Begin with the work

Before discussing platforms or software, look at how a task moves through your organization. Who starts it? Which information do they need? Where does it wait? Who approves the result? A simple description of the current process often reveals more than a list of desired features.

Choose one recurring workflow, such as an internal request or an approval. Speak with the people who perform it and the people who depend on its output. Their descriptions may differ. Those differences are useful: they show where responsibilities or expectations need to become clearer.

Make the problem specific

“We need to become digital” does not define a project. “Our team enters the same information in several systems” is a starting point. So is “We cannot see which requests are awaiting approval.” Describe the friction in language that both the business team and the technology team understand.

Capture a baseline using the information you have. That might include the number of handoffs, the time spent waiting, or the steps that require duplicate entry. The purpose is to establish a point of comparison for future work.

Choose a manageable first step

A useful first phase has a clear owner, a defined group of users, and a scope that can be explained. It also has boundaries. Decide which parts of the process will change now, which will stay in place, and which depend on a later phase.

Consider the existing systems that need to connect. A new interface alone will not resolve fragmented information if the underlying responsibilities and data flows remain unclear. Integration and access permissions belong in the initial discussion.

Prepare people alongside the system

A system becomes useful when people can use it in their daily work. Include time for feedback, practical guidance, and a clear handover. Decide who will maintain the information and how questions or problems will be handled.

Ask a representative group of users to walk through real scenarios before launch. Their feedback can reveal missing steps, unclear labels, or assumptions that did not match the actual process.

Use the first phase to guide the next

After introduction, review the workflow against the baseline. Look at what improved, what still needs attention, and what new information became available. Use that evidence to set the next priority.

A digital roadmap is most useful when it connects individual improvements to the organization’s wider direction. Begin with something meaningful and bounded, learn from its use, and let that learning shape what comes next.

Before you begin: a working checklist

  • Name the process owner and the people who use the output.
  • Write down the current steps, waiting points, and duplicate entries.
  • Choose one baseline measure, such as time to approval.
  • List the systems and access permissions involved.
  • Agree on what the first phase includes—and excludes.

Illustrative workflow: an internal purchase request

An employee submits a request → a manager reviews it → procurement records the decision. A first phase could provide a shared status view and approval history. Compare approval time before and after the pilot, using equivalent request types.