Evaluation and Measurement of Digital Transformation

MEASUREMENT AND FEEDBACK

Many organizations measure many things, but often there is still a scramble to actually find anything out. Hence, this advisory is not just about measuring everything you can, even if you don’t need the data with immediate effect. It is also about sharing data within your own organization. Gleaning information from data analysis should be a regular
occurrence, as should be the publication of it for ready access by those who need it.

Data of interest can be customer-centric or internal and there are some departments that should be fully abreast of it at all times. You should review what tools and frameworks for measurement are in place and whether the information they provide completely meets your needs.

BRAND CONTINUITY

As the net of transformation is cast wider, there is an increasing number of touchpoints where the brand is enforced and perceived. Some of these will have allowed a great deal of control over every nuance of the design process, such as your website. Others, however, often slip through the net of design criteria, resulting in a clear visual disconnect and difference in usability. This is frequently to the detriment of how the brand is perceived.

Anomalies such as differing hostnames in URLs are arguably for the more pedantic to ponder, but the typography, color scheme, logo placement and ease of use should all be equivalent. Corporate brand guidelines usually attempt to enforce these aspects, but can frequently be restricted in their implementation due to limitations imposed by third-party systems, typically transactional ones. It’s up to you to decide what is acceptable, though the advice offered here with respect to new procurements is that they should all be current and flexible enough to accommodate
modern styling standards.

COST

Perhaps the most dominant influencer in digital transformation is cost, especially for smaller organizations. It’s also the biggest variable and constantly needs reviewing as markets evolve and service providers become more competitive. That’s not to say the cheapest is best, but most expensive isn’t necessarily best either. It is always worth being aware of what you’re spending and what you’re getting in return, and whether this still equates to value in the current climate. Also, ask yourself if you are getting the best deal from your existing provider. Embracing your options, as opposed to sticking to expensive legacy systems with no comparable benefits, is a way to recover budget that can be used to further other transformation initiatives.

MAINTENANCE, PERFORMANCE, AND UPGRADES

Some of the more obvious signs of progress in digital transformation are availability,  stability and improved performance. More recent digital initiatives have aimed to simplify these aspects through service providers in the cloud. Resistance to upgrades can be an obstacle to progress and may be fostered by a perception of increased workload due to rollout, troubleshooting and supporting users. In reality, many upgrades don’t possess that steep a learning curve and there is a definite benefit in having a workforce that is up to date with commonplace digital tools.
Faster connections, round the clock access and higher-bandwidth content all contribute to additional server loads. Assess if the performance that affects the end user is acceptable e.g. page load time, content buffering, etc.

PARTNERS AND COLLABORATION

With teams that need to collaborate, though situated on different sites and across geographical borders, it is important to provide facilities that not only enable communication in real time but do so reliably and are easy to invoke. Video conferencing, screen sharing, shared drives and collaborative project tools, such as
issue trackers, are readily available and affordable. Use of these should be commonplace in a digitally transformed organization. Are your partners demonstrative of an equal commitment to digital transformation – do they willingly embrace and/or provide collaboration tools and adopt supporting project methodologies? These should be expected attributes in your procurement process.