Why most digital transformation starts in the wrong place

New platformsglossary×PlatformA platform is a system or environment that enables users, services, or applications to interact, build, or operate.Open glossary term→ get introduced, new interfacesglossary×InterfaceAn interface is the point of interaction between a user and a system, where inputs are made and outputs are received. It can be visual, physical, or conversational.Open glossary term→ get designed, and there’s a lot of activity around moving things forward.

On paper, it looks like progress.

In reality, very little has actually changed.

The problem is that transformationglossary×TransformationTransformation is a fundamental change in how a system, organisation, or experience operates, often involving structure, processes, and behaviour.Open glossary term→ often gets framed as a technology exercise. Upgrade the platformglossary×PlatformA platform is a system or environment that enables users, services, or applications to interact, build, or operate.Open glossary term→, rebuild the interfaceglossary×InterfaceAn interface is the point of interaction between a user and a system, where inputs are made and outputs are received. It can be visual, physical, or conversational.Open glossary term→, migrate the data, and the experience will improve as a result.

But the experience isn’t created by the technology. It’s created by how everything fits together.

The journeysglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→.

The processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→.

The decisions that sit behind what the user is being asked to do.

If those things aren’t addressed, you don’t get transformationglossary×TransformationTransformation is a fundamental change in how a system, organisation, or experience operates, often involving structure, processes, and behaviour.Open glossary term→. You just get a newer versionglossary×VersionA version is a specific iteration of software or a product at a point in time.Open glossary term→ of the same problems.

I saw this clearly working with Co-op Bank, where years of legacy systemsglossary×Legacy SystemA legacy system is an outdated system that is still in use, often due to its critical role.Open glossary term→ and incremental changesglossary×Incremental ChangeIncremental change is the process of making small, continuous improvements over time.Open glossary term→ had shaped the way journeysglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→ worked. There was a strong drive to modernise, but the real challenge wasn’t just the technology, it was how the experience had evolved around it.

Customers were navigating processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→ that made sense internally, but felt heavy and unintuitive from the outside. Simply rebuilding the interfaceglossary×InterfaceAn interface is the point of interaction between a user and a system, where inputs are made and outputs are received. It can be visual, physical, or conversational.Open glossary term→ wouldn’t have solved that. The structure itself needed to be rethought, step by step, within the constraintsglossary×ConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term→ of the existing systems.

A similar issue showed up at scale with the NHS.

Here, the problem wasn’t a single platformglossary×PlatformA platform is a system or environment that enables users, services, or applications to interact, build, or operate.Open glossary term→. It was hundreds of sites, multiple departments, different regional approaches, and no consistent structure tying it all together. Content was duplicated, outdated, and often didn’t meet accessibilityservice×AccessibilityFind accessibility issues early, improve usability, and build products that are more inclusive, usable, and compliant.Open service→ or GDPR standards.

There had already been attempts to consolidate it. They hadn’t worked.

Not because the intent was wrong, but because the starting point was.

If you begin with the platformglossary×PlatformA platform is a system or environment that enables users, services, or applications to interact, build, or operate.Open glossary term→, you inherit all the inconsistencies that already exist. What we needed to do instead was step back, understand how people were actually using the servicesglossary×ServiceA service is a component or function that performs a specific task within a system.Open glossary term→, and rebuild the structure from the ground up. That meant redefining the information architectureservice×Information ArchitectureImprove navigation, content structure, and findability so users can understand where things are and how to move through them.Open service→, creating reusable templates, and aligning teams around a shared way of working before anything was rolled out.

The technology followed that thinking, not the other way around.

That’s usually where transformationglossary×TransformationTransformation is a fundamental change in how a system, organisation, or experience operates, often involving structure, processes, and behaviour.Open glossary term→ goes off track.

It starts with solutions instead of problems.

There’s an assumption that the current experience just needs to be modernised, rather than questioned. That the way things are structured is broadly correct, and the issue is how they’re presented or delivered.

But in most cases, the structure is exactly where the problem sits.

When transformationglossary×TransformationTransformation is a fundamental change in how a system, organisation, or experience operates, often involving structure, processes, and behaviour.Open glossary term→ works, it looks very different.

It starts by understanding what users are actually trying to do, where they struggle, and why. It looks at how journeysglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→ are currently shaped, not just on the surface, but across systemsglossary×SystemA system is a collection of interconnected components that work together to achieve a specific function or outcome.Open glossary term→, teams, and processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→. And it challenges whether those journeys need to exist in that form at all.

That’s where the real changes happen.

Shorter journeysglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→.

Clearer decisions.

Less effort required from the user.

Those outcomes don’t come from new technology. They come from rethinking how the experience works.

Technology still plays a critical role, but it should enable the experience, not define it.

If you get the structure right first, the technology becomes much easier to implement because it’s supporting something that already makes sense. If you get it the other way round, you end up constantly working around constraintsglossary×ConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term→, trying to fix problems that have already been baked in.

This is why I tend to approach transformationglossary×TransformationTransformation is a fundamental change in how a system, organisation, or experience operates, often involving structure, processes, and behaviour.Open glossary term→ from the experience backwards.

Understanding how things work today, where the frictionglossary×FrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term→ is coming from, and what needs to change to make it simpler, clearer, and more usable. From there, decisions around design and technology become much more straightforward.

Because transformationglossary×TransformationTransformation is a fundamental change in how a system, organisation, or experience operates, often involving structure, processes, and behaviour.Open glossary term→ isn’t about replacing what you have.

It’s about fixing what isn’t working.

And most of the time, that starts long before a single line of code is written.