needed to extend a new CI/CD automation framework into its federated busi-
ness units, there were shifts in roles, processes, tooling and teamwork. The
change affected dozens of roles in the operations group. By applying well-
known agile change management principles and techniques — such as building
a coalition of leaders, getting early results, engaging stakeholders and manag-
ing execution — the CI/CD automation was adopted successfully, and signifi-
cantly improved the company’s aggregated software development cycle times.
Transformation is a more encompassing problem domain. Unlike change man-
agement, it doesn’t focus on discrete, well-defined change outcomes, but
rather on a portfolio of projects, which are interdependent, or often closely
coupled. More importantly, the overall goal of transformation is not just to exe-
cute a defined change, but to recast the organization’s capabilities and to dis-
cover a new or revised operating model based on a future vision. Transforma-
tion is much more unpredictable, iterative, and requires a lot of experimentation,
aka “learning fast from trial and error,” as the Lean Startup business books
explain. Transformation also entails much higher risk. And, even if smaller suc-
cessive change initiatives lead to certain accomplishments within the transfor-
mation portfolio, the overall success of the transformation is not guaranteed.
Reinventing oneself as an ISV to a SaaS provider is a transformation example.
When an incumbent global software company realized that small startups
potentially threatened their leadership position, they realized their current
on-prem software solution was losing its competitive advantage and evolving
too slowly. To respond to the emerging threat, the leadership team launched a
cloud transformation strategy, with the goal of building a new SaaS-based
product offering. This included a number of major “must-do” activities: imple-
menting public cloud platforms, refactoring the core software architectures,
introducing over 23 new technologies, and rebuilding, from the ground up, a
new customer support model. The transformation also required leadership to
align all initiatives to a new DevOps and “Customer-First” mindset.
Understanding that you are dealing with more than change is the first step in
scoping your cloud transformation. In essence, a true transformation requires
a shift in people, mindset and culture, not just a new set of cloud technologies
and some process changes.
Change is Focused
on Tools & Skills
• Communication
• Project Management
• Training
• Process Design
Transformation is
Focused on Tools &
Skills & Minds
• Stakeholder and
Leadership Alignment
• Communication Plans
• Workforce Management
• Organization Design
• HR Strategy and Support
Figure 1: Transformation vs. Change
78 | THE DOPPLER | WINTER 2018