In the previous articles, I proposed that you should discover the strategy, and the first step to do so is defining a hypothesis. Now, I will share three alternatives to star executing an MVP Strategy for Digital Transformation.
1. New organization
If changing the actual organization is going to take too much time and cost, then you should create a new one. That will allow you to summon people with the mindset you are looking for and the best technology for your context.
This alternative is unpopular because nobody wants to take a radical decision. However, soon or later, you will have to consider it because other alternatives didn’t work as expected or your competition is growing faster than you.
Here are some pros and cons.
Advantages:
No impact on the actual business
Summon only people with the right mindset
Create products or services focus entirely on customer experience
No resistance to change, legacy software or traditional processes
Disadvantages:
Find the right talent will be hard
High investment is required
Partial or wholly loose of the original brand
Release an MVP will take more time than other alternatives
2. Disruption
If you want to keep the same organization and experiment with a new culture, technology, and frameworks; then form a cross-functional and empowered team. So look for people in your organization that want to test, learn for their mistakes, and challenge the status quo. Innovation lab o innovation center is the most common name for that team, although some organizations avoid with passion those words.
It is the most popular alternative but be careful because creating that team doesn’t mean you are transforming an organization. The real challenge is finding a way to persuade the traditional organization to adopt the mindset in that team.
Here are some pros and cons.
Advantages:
Learn new frameworks and technologies in a controlled environment
Release MVPs faster than other alternatives
If needed, you can use service or tools that already exist so you can focus only on customer experience
Persuade traditional teams to test new frameworks
Disadvantages:
Find the right talent will be hard
Traditional teams could be jealous of this new team
Pressure for scaling to the entire organization
Dependence with existing processes and technologies
3. Big Bang
If you are sure that you can change an entire organization at the same time, then start executing. Define the new structure and roles. Train everyone in the new processes, technologies, and frameworks. And finally, make whatever you have to do to change their mindsets.
The more people the organization has, the riskier it will be to take this alternative. Some consultant firms or frameworks will propose that changing a culture is just a project for defining and adopting new processes, but it is not! However, sometimes you need to try and fail so the organization leaders can understand the complexity of digital transformation.
It is hard to find a real advantage for this alternative. So I’m only going to share the main disadvantages.
Disadvantages:
Current business will have an impact
It is going to be difficult or impossible to change everyone’s mindset
It will be expensive to modify the strategy because every change includes a lot of people and processes at the same time.
You will lose a lot of time and money if it doesn’t work as you expected
What decision should you take?
Everything depends on the size and culture you have. In my experience, every day, I feel surer that the only way to change a big organization is by creating a new one. Nevertheless, there is still room to test and experiment; I mean, you can combine or adapt these alternatives and discover something that works for you.
Finally, organization leaders should make a decision. Do not try to find the correct answer, because it doesn’t exist. Remember that the Digital Transformation Hypothesis only last six months, so you can change your mind later on if it is needed.
Team Roles
In the next article, I will share what roles you need to start with this journey.