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Digital practices are crucial in supporting and especially sustaining business transformation(s). Rolling out new or revamping digital practices can be challenging. Rolling them out during large transformation(s) will add additional complexity. The process may feel like an uphill task with lots of obstacles.
I had the privilege of leading the rollout of multiple practices, such as Enterprise Architecture, Resiliency, Solution Architecture, Agile Office, Integration Services, Product Development, Product Management, and others. I tried to summarize my learnings into a ten-step approach (followed by continuous improvement) for successful practice implementation.
1) "Start with why"Â (Simon Sinek)Â and clearly list "success criteria."
List out prioritized goals with a simple and easy-to-understand mission.
This may involve collaborating with multiple organizations, leaders, and co-workers.
2) Identify key stakeholders:Â Decision-makers, Key influencers, Impacted individuals, etc.
3) Understand the Current state:Â what is working well, gaps, pain points, etc.
4) Define the Target state with a list of services offered in order of priority. Make sure cost models are understood and ROI expectations are clear.
5) Assess the organization's willingness and readiness for the people-process-technology perspective change.
6) Articulate Your Needs List out dependencies and 'ask from leadership'.
7) Define the team's guiding principles and operating model (key roles and responsibilities).
8) Build the right team. You are as good as your team! Assess the current team, and augment it with the right talent. Daniel Pink's Autonomy-mastery-purpose framework resonated and worked very well for me.
9) Lay out Journey/Road map with a high-level incremental rollout plan and timelines. Showcasing progress is very important to gain credibility, awareness, and alignment.
10) Broadly communicate the change management plan at every stage.
All the above items may need lots of discussions, workshops, and negotiations. It demands lots of patience and grit. Get ready for a bumpy ride!
Few key considerations:
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- Using the Now-Next-Later format to prioritize your goals is a great way to align across the organization.
- Communicate roadmaps in various settings. Repetition is vital for individuals to comprehend the change.
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- Use industry-standard maturity model to measure progress and showcase the progress.
- A sense of urgency is essential for the practice's success.
- Check, adjust, and, when necessary, pivot.
- Continuously seek feedback from customers and team members to understand needs and remove blind spots.
I am very fortunate to have a fantastic team and senior leadership support. The credit goes to the team for working with great engagement and commitment.Â
I sincerely thank my leadership team, my wife and son for many things, including editing and suggesting changes to this article.
Remember, rolling out new practice is a marathon, not a sprint, but the journey is tons of fun (with a little bit of frustration) and fulfilling.
Please feel free to message me if I can help with anything specific. Good luck!
Thanks for reading!