
but still you do not have the bigger picture vision
or
Blueprint of how your business is going to operate.
Blueprint of the Architecture
In particular they are looking for the Blueprint of how technology should be built
and they can certainly accomplish that.
But the likelihood of that being aligned with what your business needs are is very low.
In fact, you are highly likely to have misalignment there.
Moreover if you were building a house then your thought process would look like–
—I am building a two-story house.
—And it is 2 000 square feet house.
—I will plan to bring in the plumber to start putting in the plumbing.
However in reality, you will not do that without having a Blueprint of the Architecture of your house.
In fact you need that overall Blueprint to show how the house is going to be built
and how all the different pieces are going to fit together.
Similarly when you hire a Software Vendor or System Integrator to come in and just start deploying stuff,
then it is like hiring the plumber as the first step in building a house.
Indeed I know it is just something you do not do and if you do that
it is going to be on shaky foundation.
Of course chances are pretty high that you are not going to have a stable foundation
or
a stable house to work from.
Especially one of the most important things, you can do
or one of the most important lessons,
you can learn from building a house is the need to have the Architecture
as well as the Blueprint for what your business is going to look like in the future.
So that your Digital Transformation can support that
as well as fall within the realm of what you are trying to accomplish.
Laying the Foundation
Since the Blueprint gives you the vision of what the end state is going to look like
and how the overall house will be built
or how the Digital Transformation is going to look like.
Hence you also need a solid foundation in this process.
In particular you do not start putting in the framing, the flooring and the plumbing
as well as the electrical until you have got the foundation built.
In fact it is one of the first things you do when you build a house
and the same is true for Digital Transformation.
In brief you need to make sure you have got the solid foundation
before you start building technology
and building other aspects of your transformation on top of it.
Foundation
For instance we have to consider some examples of what those foundational activities are.
First of all it would be Project Governance.
So what is the overall Project Governance?
Further how are you going to manage the vendors,
the system integrator /
the consultants /
as well as all that good stuff which form the parts of Project Governance?
In the same way you need to have a clear set of processes,
roles and
responsibilities and
that overall vision for how the project will be managed.
Consequently that is a core foundational part of your transformation.
Moreover you also have Organizational Change Management without effectively impacting the human side of change.
Also you need to have a clear Organizational Change Strategy
and a clear Organizational Change Plan
before you start even thinking about deploying technology in your organization.
In particular, it is critical to define Organizational Change Strategy and Plan
because it is a key foundational aspect of your transformation.
Finally another example is your Overall Technical Architecture.
Generally you might be deploying a single ERP system /
or
you might be deploying Human Capital Management /
or
CRM /
or
Supply Chain Management technology.
However whatever software is chosen by you,
chances are that you are doing it in the context of other existing systems.
Since you have the need to integrate other existing systems
or
you have the need to bring data over from your legacy systems.
Technical Architecture
Hence the vision for what the Overall Technical Architecture will look like will depend on how you are going to migrate data.
As well as how you are going to integrate systems is another foundational aspect of your Digital Transformation.
Before you get too far into your transformation,
you want to make sure you have these key foundational aspects completed.
Likewise to use the analogy of house building you need to lay foundation
before you get too far into your project.
General Contractor
When you are building a house or in most cases when you build a house
you have a General Contractor.
Consequently that General Contractor hires the electricians,
the mason, and
the people that do the flooring,
plumbing and
roofing.
Similarly that is a lot like how Digital Transformation is.
Indeed you need a General Contractor that can manage all the different parts
and
different parties
that are involved in transformation.
However now the problem with our industry is that Software Vendors
and
System Integrators often sell themselves as that General Contractor
or
they might argue that you do not need that General Contractor
because they are the ones providing the technology.
But again it is like a plumber coming in and saying I can be your General Contractor.
On the contrary most people intuitively understand that the plumber is not the General Contractor.
Of course this is something very different.
Particularly the plumber is one of many Subcontractors that need to be managed throughout the process.
Therefore you need a General Contractor.
So again even if you are deploying one single type of technology,
that software vendor which provides the nuts and bolts of how the software is going to work,
is one Subcontractor.
But you also have to address Change Management.
Further you have got to address Architecture, Data Migration and Integration.
Of course the overall Program Management ties it all together.
So that is why providing that Program Management
and that high level management of all the different parts is so important just like
the General Contractor is so important to building a house.
The Role of Sub Contractors
When you are building a house usually you have very clearly defined roles such as–
The plumber does the plumbing.
The electrician does the electrical.
Also the flooring guy does the flooring.
The roofer does the roofing.
After all you have very clearly defined everybody’s role and
it makes sense because you can see it,
you can touch it, you can feel it,
you can tie it back to the Blueprint
or
the Architecture work that was done earlier.
But the problem with Digital Transformation is such that a lot of times people do not fully understand all those different Subcontractors that need to be involved.
Of course when I mention about contractors here and hence using this analogy it does not necessarily mean that
all the resources I am describing in context to Digital Transformation necessarily need to be of Subcontractors.
The Resources of Sub Contractors
Generally some of them could be Internal Resources.
Likewise some of them could be Outside Consulting Firm’s Resources.
For instance some of the Resources will come either from your Software Vendor
or
from your System Integrator.
So multiple parties could provide resources to help you with this act of Digital Transformation
but the key here is to understand what all those pieces are.
So in the same way neither a Plumber is going to come in and
give you an estimate of how long it is going to take to build a house
nor he is going to be able to give you an accurate cost estimate of how much it will cost you to build the house.
Likewise a Software Vendor assistant migrator cannot tell you how much time
or
money it is going to take you to go through your Digital Transformation.
Because the reason for that is very simple as
he is just one Subcontractor within the bigger picture.
Further you need some other Subcontractors to provide inputs into the process.
Then the General Contractor as we just mentioned before is the one that pulls this all together
and looks at the overall time frame, the overall budget
and ties it all together to make sure you have an overarching plan and
that is the role that the General Contractor plays relative to the Subcontractors.
When you are looking at planning for your project
then you are setting your budget.
Also you are defining roles.
Moreover you just want to make sure you have all those different Subcontractor roles defined
as it relates to your Digital Transformation.
Regulatory Compliance
Additionally in most parts of the world when you build a house
or
any sort of building there is extensive Government Regulations on what qualifies
as a finished product that is going to pass the Regulatory Compliance needs of
that local entity.
However on the other hand the problem with Digital Transformations is such
that there is very little information available on any regulation
or
oversight of how those projects are to be managed.
When you think about a house and
if you have a shaky foundation or
there is certain criteria that is not met for safety purposes or
to accomplish whatever the goal of the house is which is to provide shelter
and to provide safety then it is not going to pass Regulatory Compliance code
and it is not going to get approved and the house will not ever finish or be sold.
Further going back to Digital Transformation, we realize that neither compliance
nor verification exists in the marketplace,
so you cannot rely on the government to tell you how your Digital Transformation should work.
As a result one question arises –how do you validate Digital Transformation that
you are implementing the way it should be implemented —
so that you are mitigating risk and you are avoiding the cost overruns,
the time overruns and all that stuff and
so we have to think creatively about how we can institute a similar sort of result
as you would find in house building without necessarily getting the government involved.
Take Aways
Finally how can you as an organization provide the oversight and
the verification compliance of your Digital Transformation health?
At this point I feel that this is a role which can be easily taken care of by companies like Third Stage Consulting firm.
For this purpose we at Sofcon Systems can also provide this as a service
to our clients by using Third Stage Consulting firm’s quality assurance
and implementation program management framework.
In short we can provide that sort of compliance and
that sort of validation to your Digital Transformation project
that is going to succeed and that you are adequately addressing the risks
and the safety issues.
When you are defining your overall transformation then you have to make sure
you have got those quality checkpoints in place
As well as you also have to make sure you have got those overall validation
and verification of the results in place
that you are getting from your transformation.
I hope this article of mine has provided you some general guidance of
how to think about your Digital Transformation differently in a way
that most of us can relate to especially in the context of something
like a house which again
You can see it /
You can touch it /
As well as you can feel it /
And that is the way we have to think about our Digital Transformation too.
In short we have to treat our Digital Transformation more like building a house.
Certainly if we can do that than we are more likely to be successful.
Conclusion
For more information on other best practices and
lessons learned from Digital Transformations throughout the world,
I encourage you to download Third Stage Consulting firm’s Digital Transformation report
which is an annual report they publish each year.
Also please note that this report focuses on general best practices,
independent rankings,
reviews of different software vendors and
providers and
it can be downloaded from a link given below
https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/reports/2021-digital-transformation-report/
I hope you found this article useful.
By Digital Prabhat
Resource:
Eric Kimberling-How to construct a winning Digital Transformation Strategy,
Architecture & Blueprint? /
