Kiandra Insights

The Digital Transformation Journey

Ricky Mutsaers - Kiandra Marketing Manager
by
Ricky Mutsaers
|
September 17, 2020
Ricky Mutsaers
September 17, 2020
A figure being held back with a rope by another figure - indicating the importance of engaging people for digital transformation

We recently hosted a webinar where one of our discovery gurus, Damien, talked about recent work we did with a utilities company, and how important being agile and transparent was in the face of a challenging innovation impasse.

The client was struggling to move the project forward due to a raft of issues. But the single biggest hurdle they faced was engaging their people.

You see, John the 25-year veteran was a little tired of repeated attempts at changing the way he worked. They’d failed over and over again. So, he needed a little more convincing that this time the effort was worth it.

And that was just John.

Across the client’s business there were dozens of stakeholders with a vested interest. So, during discovery and through the project lifecycle we made a lot of small adjustments to how we worked with the business, to get the insights we needed and build project momentum. Here’s how we did it.

DOWNLOAD THE 5 TIPS NOW

Engage the Business

  • Don’t work on the project behind closed doors, keep them open and engage everyone from your end users to your developers, and your executives
  • Take the time to listen to your end users and learn from what they have to say
  • Be flexible in your approach to reaching end users. What works in your discovery plan may not work in the real world.  

Give Users a Glimpse of The Future  

  • Take discovery feedback and tackle the big issues early on. Addressing the tough challenges early is a great way to build credibility fast
  • Prototypes can help you demonstrate real progress, and new tools make creating them faster and easier than ever
  • Get your end users hands on as early as possible. Not only will it generate interest, you’ll also discover things you might have missed before

Immerse the Team in Your Project

  • Forget the traditional client/partner relationship. You’re one team now! Maintain daily contact and open lines of communication to problem solve or make leaps in progress    
  • Make the most of collaboration tools — especially in 2020. There are plenty of tools to share ideas, chat and meet over video and collaborate
  • No one likes surprises on software projects so embrace honesty and keep the everyone fully informed over the journey.

Embrace and Exploit Change

  • Doing the hard work in Discovery makes change a lot more manageable further into the project. It’s much easier to make small adjustments than completely change course
  • Change is constant, so keep the dialogue flowing. If something isn’t right, make it known early and it can be fixed
  • Be open to insights. They’ll appear through the project so be open to adjusting as the project develops.  
Hold Hands Through UAT and Go-Live
  • It’s not sink or swim. Launch day shouldn’t be stressful, so be flexible with timing. It’s better to launch awesome software a few days late, than launch and troubleshoot for months  
  • Great software doesn’t need a complex user guide. Reference guides and video tutorials help great UX
  • Unite as a team and celebrate success. You’ve earned it!  

At the end of the day, a successful project relies on more than the subject matter expertise of the client and the technical skills of a partner. Successful projects break down traditional barriers of the client and partner relationships to work as a single unit — creating complete transparency, sharing of knowledge and enabling honest conversations. The ability to foster such a way of working is the minimum any delivery partner should bring to the table in your next project.

DOWNLOAD THE 5 TIPS NOW

Share article
LinkedIn.com

More insights

Aerial view of a commercial airplane taxiing on an airport runway, casting a sharp shadow. The aircraft is centred with visible engine nacelles and wing structure, surrounded by intersecting taxiway lines and concrete markings.

Common challenges in the travel industry and how AI can solve them 

Cassandra Wallace
7/7/2025

Travel businesses need systems that do the work with faster quotes, smarter pricing, and better traveller experiences. We’ve mapped the common travel challenges in the industry, and exactly how AI can solve them.

Read more
Illustration of a person holding a glowing tablet displaying "AI", surrounded by abstract data streams, charts and lines symbolising artificial intelligence and information flow.

Delivering AI projects with purpose: real lessons from the trenches

Aarti Nagpal
7/7/2025

AI isn’t some futuristic toy we’re tinkering with on the side. It’s already woven into the way we get work done at Kiandra. Whether it's helping sift through mountains of invoices or modernising stubborn legacy code, we’re using AI to tackle the headaches that come with real-world software delivery.

Read more
Aerial view of a cargo port at night showing a large container ship being loaded or unloaded by cranes. The scene is illuminated with industrial lighting and features overlay graphics of connected white dots and curved lines, representing a digital or AI-powered logistics network.

Rethinking logistics with AI: real challenges with real solutions

Cassandra Wallace
2/7/2025

In transport and logistics, most operators don’t need to be sold on the benefits of AI, they just need a clear path to making it work. This blog post outlines the most common challenges we see across logistics businesses, and how AI, when implemented correctly, can solve them and improve performance.

Read more

Let’s discuss your next project

Whether you’re curious about custom software or have a specific problem to solve – we’re here to answer your questions. Fill in the following form, and we’ll be in touch soon.

Email

Would you like to receive an occasional email showcasing the latest insights, articles and news from our team of software experts?

Thanks for reaching out! One of our software experts will be in
touch soon to help you with your enquiry
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By browsing our website you consent to the use of cookies as detailed in our Privacy Policy