Junkyard Tornado – why you need to get your house in order before going for Digital Transformation

“…complex structures do not arise in a single evolutionary step…” – John Maynard Smith

Nobody in their right mind believes that if a tornado swept through a junkyard it would assemble a Boeing 747. Yet, many organisations and their leaders believe that they can take an assortment of unfit systems, people and services, mix them all together, throw a bit of glitter on them and label it Digital Transformation.

Sadly, Digital Transformation doesn’t work that way. It is a complex reengineering of the 3 Ps – People, Product and Processes – that can take years of effort to achieve and should always have the customer at the centre of it all.

To get started, one must start with a vision and structure – and a measurement of “where are we now”. A handy method is the Capability Maturity Model (or CMM). This allows you to assess where you currently are in terms of ability to deliver and helps to define a path forward to achieve success.

I am a firm believer in the appropriate use of technology to solve a problem that needs to be solved. As mentioned earlier at the heart of these problems that need solving are customers – your transformation efforts should be focused on providing them the optimum utility from your 3 Ps – People, Product and Processes.

I have lost count of the number of times I have spoken to colleagues in the IT field who have bemoaned the fact they are being urged to implement something that is very much a vanity project that they know will offer no benefit beyond pleasing 1-2 senior leaders in their organisation.

Do not fall in to this trap and become the person remembered for delivering a junkyard instead of a Boeing 747.