BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
The Necessity for Agile Framework for your Digital Transformation
Digital transformation has become the way ahead for organizations in a digital marketplace. Customers have shifted to a digital domain and businesses need to connect with them digitally.
Digital transformation entails adopting digital technologies and restructuring the organization’s framework to adapt to technological innovations. It is a top-down approach where business leaders need to implement digital transformation initiatives that percolate to the lower levels of the organization. Digital transformation is an ongoing process where businesses need to continually adapt to the dynamic marketplace and unpredictable customer behavior. Automation technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Big Data, etc., are spearheading the digital transformation initiatives of organizations.
However, most organizations in their digital transformation journeys face several roadblocks that deter their progress. The most effective way to overcome these challenges is by adopting agility. An agile organization can easily adapt to any internal or external changes.
What is Agility?
Agility is a test-and-learn process. In an agile environment, the system is divided into sprints of one to three weeks. Each sprint has its own goals. The entire team collaborates to achieve these goals. The movement from one goal to the next is determined by the entire team.
The crux of agility is the focus on quality over rules. The agile framework involves a steady process wherein iterations are performed. Teams learn from their mistakes and automate improvements.
What Role does an *Agile Framework Play in Digital Transformation?
Some of the bottlenecks faced in digital transformation are:
- Implementing complex software and technology.
- Learning new tools and processes.
- Managing cybersecurity issues.
- Coping with budget restraints.
- Leveraging technology effectively to address changing customer expectations.
- Facilitating a seamless transition to the digital domain.
An agile approach facilitates seamless digital transformation because the transformational journey is divided into short phases or sprints. Teams work collaboratively in each phase. They perform several iterations and rectify their mistakes before moving on to the next phase. They learn from the results and build effective strategies as they proceed.
Agile resolves several operational issues by offering an iterative, time-boxed approach that enables teams to practice new skills. It fosters skill development as it is open to failure. An agile approach includes clients in its deliberations thereby enhancing customer experience. Agile businesses address all security issues before moving ahead in their digital journey.
An agile framework for digital transformation offers better value to users. Besides, fewer mistakes reduce costs.
Agility does not function according to a fixed plan but is adaptive. Unlike traditional systems that follow a top-down approach, agility offers control to teams at different levels.
Legacy systems follow a metric evaluation of strategies after their implementation. But, an agile framework periodically reviews the efficacy of its methodology and improves it.
Many organizations on their digital journeys build inflexible and standardized processes that are not focused on the end-user. The efficacy of an agile system is assessed based on whether or not it satisfies the end user.
Why is an Agile Framework Essential for Digital Transformation?
Collaborative
The entire team, including clients, collaborates to share inputs that provide results that delight the end users.
Transparency
Agile-based collaborative functioning makes the entire system lucid where each stakeholder feels responsible for the success of the project.
Flexible
Unlike the traditional approach where processes function according to plotted journeys, agile systems work in iterative phases. Several iterations are performed at each phase until the entire team agrees to move forward. This makes agile systems flexible and adaptive.
Fosters Continuous Improvement
Digital transformation is an ongoing process where businesses need to continually evaluate systems and update them. This becomes easier in an agile framework because the digitalization process is in phases.
Enhances Customer Experience
Agile helps businesses offer a better customer experience because the outcomes are measured at each stage and improved so that they are aligned with customer expectations. Agile businesses can adapt quickly to the changes in customer demands and provide outcomes that delight them.
Final Takeaway
In the words of Bill Gates, “Success today requires the agility and drive to constantly rethink, reinvigorate, react, and reinvent.”
This is endorsed by data that indicates that businesses that adopt agile methodology experience a 98% rate of success and 60% higher profits when compared to those that adopt a traditional approach.
*For organizations on the digital transformation journey, agility is key in responding to a rapidly changing technology and business landscape. Now more than ever, it is crucial to deliver and exceed on organizational expectations with a robust digital mindset backed by innovation. Enabling businesses to sense, learn, respond, and evolve like a living organism, will be imperative for business excellence going forward. A comprehensive, yet modular suite of services is doing exactly that. Equipping organizations with intuitive decision-making automatically at scale, actionable insights based on real-time solutions, anytime/anywhere experience, and in-depth data visibility across functions leading to hyper-productivity, Live Enterprise is building connected organizations that are innovating collaboratively for the future.
