All too often there is a huge gap between what we know
and what we do in practice.
This is true in the case of business transformation. We know
from research and from experience that the crucial factor leading
to success with IT projects is to have an explicit focus on
business benefits and on realising value through business
change.
I have just finished writing an academic paper with some
colleagues that summarises the findings from a research project
that involved looking at 25 different IT projects in large
organisations in a variety of sectors around the world including
oil, manufacturing, retail and public sector. The projects covered
a wide range of scenarios including e-commerce, customer portals,
employee purchasing and sales force automation.
We chose projects that were successful in technical terms and
explored the extent to which there was a focus on business
transformation and benefits realisation.
All the projects provided some sort of statement of the business
problem and the goals of the project, and in a number of cases
there was some awareness of the issues of business transformation.
But in none of the cases were the projects run to deliver business
transformation – each one was focused on the delivery of a
technology solution.
The technical solutions were delivered through a customer
focused, agile development process, but there was no focus on the
overall business process changes, education – other than how to use
the system – or the ownership and measurement of the wider business
changes required to realise the benefits.
All our evidence suggests that the organisations were happy with
this situation. They were very pleased just to get the IT solutions
quickly and successfully delivered.
In a second sample of 20 projects we saw much the same. In this
group some of the projects were seen by some stakeholders within
the organisation as having a transformation focus because there was
a clear business case.
But the actual project was still planned and resourced to
deliver a technology solution. In other organisations, projects
started off as transformation projects with a focus on benefits
realisation, but as they progressed IT solution delivery took
over.
In all of these cases there was a very big gap between what we
know and what was done in practice. We know that business
transformation requires a multi-disciplinary approach with strong
business leadership and a focus on benefits realisation, but we
still end up with a project team delivering technology
solutions.
For many organisations this gap between what we know, and often
say, and what we do in practice is a chasm and it is hard to cross.
And as our research has shown, many organisations are still on the
wrong side of the chasm.
For the CIO and senior IT management this is a crucial
opportunity. The prize in terms of strategic influence and
contribution to the organisation is great if you can genuinely make
the shift from technology solution delivery to enabling and leading
business transformation.
Organisations that have crossed the chasm will be competent in
four key areas.
First, a portfolio management approach will be in place, which
ensures broad involvement in identifying new opportunities and
allows phased investment to deliver insights and build
capability.
The level of investment and the approach taken to each project
are matched to the contribution to the business, and investment
appraisal criteria reflect the different types of projects.
Second, there is a common approach to transformation across the
organisation. It addresses key aspects of the organisation
including people, space, leadership, process, performance measures
and enabling technology.
The foundation for this approach is a focus on benefits and the
changes required to deliver them. There is also a major emphasis on
developing people with transformation skills and equipping them
with a practical toolkit to allow multi-disciplinary working.
The third key factor is recognition that successful completion
of the project is just the start. Projects are reviewed and lessons
are learnt and acted on.
Managers across the organisation give priority to realising
value from improved information and exploiting the new capabilities
delivered by the transformation programmes. Resources are provided
to support ongoing education and continuous improvement initiatives
that continue to realise further value from the technology.
The last area of competency is a flexible IT infrastructure that
enables rapid delivery of new business initiatives. The facilities
provide by the infrastructure are exploited by the business areas
and by the transformation teams delivering new business systems and
services.
The programme is not just about the IT function. The challenge
for the CIO is to look across the organisation and work as a
leader, facilitator and educator to help develop these
organisation-wide competencies and skills.
The next steps will vary from organisation to organisation.
There is no single right answer. A vital factor is to recognise
that making the shift to business transformation is itself a major
transformation programme and requires vision and leadership.
A starting point for many is to review recently completed
projects and try to provide an opportunity to learn and improve.
However, the activity needs to be carefully planned and run to
avoid creating a blame game or witch hunt. This can start a process
of learning and change.
A key element will then be to focus on a few pilot projects and
ensure these adopt a transformation approach from beginning to end.
This will provide valuable learning for a core group and for the
organisation as a whole.
An education programme for key players and subsequently for the
wider organisation should be established as a major element of the
overall programme. We must avoid making the same mistake we do with
IT projects and underestimating the importance of education.
A further important step is to review the current project
portfolio while considering past, current and future projects.
There will be opportunities to take action to realise greater value
from completed projects and also to intervene to increase the value
to be realised from current projects. This may require you to make
a hard decision and terminate a project. Although this will be
painful in the short term the potential benefits are high.
This is a huge opportunity for the CIO and IT management team.
Plan the transformation carefully. Get good advice and then take it
step by step, learning as you go.
Colin Ashurst is senior teaching fellow, programme director
of the executive masters in business transformation and chief
information officer at Durham Business School
Steps to transformation success
A later stage of the research included a case study at a UK
local council, which adopted the following techniques for
success:
- The organisation established a clear set of goals for a
three-year transformation programme affecting key areas of
service.
- A strong leader with experience of major transformation
projects was given responsibility for the overall business
transformation programme. This required a lot of time and effort,
including working closely with key team members.
- There was a huge emphasis on getting the right people involved
and in developing skills through education and coaching. The aim
was to build a business transformation capability within the
organisation.
- Broad training across all levels of managers to introduce key
aspects of a framework for transformation, including an emphasis on
risk management and lessons learned.
- A core transformation team with a strong mix of skills,
particularly change management, and the ability to provide support
and advice to the project teams.
- There was an emphasis on keeping it simple and getting the
basics right.
- There was a common view of IT as an enabler of transformation
and change rather than the solution in itself.
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