- Digital transformation means two things are going to happen.
You're going to use technology to digitize information
and improve processes.
While that's happening, you will also be finding things
that will make some fundamental changes
to the culture of your organization
and the way you do business.
Although, you'll most likely discover
unexpected things along the way,
I urge you not to start until you have at least
some idea of where you want to end up.
This is not just somebody waking up one morning
and saying, hey, I think we'll transform, digitally.
No, there needs to be a plan,
and that plan needs to start with a thorough
understanding of the current state.
You are especially looking for places
where existing process and tools create problems.
As I've said before, I think the first thing
you should be doing,
is talking to your employees and end users.
Where do they have issues now?
What are their pain points?
Is there specific data or types of data
which they need that isn't available or easy to locate?
Yes, I am banging the requirements gathering drum again.
You will be much better off if you take the time
and effort to do this well.
Use surveys, focus groups,
and whatever other channels you have.
If necessary, spend extra time to make sure
you understand current process flow.
There may be lots of opportunities
for slimming down process,
reducing the number of gates,
or the number of places people have to go,
or tools they need to use to complete a process.
These opportunities are your primary objectives
during your transformation.