The session opened with this brand’s senior IT leaders talking us through how they and their team approach transforming products, services and processes around digital outcomes. It’s a globally recognised brand, found in practically every home that has children.

 

The significant point can be found in a word in the opening sentence above: outcomes.

 

Rather than focussing on outputs, this brand concentrates on having its executive board focus on what the digital outcome will be. So, instead of proposing a new payment process, for example, the project is pitched as one that will improve the consumer payment experience. By putting the onus on how the user experience will change, the project becomes less driven by timescales and more on improvements.

 

They were honest in explaining why they take this approach. Roadmaps with dates are all very well, but large transformational projects do not run smoothly. New challenges appear out of nowhere and have no respect for timelines. Their advice is to remind senior stakeholders that any plan or date is only good for day one. Day two is always different.