#DX101 : Part II. Don't stop the music...

In my previous article I briefly introduced some of the criteria you can use to identify relevant candidate processes for #DigitalTransformation. Once you have a process in hand the real journey starts... but, where to start?

When I was younger I used to "sing" in a metal-band. Together with friends who were significantly more talented than me, but that's beside the point. The point I wanted to make here is that you can draw parallels here too. Where does a good song start? Typically it's a "riff" or a "hook", which would peak an artist's interest and would then be improved upon and finally become their next song. So let's say that process you have already identified is your "hook", your trigger to dive deeper into the rabbit hole.

When we have our "hook" or "riff"; the business process we need to change, we need to determine what actually can be changed.

On the one hand you might want to think about practical things like the systems, platforms, rules, regulations, laws and cultures that are in play here. But as we're talking about #DigitalTransformation I want to distill this down to these two main questions:

1. Can we transform (parts of) the process?
2. Can we automate (parts of) the process?

These two are not mutually exclusive and I feel process transformation and process automation are two axes on which you can perform #DigitalTransformation. And from my experience an exceptional #DX program will score high on both metrics. I will talk about the practicalities and capabilities associated with these two axis in my next articles.

For now: let's make sure the music keeps playing. Keep talking about #DX-candidates. Work with your teams to uncover the changes that you can make and, maybe more importantly, what you cannot change. As #DX is an ever evolving concept and the potential is growing each and every day, what's impossible today might be viable tomorrow. Stay tuned for my next posts.

What do you currently see as the biggest challenge to #DX-initiatives?