Your Go-To Digital Transformation Roadmap Checklist

Successful digital transformation means more than just flipping a switch on a new piece of technology. It’s an evolutionary journey for every employee within an organization. While that journey should be flexible and agile enough to adapt quickly to the ever-changing technology landscape, organizations should follow thorough digital transformation roadmaps to move toward shared goals.

Technology might be a big part of digital transformation, but IT leaders shouldn’t be the only ones who develop and follow digital transformation roadmaps. Instead, companies should engage stakeholders across the organization to create cross-functional teams. These digital transformation teams should include employees with IT, business, and customer experience skills to translate business terms and processes into digital initiatives and understand how those initiatives will impact customers.

Digital Transformation Roadmap Checklist

Digital transformation journeys will look different for every company, but each roadmap should include a few common steps: 

1. Clarify goals and objectives

Setting an end target should be the first step of any transformation initiative. First, define what digital transformation means in terms that make sense for your organization. Remember: Technology itself doesn’t create transformation; the impact technology has on the business does.

Whether you are turning to technology to bring in more customers, catch up to competitors, streamline processes, or any other number of achievable business goals, identify a distinct need that your technology initiatives will help you reach. Then, design your digital transformation strategy to deliver on those goals. Create data-informed benchmarks along the way to measure incremental progress toward the overarching objective.

2. Develop open lines of communication

Digital transformation initiatives will have little impact on a business without employee commitment to drive them. Cross-functional teams guiding transformation efforts should engage employees across the entire organization and communicate the value of the initiative. Adopting new technology and transforming workflows and processes is no small task for employees, so show them what they have to gain.

After gaining initial buy-in, remember to keep lines of communication open throughout the journey. Encourage employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and anyone else who will feel the impact of your transformation initiatives to share feedback along the way. Listen and adapt as you go.

3. Invest in the right digital tools

Technology—whether it’s cloud computing power, automated processes, software extensions, etc.—has the power to help you overcome whatever it is that’s holding your business back. But remember that digital transformation is not solely about technology. It’s about why you need it and how you use it to move toward your goals. Choose digital systems and technologies with your end targets in mind. If a tool doesn’t support forward momentum toward your digital transformation goals, find a better option that does.

When multidisciplinary teams engage the entire organization to develop comprehensive digital transformation roadmaps and execute strategically with end goals in mind, businesses can go beyond simply adopting new technology to truly transforming their businesses for the better. To find out how CTG can help, get in touch today.

contact the CTG Team