The Digital Transformation Journey: How You Can Plan For Success

The digital transformation journey is never going to be a quick trip for any organisation.  The real question is whether it will be fairly smooth.  We look at what makes a successful journey and what can be done to plan for success from the outset.

Effective Digital Transformation

During a recent meeting at Dataworks, we discussed the ways that an organisation can build an effective Digital Transformation momentum and what are the issues that slow down momentum.

The conversation had started off innocently enough with a discussion about data reporting. Then one of the data analysts veered off topic to a pet peeve. He had an issue with indiscriminate data warehousing, specifically the idea that “just hold on and once we’ve collected all the data, you’ll be able to find anything”.  Meanwhile, as he put it, the people down in production just want to know something really specific, like the optimum maintenance cycle for a machine.”  His opinion was that in order to thrive, most organisations need easy access to specific data on a specific schedule.

Picking The Right Exit Point

After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that that it’s all about picking the right exit point for your Digital Transformation journey.  The end of the line may be a fully adaptive plant but for each organisation, the key benefits are going to come at a different point along the journey. By deciding at the outset where they’re probably going to jump off the bus, organisations only need to focus on what’s needed to reach that point.  The right solution for an organisation could be to collect and store all data upfront or it could be to network a specific set of PLCs on a phased basis.

Liam Curham jumped in at that point.   As CEO, his touch point was different but his experience supported the general argument.  He classed solving an important, visible problem as a “Quick Win” and in his experience “Quick Wins” are key. “They create buy-in and trust. People see a successful outcome and they’re willing to try again. You start to get real momentum at every level in the company. In Liam’s opinion, planning for the journey is vital but planning for every eventuality risks losing  time and raises the risk that some part of target will move  –  often the business environment, the company structure or the technology.

Get The Balance Right

So over engineering or under-engineering – how to get that right? There’s no formula for getting that balance right but there is plenty of hard won wisdom out there.  “Staying close to the problem” encapsulates the focus behind many successful approaches.   It’s an approach that aligns closely with Dataworks experience in business analysis and development.  We actively stay close to the problem by staying close to the users. Our agile approach supports this by revisiting solutions again and again with the user. It’s that collaboration that keeps the bus moving on the right route.

To ensure this process happens, we provide flexible options such a bank of days that can be used interchangeably for business analysis, data analysis or building Proof of Concepts with the low code/no-code team as the situation requires. This option works particularly well in the problem analysis or proof of concept stage.  It means that the right person is available to work with the team as they specify the solution.  It also supports our ongoing understanding of the business, it’s culture and the problem domain. It’s this knowledge that allows us to add real value for the entire journey. We also promise that we won’t put our bags on seats and we will talk quietly on our phones!  Go n-éirí an bóthar libh go léir!

Contact Us

If you are looking to utilise technology to optimise and maximise your organisations’ competitiveness and performance or would like to discuss how we can use our experience and expertise to deliver real benefits to your business, please Contact Us today or call us on 051 878555.

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DATAWORKS – Driving Digital Transformation in the worlds’ Leading Life Science Companies
for over 25 Years