Thoughts from our new partner Ari-Pekka Pelkonen
I’ve worked for many years on large transformation projects in finance and insurance, and for the past 8 years at Spark Studio. Transformations are long and complicated projects that span from months to even years. Very few succeed with grace, and for a good reason: nobody transports the change from start to finish. This is what we at Bofor have changed with our new Transportation team, a specialized team that will drive change projects from paper to practice.
My time at the helm of these projects has made it clear that success is always built on these three foundations: A) Team B) Ownership C) Pragmatism. When these three points are in place and internalized by the team and by the customer, the chances for success are vastly better.
Success starts with a committed team and strong ownership
You need a core team that drives your change from the strategy phase all the way to a mature, measurable solution that is live and in use. The old way was to split the project into stages and have a different team of specialists for each stage. And at the end of each stage, the team hands over the work to the next team, which then hands it over to the next team, making sure that a lot of information is lost in the handovers. To make things worse, companies don’t always even trust their project teams! Instead of giving ownership, they have oversight. This slows or even stops the development. The project has no chance of succeeding. No no and no.
There must be enough expertise and experience in the team that the customer can give it measurable goals but also the freedom to find the solutions to meet these goals.
Pragmatic decisions making develops business operations
There can never be a perfect solution, and if there is, it will be for a problem nobody no longer has. So you need to go live with partial solutions right away when they are ready. Going live fast starts the feedback loop that helps you refine your solution further. This requires that you have to make lots of pragmatic decisions. Changes need to happen fast and need to be tightly coordinated by your trusted team.
Also, you can’t expect IT to be agile if your business operations aren’t. Be prepared to make changes with every development iteration to your business operations. Embrace the journey of change, even if it means more work or even new hires.
We are ready to drive your transformation!
Bofor and Spark Studio have developed Bofor Transportation to help our customers succeed in their digital transformation. We’ve set up a team and fine-tuned our methods and ways of working and now we are ready to start. Fasten your seatbelts and let our Bofor Transportation Teams help you achieve the transformation you desire.