Applied Digital : Can Some Projects Be Too Complex for Digital Solutions?
In this new episode of our "Applied Digital" podcast, David Alexandre Hamel, VP of Strategy, CX and design, joined by Julie Lortie-Pelletier, Product owner, talk to Estelle Hernandez, Marketing Director, about the way nventive manages complex projects. To illustrate, David and Julie rely on the configurator nventive designed for Hadrian. Discover the main ideas discussed in this episode!
Complex Processes Are Obstacles to Digital Transformation
When we ask companies in Québec to share what they think about their digital transformation’s state of advancement, here is what they have to say (source: Les Affaires survey. ‘‘Maturité numérique : où en sont les entreprises québécoises?’’):
- 30% of them feel they are in advance.
- 44% consider themselves neither in advance nor late
- 26% feel they are late
Indeed, 70% of companies don’t consider themselves to be in the right phase of their digital transformation compared with other players in the industry.
More importantly: among the main obstacles identified to begin a digital transformation, 21% mention the lack of knowledge and the complexity of processes.
Today, the goal is to show how we can master and channel complexity to transform it into a digital solution.
The Main Issues We See in a Complex Project
For each complex project, companies face three recurring issues:
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Broken information: In all projects deemed complex, information access problems can occur. Manual entry is subject to error, as are information imports and exports, and blocked access to certain information. The causes of broken information are numerous, and we must identify and correct them if necessary.
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Complexity and the number of business rules to follow: Depending on each company, their presence in different countries, and all the precise requirements they must follow, the number of business rules is high. It is also common that these rules are known to a mere handful of experts, without getting automatically documented or updated. In other cases, business rules have accumulated and have become obsolete with passing time.
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Business continuity: Every company needs to be able to develop a digital solution while maintaining access to the old system up to the last minute. In doing so, we can meet the needs of clients and users.
Facing these issues and challenges enables us to both create a digital solution that suits all needs, and to improve the company processes in a global manner.
Our Method to Untangle Complexity
To manage complex projects, it is crucial that our experts follow a key methodology:
- Understanding the context: We must determine the goals, the market in which the company is evolving, and its users. Indeed, the users have developed habits while using the product to be replaced, which is an important point to consider.
- Formulate a product vision: The goal here is to provide budget estimates to create a comprehensive digital product that aligns with the company’s time and financial resources.
- Prioritize the functionalities to implement: Generally, our experts start with a focus on functionalities that bring the most value, or that improve security the most. Thus, establishing priorities allows us to quickly tackle the most important issues.
A Clear Vision on What Our Teams Need
At this stage, the Product owner’s role is paramount: it is then that the project’s requirements and mission are explained to the teams who will be working on it.
For our teams, the secret is also to split each phase of a complex project to focus on one step at a time: that is the AGILE method’s role.
This same method allows us to communicate every two weeks with the client to adapt our efforts.
Want to know more? You can listen to our podcast today! (in French only) Enjoy.