JULY 2019 UPDATE
CAPABILITIES BUILDING UPDATE, DESIGN THINKING, AGILE DATA ANALYTICS
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION:
THE JOURNEY TO DIGITAL MASTERY
Hi Team
solutions and that will assist team members to more creatively solve problems, using a customer focused perspective and doing so in a collaborative, cross functional way. We have set as target, the training of 100 team members for 2019 and we have trained approximately 95 persons thus far.
We shared with you a short while ago the progress we have been making in Process Improvements and Data Analytics, two key Pillars of our Digital Transformation Strategy. Here’s a look at how we have been doing with respect to another critical pillar of the The sessions have been led by our Digital Innovation Manager, Bianca Welds, and we strategy, Capabilities Development. have already started to see benefits from At the core of any transformation is the people, the training delivered thus far. The primary and the VM Group’s digital transformation is method from Design thinking that the no different. The strategy recognizes this and organization has adopted, is that of Customer since the start of 2019, there has been growth Journey Mapping. This methodology is being in digital capability development through embedded in our project lifecycle, and it will the introduction of new methodologies, skills see us more actively involving our customers and tools, that will transform the way we and their feedback in the entire process when think and work as an organization, and that developing solutions for them. The process will help team members better contribute to equips stakeholders and product teams with a deep understanding of our users so that the transformation. they can ideate, prototype, and test userWe commenced the training of our people in centered solutions. We have several other Design Thinking, a methodology utilized for upcoming cohorts as the intent is to have all the development of creative and innovative team members trained.
DESIGN THINKING - CUSTOMER JOURNEY
UNDERSTAND
EMPATHY
IDEATE
PROTOTYPE DEVELOP
PERSONS
JOURNEY
INTERVIEWS
INSIGHTS
Training on Agile methodologies has also begun, and this has been spearheaded by our Manager-Enterprise Systems Tesfa Rhodes. Already 30 persons have begun receiving the practitioner training and another 22 the general sensitization training. The rollout of the agile methodology across the organization will transform our approach to projects and will translate into faster execution and benefits realization. At this
IDEATION
PRIORITIES
BUILD
TEST
point, training has been delivered to specific roles, primarily the practioners in the space of project delivery. Sponsors and other critical stakeholders in the project space have also been trained. Units are now being targeted for agile transformation training, which is geared at sensitizing team members on the principles of agile and the changes that will ensue in the way we work and collaborate as a result of its adoption.
Investments have been made in acquiring cutting edge data analytics and business intelligence tools that will help facilitate greater data-driven decision-making. The tool of choice is Power BI. Power BI is a business analytics service by Microsoft. It aims to provide interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough for end users to create their own reports and dashboards. Johann Adamson, Manager – Business Intelligence has led the charge of using this tool to build out this capability within our team. Thus far, 20 persons have been trained and over 15 persons are actively developing Power BI content. These persons
contributed extensively to the development of the dashboards and analytics shared in the previous communication. The intention is to have at least 20 key persons trained and certified across the business by the end of 2019. As we progress along the spectrum of building this important capability in the organization, more and more team members will be trained as we seek to build the self-service capabilities with respect to data and analytics. We seek to empower and equip our team members with the tools and skills necessary to utilize our data and to thereby enhance and inform the way they work and make decisions.
In our next update we give you more information on an exciting new programme developed, the Customer Experience Transformation Programme (CETP).
We are just at the tip of the iceberg, team! We have accomplished a great deal so far, and we have much further to go on our digital transformation journey. We will keep you updated as we make advancements on our goal of becoming a digital master, and a radically transformed Modern Mutual by 2023.