In business transformation, your greatest risks often lie just out of sight. While most organizations have well-defined plans and formal structures, an invisible web of unofficial workflows powered by interconnected applications, and unwritten dependencies can derail even the most carefully conceived initiatives. This lack of visibility poses significant problems for both planning and executing transformation efforts, as organizations often cannot see how their business processes truly operate – the very things they’re attempting to transform.
Think of how surgeons approach complex procedures: they combine diagnostic imaging like MRI and CT scans to map the territory before operating, surgical cameras to see precisely where they're working, and continuous vital sign monitoring throughout the procedure. This comprehensive visibility ensures they can navigate safely and respond quickly to any issues.
Building transformation capabilities involves creating this same deep visibility into operations before embarking on any transformation initiative and maintaining real-time monitoring during the transformation process. However, unlike surgeons, organizations often lack these essential capabilities to see and track the complex web of interdependencies that not only keep their business running but also enable them to drive meaningful change while pursuing operational excellence.
Unknown unknowns: The challenge of hidden complexities
Transformation initiatives crash into reality when hidden elements suddenly surface during the execution of the transformation plan. Legacy IT solutions, undocumented process variations, and unofficial workflows may be keeping your business running in ways that aren't visible in process documentation or system inventories.
These invisible forces threaten transformation success in three critical areas:
- Operational dependencies – which legacy applications are feeding critical data to core systems? How do unofficial workflows support essential operations? Understanding these connections is crucial for planning changes that won't disrupt business.
- Process reality – the gap between documented processes and actual workflows often reveals critical vulnerabilities and opportunities. When employees regularly bypass official procedures, it signals underlying inefficiencies that need addressing before transformation can succeed.
- IT usage patterns – understanding how employees use systems and AI tools (rather than how they're supposed to use them) reveals potential points of friction that could impact transformation success. This includes identifying underutilized and legacy systems that may need to be replaced or integrated into official systems.
Organizations that lack the ability to identify and address these invisible forces face risks beyond failed transformations. These hidden elements can continually degrade operational efficiency, create security vulnerabilities, and cause service failures in day-to-day operations. Visibility is therefore not just a transformation enabler but a critical component of operational excellence.
Taking action: Seeing clearly to transform safely
Before you can create an actionable plan for a particular transformation, you need to truly understand your organization as it is today. This means building visibility across three critical dimensions: how work actually flows through your organization, how your IT landscape truly operates, and how these elements interact. With this complete picture, you can not only address issues as they arise, but you can also establish realistic milestones and build the monitoring capabilities to track particular transformation journeys.
Process visibility and analysis
Start by understanding how work actually gets done:
- Map critical business processes and their variations
- Identify unofficial workflows and workarounds, and their root causes
- Analyze process performance, compliance, and improvement opportunities
- Design optimized processes based on value-driven analysis
- Test process changes through simulation before implementation
- Monitor for emerging bottlenecks, compliance issues, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
Enterprise architecture intelligence
Build a clear picture of your technical landscape:
- Connect current business capabilities to your IT landscape
- Document how your application portfolio supports (or fails to support) business capabilities
- Map integration points and data flows between data objects and applications supporting critical processes
- Identify system dependencies
- Simulate, contrast, and compare architectural changes or transformation scenarios
- Assess technology risks including obsolescence.
Integrated risk management
Combine process and architecture insights to:
- Define the business capabilities needed by the transformed organization
- Understand how specific transformation initiatives (such as technology replacement or introduction) might impact business operations
- Identify high-risk areas requiring additional attention during transformation, such as customer-facing processes or financial controls
- Test changes across both process and technical domains before implementation
- Monitor actual versus expected outcomes in real time to ensure compliance and avoid regulatory issues
- Track key performance indicators throughout the transformation journey
- Detect and address emerging technology and transformation risks before they impact operations.
Understanding how people, processes, applications, and data interoperate enables organizations to model the impact of changes before implementation, laying the groundwork for even more advanced capabilities and sophisticated simulations.
From visibility to value
Successful transformation requires more than careful planning: it demands rapid, clear, comprehensive visibility into your organization's complex reality – from process deviations to technical dependencies. It’s not just a defensive posture for managing risk – it's about unlocking the full potential of transformation initiatives.
To learn how proactively addressing transformation risk can help you achieve intended outcomes on time and on budget, download our guide, “The confidence conundrum: Navigating risk in business transformation”.