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

A series of green arrows pointing right cut through a chaotic background of red arrows pointing in random directions. Small metallic tokens with green centres are placed along the green arrows, symbolising order, focus, and direction amid disorder.

MONSON: From chaos to control

Cassandra Wallace
19/5/2025

You know what chaos looks like – disjointed systems, endless manual data entry, staff wasting hours updating spreadsheets while shipments sit idle, and customers left waiting, wondering, chasing updates again and again.

Read more
Colourful graphic for the 2025 ARN Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA), featuring the text "ARN WIICTA Women in ICT Awards 2025" on the left and a gold banner with the word "WINNER!" on the right, set against a vibrant background of purples, blues, and pinks with bokeh-style light effects.

Kiandra’s Cassandra Wallace wins Women in ICT Award

Tom Wills
19/5/2025

Kiandra is proud to announce that Cassandra Wallace, Head of Software Engineering, has been named a winner in the 2025 ARN Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA), taking out top honours in the Shining Star category.

Read more
A healthcare professional wearing blue scrubs and a stethoscope uses a digital tablet in a clinical setting.

From 12 months to 5: WA Health's medical invoicing system delivered rapidly with low-code

Cassandra Wallace
14/5/2025

When the WA Health system needed to replace a 25-year-old platform used to manage and process payments for more than 1,000 contracted medical professionals, the pressure was on.

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