How to build a robust digital transformation strategy

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Author: Andrew Nieman, Co-Founder  of Arro Labs

For every headline announcing a company’s digital transformation, there are rarely follow-up stories about failures. However, brands like GE, Ford, and Procter & Gamble have set a precedent by openly sharing their digital transformation challenges and lessons learned. These cases reveal a common thread: failed digital transformations frequently stem from failed communication.

This is because building technology is more of a communication challenge than anything else. A critical element that often determines the success or failure of that communication is a digital roadmap.  A well-structured digital roadmap guides a company’s efforts and leads to significant operational cost savings for companies with a few hundred or a few thousand employees.

A digital roadmap offers a clear, long-term vision of experience goals and supporting technology integrations, which helps align technology investments with true business goals. It should outline major themes, business objectives, and initiatives needed to achieve these objectives. Moreover, mapping dependencies ensures that every initiative is grounded in reality, helping to manage risks and avoid costly pitfalls.

Building a Digital Roadmap

Here are four critical factors to keep in mind while building a roadmap:

1. Planning: Aim for a Three-Year Outlook
   One of the critical considerations in building a robust digital roadmap is aiming for a long-term perspective. While many companies limit their planning to one year due to budgeting cycles, leading digital enterprises like Starbucks and Nike plan for three to five years. “If your roadmap looks less than three years ahead, you’re only focusing on BAU tasks—not innovation,” says Tess Rethore, Head of Product Management at Chicago-based Arro Labs. This long-term vision allows companies to anticipate trends and prepare for future needs rather than merely reacting to the present.
2. Cross-Functional Input: Breaking Down Silos
   Another essential aspect is cross-functional input. Large organisations often face communication challenges due to siloed departments, leading to overlapping or competing projects. A well-executed digital roadmap focuses on value streams rather than functional departments, requiring input from stakeholders across the organisation. This approach can lead to significant cost savings, reducing project churn and inefficiencies. By involving diverse teams in the planning process, companies can ensure that their digital strategies are comprehensive and aligned with the broader business objectives. This can lead them to save 10-20% of their operating costs.
3. Leveraging Advanced Tools: Increase Efficiency
   Traditional tools like PowerPoint and Excel are often insufficient for managing the complexities of a digital roadmap. Mature organisations should consider more advanced tools that facilitate real-time collaboration and integration with other project management systems. Tools such as Roadmunk offer clear visualisations of priorities, dependencies, and milestones, providing a single source of truth for all stakeholders. This helps avoid version control issues and ensures that decisions are based on the most current information.
4. Mapping Dependencies: Improve Team Collaboration
   It is crucial to prioritise projects and map out dependencies. For example, if the marketing team’s initiative to capture advanced customer data depends on IT’s CRM replacement project, realistic timelines must be established, and accountability must be maintained. Understanding these dependencies helps manage expectations and coordinate efforts across departments.

Getting Started with Digital Roadmapping

Despite its importance, many organisations struggle with initiating a digital roadmap. Kathy Hlavac, Head of Research & Design at Arro Labs, recommends starting with a series of cross-functional workshops led by experienced facilitators. These workshops help clarify team projects, address funding and progress issues, and align leadership on the digital strategy.

As capital planning within large organisations becomes increasingly competitive, having a well-structured digital roadmap is essential for securing project funding. Projects get approved by people, not companies. Convincing the right people of a project’s urgency and where it fits within the organisation’s broader plans is key to obtaining approval – and an organised digital roadmap is very effective at showcasing this.

Quoting CNBC, “People aren’t the problem; it’s the organisation’s failure to communicate effectively with its people that set them up for digital transformation trouble from the start.”

This emphasises the importance of building a digital roadmap. It’s more than just a planning tool; it is a strategic asset that can guide teams through the inevitable complexities of a digital transformation.

By investing in a comprehensive digital roadmap, business leaders can enhance team communication, reduce costs, and drive innovation, which is essential for remaining ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive environment. 

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