Navigating the Challenges of Digital Transformation: OSOS's Proven Strategies

1.???? Introduction

?Many organizations have been late in implementing or failing to implement their digital projects for a variety of various reasons. McKinsey Company stated that 69% of projects fail for a variety of ?various reasons.

According to a 2017 poll done by the Project Management Institute (PMI), "companies have confirmed that 31% of projects to have completed their objectives, 43% were over budget, and 49% were over the agreed framework, while companies have canceled 14% of projects without achieving any results and only 15% of projects were delivered as planned.

I also referred to the CHAOS report by the Standish Group that “19% of projects were over budget, behind schedule, or had limited tasks. Of these projects, 15% were approved as a complete failure, either cancelled without achieving results or never used again.

Conversely, some reports indicate the success of many projects on time due to the clarity of the digital requirements, scopes, readiness, and the presence of professional teams during the implementation period. In contrast, successful projects often have well-defined digital requirements, clear scopes, and the involvement of ready and professional teams.

Digital transformation is not merely a technological upgrade; it is a holistic change management process. At OSOS, we have executed numerous successful projects by focusing on safety, effective execution, and thorough stakeholder engagement.

This article will summarize the critical factors leading to project delivery challenges, which include:

• ?Lack of clearly defined digital transformation objectives.
• Insufficient stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle.
• Disparities in expectations among executives, business owners, and end-users.
• Ambiguous project scope and objectives.
• Uncertainty in defining business needs and requirements.
• A tendency to overlook value delivery.
• Overly aggressive project timelines that do not consider realistic capacities.
• Issues related to resource availability and allocation.
• Lack of seriousness during Trainings.
• Lack of attention to detail during User Acceptance Testing.
• Confusions during the data migration process.
• Complicated integrations and unnecessary customization of systems.

2. How OSOS Manages and Overcomes Most Common Challenges

The following are the most common challenges faced during the project life cycle and how OSOS deals with them.

• Unclear Scope of Work

A well-defined scope is crucial for successful project implementation. OSOS prioritizes understanding and documenting requirements through various project stages. Our team engages functional consultants and business analysts to ensure that all expectations are accurately captured, allowing for smoother and timely deliverables.

• Lack of Stakeholder Involvement

Effective engagement with stakeholders is essential from the onset of any project. At OSOS, we ensure that all relevant stakeholders are included early in the process. For instance, during an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation, finance stakeholders are actively involved in articulating their requirements. This early involvement fosters buy-in and reduces potential resistance during later stages.

• Project Timeline

Companies often place pressure on vendors to shorten project timelines without adequately considering the readiness of the organization. It is crucial for both parties to ensure that data and resources are available. OSOS advocates for collaborative efforts among all involved to avoid unnecessary delays and complications.

• Prioritization

Clients who expect all project deliverables to be completed simultaneously frequently encounter failure. OSOS establishes a clear delivery prioritization strategy—categorizing deliverables as critical, high, medium, or low priority. This approach allows for a more manageable and streamlined implementation process.

• Training

Comprehensive employee training is vital for ensuring successful adoption of new systems. Without proper training, employees may resist the transition to new technologies, leading to claims of complexity and inefficiency. OSOS places significant emphasis on conducting thorough training sessions to mitigate these issues.

• User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

UAT is a critical phase in the project lifecycle, ensuring that the system meets the required specifications before going live. It is imperative that organizations allocate dedicated teams to conduct thorough testing. This proactive approach helps to identify potential issues early, reducing the likelihood of delays post-launch.

• Employee Resistance

Employee resistance can severely impact project success. Setting clear goals and involving employees from the beginning of the project minimizes resistance and conflict. At OSOS, we foster a culture of flexibility and innovation, which is crucial for successful implementation.

A culture of flexibility and innovation should be fostered within the organization,. ?and eEffective use of modern technological tools, and project management methodology should be encouraged, considering the importance of training and qualification of the workforce to successfully keep pace with digital transformation.

3.?OSOS Project Implementation Approach

Every project is unique in various ways, hence the “One Size Fits All” approach will never be successful. Therefore, the approach must be adjusted to the project's needs.

We at OSOS follow the Project Implementation Approach below to ensure providing the best solution with proper implementation and knowledge transfer.

3.1.???????? Project Initiation & Mobilization

Instead of only project initiation and mobilization, as the name implies, this is the stage where expectations are aligned.

• Identify Stakeholders
• Understand executive and stakeholder needs
• Align the expectation
• Plan the strategy and approach
• Agree on Way of Working “WoW”

3.2.???????? Formal Project Kick-off

Upon understanding, align all the expectations and set the stage by formally Kick-off the project.

Kick-off set the tone of the project and get the buy-in from all stakeholders that include but not limited to:

• Project Overview
• Project Timeline
• Project Stakeholders
• Project Governance
• Project Role & Responsibility
• Project Risk and Issues
• Project Assumptions & Constraints
• Project Success Factors
• Project Communications

3.3.???????? Understanding Requirements

At this stage functional scope takes the lead based on the following work streams

1. Standard Implementation
2. Standard Implementation + Customization
3. New Development

OSOS Consultants develops the Functional Requirement Document (FRD) to capture and prioritize the requirement based on the customer's need. For example, Critical (Showstopper), High (Must have), Medium (Should have) and Low (Could have). Therefore, this will help to deliver the value stream based on the priority instead of waiting for all to be completed.

3.4.???????? Solution Design [if needed]?

For substantial enhancements or custom features, OSOS creates detailed solution designs, including user interface mock-ups. This practice allows stakeholders to visualize concepts, reduce complexity, and gather early feedback. This iterative process helps refine the design and ensures alignment with user expectations.

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3.5.???????? Development [if needed]

In case of significant enhancements, development also takes place based on the requirement priority set as Critical (Showstopper), High (Must have), Medium (Should have), and Low (Could have). The value delivery stream should always be the focus.

3.6. Training & Hands-on Experience

To have practical essence, the consultant / trainer provides extensive hands-on training that covers the end-to-end process. This helps business users to familiarize themselves, practice, and be confident with real scenarios. (Depending on the need training may be conducted with real data after master data migration).

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3.7. Data Migration

Data migration is a critical step in the project, involving several key activities:

• Identifying and assessing the data that needs to be migrated.
• Planning data mapping and cleansing to ensure data integrity.
• Validating and verifying data to ensure its accuracy and relevance.

Establishing a data cut-off date is crucial for ensuring a smooth transition and successful implementation.

3.8.???????? User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

UAT is a pivotal phase where the project team assesses the system's readiness for go-live. This phase involves verifying primary use cases and functionalities to ensure that the system meets all requirements before launching.

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3.9.???????? Go Live Preparation & Launch

Following successful UAT, preparations for launch are crucial. Key activities include:

• Creating a go-live document that outlines the final steps for implementation.
• Ensuring that all necessary setups and configurations are complete.
• Preparing training materials and support channels for user’s post-launch.

3.10.???????? Post Go Live Support

To sustain the benefits of the implemented system, OSOS provides ongoing support. This support is vital for ensuring business continuity and addressing any issues that may arise during the initial post-launch period.

4.???? OSOS Project Implementation Methodology

OSOS has the capability and capacity to adopt the implementation methodology to align with the value stream in a way that fast tracks the real value in the organization.

Based on the capacity of the customer’s organization, the implementation methodology is across the implementation phases but in iterative way. This means that value is delivered continuously to the business or users.

Let’s move further in detail to understand the OSOS Way of Working “WoW “and benefits achieved and the delivery to customer.

Above traditional Waterfall and Iterative methodology are two different ways to deliver the solution to the customer. Each has its pros and cons, which may lead to failure in the implementation and benefit realization.

Hence, OSOS believes in continuous business value delivery to customers as we go along. Therefore, we tailored the most suited methodology that supports OSOS beliefs and customer expectations with the hybrid/blended methodology. That merge or intercept or overlap two methodologies traditional Waterfall Methodology and Iterative Methodology as follow

Based on the project nature, phases are decided to phaseout the on a high level to see the benefit delivery as well as bring control over the project to review and support it.

However, some iterations have fewer steps or replacements. For an example, development can be replaced with Customization/Configuration.

Accordingly, each phase delivers value in an iterative cycle that consists of planning, design, development, testing, deployment, Review and Launch.

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For Example,

5. Conclusion

Digital transformation is essential for any business aiming to thrive in today’s competitive and rapidly evolving market. While the journey is often challenging, success is within reach for organizations that prioritize clear objectives, strong stakeholder engagement, realistic timelines, and comprehensive training. By embracing these best practices, businesses can turn potential pitfalls into opportunities for growth and innovation.

At OSOS, we’re committed to guiding organizations through this transformative journey with proven strategies and our "WOW" approach, delivering projects that make a real difference.

Ready to embark on your digital transformation and explore your business's full potential? Connect with OSOS today to begin your journey toward a smarter, more resilient future.

By: Abdullah Al Raqadi collaborated with Syed Farhan Ur Rehman

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