Digital Transformation

Playbook: Four Elements

to a Successful Strategy
Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 2
to a Successful Strategy

Contents

01 02 03
Leverage the An innovative Inspire Design Empower Achieve Get Started
Part 1: Envision your Build a compelling Share your Execute on your
right tools approach to digital future business case for change vision vision
for your sales transformation
challenges Part 2: Define business
and operating models

Page 03 Page 05 Page 06 Page 20 Page 24 Page 28 Page 31

Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements
to a Successful Strategy

Leverage the right tools

for your sales challenges
Organisations of all sizes and types are facing a higher velocity
of change in their business, market and industry. The pressure to
deliver results is mounting exponentially. As a leader you, know you
must stay ahead of, or overtake, the competition.

Whether you’re excited or daunted by digital transformation,

this playbook can help you tackle the process in incremental steps.
Digital transformation is not a one-size-fits-all scenario, nor does
it manifest through a single chess move. Digital transformation is a
journey that creates value, solves problems and empowers people
to do their best work.

This playbook is a roadmap of that journey. Depending on where

your company is in its process, you can use this playbook from
beginning to end or jump to the section that’s most relevant to you.
Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 4
to a Successful Strategy

of business leaders see

91%
digital transformation as a
way of sparking innovation
and finding efficiencies1

85%
of business leaders say they
must offer digital services or
become irrelevant2
Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 5
to a Successful Strategy

An innovative approach Inspire

to digital transformation The Inspire phase helps you envision the future state of your
business and define a strategy for achieving it.

We’ve worked with more than a thousand companies Design

on their digital transformation journey and have noticed
The Design phase prompts you to scope your transformation
that the most successful organisations stay focused on
aspirations and technology roadmap through a series of
unlocking value, whether the impact of that value is
business-value and technical assessments.
incremental or transformative.

As we’ve worked with companies on digital transformation,

we’ve refined and optimised the process into a framework Empower
we call I.D.E.A. I.D.E.A. applies broadly tested and accepted The Empower phase helps you build support for your vision
concepts from leading institutions and research firms and throughout the organisation using visual assets, solution
comprises four key phases: demonstrations and immersive experiences.

Achieve
The Achieve phase helps you move your organisation from
vision to action.
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 66
to a Successful Strategy

Part 1:

INSPIRE
Envision your future business
In the Inspire phase, you’ll engage in a number of exercises with colleagues to
develop a collective vision for your future organisation.

Activities: Outcomes:

Envisioning workshop A prioritised list of capabilities that can

help drive digital transformation in your
Core capabilities mapping organisation

Customer journey mapping New product and service ideas

Business model selection Strategic alignment of your organisational

goals for digital transformation
Operations model selection
Deeper insight into your customers’
experience

A business model best suited to your digital

transformation objectives

An operating model designed to help

execute on digital transformation
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 7
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

An Envisioning workshop gathers your team to align on a vision for your

business and to develop a guide for your digital transformation journey.

Prepare for your Envisioning workshop:

Design 1 2 3

Choose a facilitator Invite colleagues from different Establish a clear agenda

business units
You can pick someone from your team or Establish a clear agenda that outlines
use a design-thinking-certified third-party Your organisation functions best when expectations and defines the scope of the
facilitator. Your facilitator’s job is to help the the people inside it are unified. In your workshop, including what you will and
group align and move forward through the Envisioning workshop, invite department won’t achieve.
Empower phases of the workshop. If you’re interested heads from Finance, HR, IT and
in working with a Microsoft facilitator, you Operations as well as Customer Service,
can apply here. Marketing, Product and Sales. You’ll have
a richer discussion and more diverse set
of perspectives.

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 8
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire
Core capability mapping exercise
Start your Envisioning workshop with a core capability mapping exercise. Note that the
worksheets in this playbook can be filled in onscreen; or, you can print out the playbook
to fill in the worksheets by hand.

Design
01 List 5–7 key business units in your organisation.
For example, your business units might include: 02 For each unit, identify existing capabilities. Then brainstorm
potential capabilities. Look for new ways to serve customers that
draw from your organisation’s unique strengths.

Example:
Customer service Product development

Key business: Supply Chain

Finance Sales Relevance:

Dynamic sourcing T H M

Difficulty:
Empower
Human resources Sourcing
Relevance:
Order fulfilment T H M

Difficulty:

Marketing Supply chain

Relevance:
Supplier relationship management T H M

Difficulty:

Operations Information Technology

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 9
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

03 Categorise the capabilities according to their impact and

strategic relevance to your business as "transformative," 04 Now assess each capability for its level of difficulty
to implement.
"high" or "moderate."

Level of difficulty: Low Medium High

Design
T Transformative H High M Moderate

For example, if your business depends on the quality

For example, within your Supply Chain unit, you might of its people, you might like the idea of building
have a "moderate" process for screening new vendors, but recruitment centres near top 10 colleges to fill your
a "transformative" dynamic sourcing capability that can pipeline
predict and adapt to weather anomalies and other events
that impact production At the same time, it might be easier to evolve and
Empower improve your "moderate" vendor-screening process
Another example: Within your Customer Service Centre, because it’s strategically relevant as a way to source
you might have a "moderate" call-management capability talent and less costly and difficult to implement than
but a "high" artificial-intelligence chatbot on your website building 10 new recruitment centres

Achieve
 References: T Transformative H High M Moderate Level of difficulty: Low Medium High Complete each box

Inspire Key business: Key business: Key business:

Relevance: Relevance: Relevance:

T H M T H M T H M

Difficulty: Difficulty: Difficulty:

Relevance: Relevance: Relevance:

T H M T H M T H M

Difficulty: Difficulty: Difficulty:

Design Relevance: Relevance: Relevance:

T H M T H M T H M

Difficulty: Difficulty: Difficulty:

Key business: Key business: Key business:

Relevance: Relevance: Relevance:

Empower T H M T H M T H M

Difficulty: Difficulty: Difficulty:

Relevance: Relevance: Relevance:

T H M T H M T H M

Difficulty: Difficulty: Difficulty:

Relevance: Relevance: Relevance:

T H M T H M T H M

Difficulty: Difficulty: Difficulty:

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 11
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

05 Finally, if relevant to your industry, determine the regulatory

impact of each capability. Would making a change require
Top Capabilities

greater investment in regulatory compliance?

Complete here
Now that you have a full picture of your organisation’s
Design capabilities, prioritise them and create a short list. For each
capability on your short list:

Describe the intended business outcome

Project the potential business value

Align on the final 2–3 capabilities as a team. This will help

Empower
you develop a tightly focused programme with a clear
understanding of how your digital transformation programme
will benefit the organisation and its customers.

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 12
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Part 2: Your business model

Business models have shifted dramatically over the past 20 years. Driven by
Define business and operating models customer expectations, businesses have shifted from prioritising transactional
relationships to valuing ongoing quality engagement. For example, look at
Design
your own consumption of entertainment. We used to rent or even buy videos
In the second half of your Envisioning workshop, align on business and one at a time; now, we subscribe to a streaming service that we can cancel at
operating models. A business model defines what value will be created. any time. This shift means that relationships are fluid and organisations must
An operating model reflects how the value will be created and delivered. ensure customers are satisfied and making the best use of the products and
services they consume.

Customers are also playing a more active role in the evolution of

organisations. Customer feedback has greater power to shape the
Empower development of new products and services, with organisations collecting
customer feedback through observation and signal analysis. A digitally
transformed company leverages these insights to proactively provide better
products and services without depending on customers to act. If done right,
these observations can lead to quicker innovation and a more impactful
value proposition.

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 13
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

01 Consider these customer dynamics as you evaluate

your business model. If you prioritise relationships over 02 Customers should be the ultimate focus of this exercise,
as people are at the heart of your business.
transactions, how might your business model change?
Design

What type of business model do you have now? Do you know how to best meet your customers’ needs?

Given what you’ve envisioned for your business so far, is this Can you anticipate what value they’ll want next?
the best model for the future?

What business model would most benefit your customers?

Empower

To better understand your customers, use a customer journey mapping exercise.

Achieve
 Example | Online retailer: customer ordering

Inspire Doing Expecting Thinking/Having Questions About Interacting With

Step Adding item to Website to function quickly; item Did it get added to my cart? Am I getting the best price? Online interface

1
shopping cart appears in cart; updated # of cart items; How long will it take to get to me? How easy is it to return?
correct prices reflected Do I have to pay shipping for returns?

Step Checking out A clear list of items ordered; correct Are all of my items here? Should I buy all of these? Are Shopping cart

2
price on each; ability to remove an item there any vouchers I could apply? How long will it take for page of website
Design or change # of items ordered; ability to these to arrive?
continue shopping

Step Choosing Fair price for shipping or no shipping Should I choose the faster, more expensive option? When Shipping interface

3
shipping option fee; voucher to waive shipping fee; fast do I need these? Can I get this faster or cheaper from online
arrival; clear options on shipping times another retailer? Is it worth it? Should I buy it in the shop?
and fees Do I really want to pay £7.95 in shipping for a £17.95 item?

Empower
Step Choosing Clear payment options; credit card or Is this secure? Where is my credit card? Can I use Payment interface,

4
payment option PayPal; secure payment transaction PayPal? Should I create an account so they remember which may go
my payment info? "offsite" for PayPal
transactions

Step

5
Finishing Confirmation page and confirmation Did it go through? Will they keep me posted on Website interface;
transaction email; a summary of the transaction the delivery? email

Achieve
 Customer journey mapping exercise

Inspire Doing Expecting Thinking/Having Questions About Interacting With

Step 1

1 Select a customer
experience or typical
interaction that your
customers have with your
Step organisation.
Design

2 2
Break down the interaction
Step into 4 to 6 steps.

3 3
For each step, examine
Empower
Step what the customer is

4
doing, expecting, thinking/
having questions about
and interacting with.

Step

Achieve
5
Complete the table
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 16
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

After you’ve completed the exercise, discuss insights with the team
on how you can optimise your business model.

If you’re stuck deciding between a couple of business models,

Design
consider the following questions:

How would this business model change

customers’ experiences?

Would it allow you to move into new markets?

How would your organisation’s value

Empower proposition and revenue grow?

How would costs and risks shrink?

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 17
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Your operating model

Once you’ve defined what value you will deliver, consider how to best deliver it.
Work through the following exercises to define your operating model.

Participatory roles

Design First, create a mind map of all the players in your ecosystem.

1 2 3 4

What are the major How do these groups What are the major Which interactions generate
groups of stakeholders? relate to one another? transactions between groups? the greatest value?
Empower

Achieve

Complete each box

 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 18
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Governance framework

Next, to define risk and regulatory impact, ask:

1 2 3 4

Design Who makes the What are the criteria for What decision-making What is your organisation’s
decisions? the level of investment power do various risk threshold?
the business is willing to stakeholder groups have?
make in a potential new
product or service?

Empower

Achieve

Complete each box

 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 19
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Inspire outcomes

At the conclusion of your workshop, you and your team will have
Design determined which opportunities could bring the biggest benefit
to your business. You will also come away with:

New product and service ideas

New approaches to daily challenges

A prioritised area of focus

Empower A macro-transformation strategy

Alignment on initial business and operating models

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 20
to a Successful Strategy

DESIGN
Build a compelling case
for change
In the Design phase, your team builds assessments that help drive a compelling case for
investment in your organisation’s digital transformation. A business value assessment helps
financially quantify the business value of the team’s proposed solutions, including return
on investment (ROI), revenue growth, cost savings and employee efficiencies. A technology
assessment brings stakeholders together to review current technology in light of solution
objectives. The output is a customised, technical roadmap.

Activities: Outcomes:

Business value assessment Business value proposition

Technical assessment Business value assessment

Projected ROI

Technical assessment

Strategy technology roadmap

 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 21
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Business value assessment

To conduct a business value assessment, gather baseline data. Use this knowledge to prepare for questions about business
Your organisation may already have some of this data, for example: outcomes and to set realistic expectations. Collect any additional
Design data you need but don’t have, such as employee skill levels or
supervisor satisfaction.
Accounting: company financial performance such as profit, revenue,
YoY growth

Customer Service: customer satisfaction ratings

Human Resources: employee retention, cost of turnover

Empower Marketing: lead generation and conversion data

Sales: top-line growth by region or product/service line

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 22
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Technical assessment

The technical assessment helps map technology investments and solutions

to business goals.

To develop your technical assessment:

Design

1 2

Conduct a fit-gap analysis. A fit-gap analysis compares business Develop a rough order of magnitude, which will help you estimate
requirements to your technology systems’ capabilities and identifies how much time and effort, and how many resources it will take to
the gaps you need to fill to fully support the organisation from a complete your digital transformation project.
tech perspective.

Empower

3 4

Create a change management strategy. You’ll need to conduct change Develop a project timeline, including the scope of your project,
management to help staff adjust to organisational changes that result milestones and key dependencies.
from digital transformation. A good change management strategy can
help you to mobilise commitment and motivate people to support the
Achieve changes happening in your organisation.
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 23
Options-Based
to a Successful Strategy Opportunity Worksheet

Inspire
Option A Title Option B Title Option C Title

Option A Description and Value Proposition Option B Description Option C Description

Example: Most Aggressive Option, will directly and decisively Example: "Middle of the Road" Option Most Conservative Option
combat competitive pressures where first mover advantage
is vital.

Design Cost: ££££ Resources: Cost: ££££ Resources: Cost: ££££ Resources:

Option A Timeline and Expected Delivery Option B Timeline and Expected Delivery Option C Timeline and Expected Delivery

Option A Business Case Justification Option B Business Case Justification Option C Business Case Justification

Empower

Option A implications for not choosing this option Option B implications for not choosing this option Option C implications for not choosing this option

Achieve

Complete the table

 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 24
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Design outcomes

Design

Business value assessment with baseline data and

business outcome projections

Technical assessment with technology roadmap

Empower

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 25
to a Successful Strategy

EMPOWER Share your vision

Decision makers who didn’t participate in earlier phases of your digital
transformation process may not fully understand what you’re trying to
accomplish and why. In the Empower phase of your organisation’s digital
transformation, your team will generate a solution demonstration to share your
vision, build excitement and persuade key decision makers and influencers.

Activities: Outcomes:

Internal stakeholder mapping Solution demonstration

Solution demo development Feedback and input from important

stakeholders
Solution demo socialisation

Solution prototypes can include visual artifacts, videos or immersive experiences.

Use demonstrations along with business value and technical assessments to deliver a
powerful case for moving forward in your digital transformation journey.
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 26
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire
Solution prototyping

To develop a solution prototype:

1 2 3

Design
Map out stakeholders who will Identify their concerns Use the information to inform the
experience the prototype format of the prototype

Empower 4 5 6

Build the prototype and reserve time to Include data gathered in the Gather and incorporate feedback
socialise it with target audiences assessment process to frame a data- throughout the process
driven story of digital transformation
for your organisation

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 27
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Empower outcomes

Design

Solution prototype

Feedback from stakeholders

Empower

Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 28
to a Successful Strategy

ACHIEVE Execute on your vision

There is no single, "right" way to approach digital transformation. Some
organisations start with a pilot project in a small part of the organisation. Others
roll out a larger proof of concept and quickly test and iterate for a broader
and more immediate business impact. Regardless of the size of your project,
agility and iteration are key to the desired business impact of your digital
transformation strategy.

The Achieve phase moves your team from vision to action through a business
transformation plan.

Activities: Outcomes:

Transformation planning Strategic plan and roadmap for the digital

transformation journey
Blueprinting the digital
transformation journey Ready-to-execute pilot project
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 29
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire
Transformation plan

Create your transformation plan: Execute on your transformation plan:

Set daily, weekly and monthly goals to

Collect all the work the team has strengthen accountability.
1 completed in the I.D.E.A. framework.
Set expectations for reviews.
Design

Share early wins and share them often.

2 Create an executive overview.
Encourage low- and high-fidelity prototyping.

3 Summarise the vision and assessments.

Empower

4 Map out concrete steps to project completion.

Make sure to allocate enough budget for

5 effective change management.
Achieve
 Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 30
to a Successful Strategy

Inspire

Achieve outcomes

Design

Blueprint for your organisation’s business transformation

with supporting strategy and assessments

Clear steps for acting on your plan

Empower

Achieve
Digital Transformation Playbook: Four Elements 31
to a Successful Strategy

Get Started • Apply to the Microsoft CATALYST programme for support with
workshopping sessions.

• Check out customer success stories on our Transform blog.

The I.D.E.A. framework has guided many businesses through their digital
transformation, and we hope it will empower your organisation as well.
• Download and read Eight Real-World Digital Transformation Lessons.
Throughout the process, if you need additional guidance, expertise or support,
you can access more of Microsoft’s – and our partners’ – knowledge and
experience. • Browse through our Digital Transformation site for additional
resources, including a Gartner report on defining business KPIs.

• Reach out to Microsoft partners in our Partner Centre.

Remember that the first and most important step is to get started.

Contact a Microsoft representative to discuss partnering with Microsoft

on your digital transformation journey.

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