Think a Series of Sprints, Not Marathons
When you drive business change and digital initiatives with Cloud, Mobile, Social, and Big Data (and Internet of Things), successful businesses think a series of sprints, not marathons.
Successful businesses go digital by transforming their customer experiences, their employee experiences, and their back-office experiences through rapid prototyping, building proofs-of-concept, testing pilots, and going to production. It’s a fast cycle of prototype –> pilot –> POC –> production.
These short cycles create rapid learning loops, build momentum, and help adapt for change.
In the book, Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation, George Westerman, Didier Bonnet, and Andrew McAfee, share some of their lessons learned in driving digital initiatives and agile transformation.
The Digital World Moves Quickly
Avoid Big Up Front Design. Whenever there is a big lag time between designing it, developing it, and using it, you’re introducing more risk. You’re breaking feedback loops. You’re falling into the pit of analysis paralysis. Focus on “just enough design” so that you can test what works and what doesn’t, and respond accordingly.
Via Leading Digital:
“The digital world moves quickly. The rapid pace of technology innovation today does not lend itself to multiyear planning and waterfall development methods common in the ERP era. Markets change, new technologies become mainstream, an disruptive entrants begin courting your customers. Your roadmap will need to be nimble enough to recognize these changes, adapt for them, and course-correct.”
Keep a Vision in Mind and Build on Success Along the Way
Hold on to the vision and use that to guide you as you test your ideas and implement them, without getting bogged down.
Via Leading Digital:
“To design an agile transformation, borrow an approach that has become common among today's leading software companies. Keep people committed to the end goal, but pace your initiatives as short sprints of effort. Create prototype solutions, and experiment with new technologies or approaches. Evaluate the results, and incorporate the results into your evolving roadmap. Adam Brotman, Starbucks CDO, explained the iterative process: 'We didn't have all the answers, but we started thinking about other things we could do ... I think it worked not to go too far, too fast, but to keep a vision in mind and keep building on success along the way.”
Test Ideas, Save Time, Adapt to Changes
Short cycle times help you respond to market change and adapt as you learn what works and what doesn’t.
Via Leading Digital:
“The test-and-learn approach will require some new ways of working in its own right, but it enjoys some distinct advantages. By marketing ideas quickly before they go to scale, this approach saves time and money. It's short cycle times also make it more adaptive to external changes. Finally, it enables your transformation to sustain momentum through small, incremental successes, rather than the big-bang approach of long-term programs.”
When it comes to your digital strategy and driving business transformation, drive your business change the agile way.
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