The DX Journey in the Enterprise and its Leadership
This is easier said than done . The scope and timeline of individual DX activities may contradict with each other . The DX activities in one silo may be interdependent with DX activities in another silo . Furthermore , some local DX initiatives may not align with the executive DX vision and timeline . Where possible , projects should be realigned with the overall DX strategy . Projects that are mismatched with the overall DX strategy in a fundamental way ( scope , timeline , etc .) may need to be restructured or perhaps opted out of the enterprise DX effort .
Creating an alignment between divergent bottom-up perspectives and top-down vision is hard . Sustaining that alignment is harder . There are too many moving parts , too many friction points , too many egos , etc . At the same time , the digital world requires foresight , agility , and speed . There is little room for error .
In order to mitigate these challenges , organizations must “ innovate by rapid experimentation ” ( Rogers 2016 ) and “ test fast , learn fast , scale fast ” ( Kane et al . 2019 ). The way the DX program and its related projects are designed and implemented must be adjusted to allow fast experimentation and allow pivots , even fast cancellation , when the implementation results reveal negative signs . Conventional work processes , existing organization structures and funding models may not allow such “ innovate and fail fast ” culture .
For these reasons , the DX journey should start with a clear roadmap and framework for changing work processes in an innovative way . This must be closely followed with actual efforts to implement these process changes .
The significance of the above for IIoT is that due to the complexities of IT-OT convergence , the processes involved in integrating IT and OT are substantially different from existing processes , often conflicting with them . These differences can be organizational , technical , financial ( funding , budgeting , etc .), and operational . Ideally , the DX Program should foster fast bottom-up feedback about conflicts , while at the same time top management should be agile in responding to the feedback and mitigate the elements of the management system causing the conflict .
For further details about the above , please refer to the “ Designing new innovation process as a key challenge to firms undergoing digital transformation in industry ” article in this JoI issue and to the IIC “ BizOps for Digital Transformation in Industry ” whitepaper 21 .
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