If you’re thinking about pressing pause to set your digital product up for long-term success, the first step is a thorough assessment of your current platform. This isn’t just about finding faults — it’s about understanding where you are now so you can map out where you need to go.
This is part 2 of a series of articles, if you want to hop back to part 1, you can find it here: [part 1 : Why (and How) you need to fix the foundation to Build Better Digital Products]
Here is a handy guide to figuring out what, how and when you need to start your digital transformation. Your digital product should align with broader business goals. To assess if your platform is meeting these objectives, ask the following questions:
What are the Key Metrics?
Identify any OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) or business metrics that are driving the product’s evolution. Are these metrics shaping what your teams do next, and are they realistic given the current state of your platform?
What are the Revenue and Growth Targets?
If revenue growth has stagnated or development cycles are slow, it may indicate that your product’s foundation is preventing you from responding quickly to market demands.
What are the Constraints and Limitations?
Consider any current constraints — budget, time, team capacity — that might affect your ability to implement changes. It’s crucial to be realistic about what’s possible and plan for these limitations.
Do you have Strategic Planning commitments?
Have you got any long term plans that you need to consider that could be impacted by a digital transformation? Determine if the potential for short-term growth outweighs your long-term strategy. You can’t effectively pursue both simultaneously; you may need to find a balance, but keeping going forwards and building temporary solutions that ultimately will need redoing is costly.
Aligning your digital product’s growth with business objectives ensures that your transformation efforts deliver tangible value.
