Managing Your Digital Transformation

Abstract

Abstract An enterprise's digital transformation is more than just curating a modern website and cultivating an online presence; a successful digital transformation increases the value of the company, provides employees with direction and motivation, and makes acquiring new customers easier. While the value of such an undertaking is obvious, the methods for creating and sustaining a digital transformation may be less well known. There are two components to an enterprise's successful digital transformation: correct project selection and proper implementation. Project selection addresses the issue of "analysis paralysis" (too many options and not enough resources) and project implementation highlights the framework used by Project Management Professionals (PMPs). To select projects that will yield meaningful results, two criteria must be understood: the needs of the company's employees (what does the employee need; what do they see as the company's greatest weaknesses or areas for improvement?), and the company's needs based on its strategic objectives. Project implementation, as described by the PMP framework, is part of the Project Management Institute's (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). This framework includes 49 processes, which begins with initiating the project and identifying stakeholders and ends with a formal acceptance of the deliverables and project sign off. While the PMP framework is not new, the methods laid out here are more commonly seen within the manufacturing and construction disciplines (PMI, 2017). This paper will demonstrate the value of applying the structured PMP approach to digital transformation projects in the marketing discipline. Furthermore, such digital transformations not only depend on proper project selection and implementation, but on creating a digital presence both internally (for employees) and externally (for the public). Successfully transforming a company's internal and external digital presence will require a tailored approach specific to the enterprise, which is why using project selection methods and proper input criteria is of paramount importance. This paper provides functional managers, project managers, and project coordinators with the tools and methods necessary to implement standard project management practices in order to enable and sustain a company's digital transformation.