Digital Transformation development projects can span a wide variety of technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and business process automation, among others. A Digital Transformation project can impact nearly every aspect of a company and its operations. But with only 30 percent of Digital Transformation projects considered a success, key performance indicators — better known as KPIs — are essential for evaluation both in the short term and in the long term. This raises the question: what are the best Digital Transformation KPIs?
What Are Digital Transformation KPIs?
Digital Transformation KPIs are specific, measurable indicators that can be evaluated over time in an effort to determine the success of a project or initiative.
Key performance indicators are critical for evaluating a project and its overall level of success, paving the way for modifications or improvements in your Digital Transformation technology. Each project has its own unique set of KPIs, as does each organization.
Ideally, KPIs should be identified during the process of creation of the project’s business requirements document (BRD) and software requirements document (SRD). Realistically, though, KPIs may be modified or added further down the road as new insights arise.
KPIs can take many different forms, including the following.
- Project-specific KPIs – These KPIs relate to the actual software platform, mobile application, process automation, or other Digital Transformation technology. Here are a few considerations related to project-specific KPIs.
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- Has user engagement time increased?
- Are you seeing better productivity levels following the deployment of business process automations?
- Have you observed an improvement in metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates and time spent on-site for your new eCommerce platform?
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- Business-specific KPIs – These KPIs relate to the business, its employees, and its operations. This type of KPI really focuses on unique aspects of your organization. The following is a look at some areas that you may opt to evaluate when developing business-specific KPIs for Digital Transformation projects.
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- Have productivity levels improved since you deployed a new enterprise messaging platform?
- Has your new AI-powered CRM empowered your employees to engage with customers more effectively, resulting in more sales?
- Are staff scoring higher on employee satisfaction surveys, indicating improved employee morale?
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- Customer / Client-specific KPIs – These KPIs relate to the technology’s impact on customers, clients, users, and others outside of the business.
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- Are users engaging with the technology more effectively and for longer periods of time?
- Have your customers been spending more per transaction when making purchases on your eCommerce platform?
- Have your conversion rates increased?
- Did you observe an improvement in ratings on customer satisfaction surveys or reviews?
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- Customer / Client-specific KPIs – These KPIs relate to the technology’s impact on customers, clients, users, and others outside of the business.
What Are the Best Digital Transformation KPIs?
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to KPIs because each project and business is unique. This means that these evaluation points will be unique to some degree as well. That said, the best Digital Transformation KPIs are going to be those that have the following traits and characteristics.
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- Measurable – The indicator must be measurable and quantitative in nature, allowing for objective analysis.
- Trackable – A KPI must be consistently trackable, otherwise that data set won’t be suitable for quantitative analysis.
- Relevant – Is the indicator relevant in a way that allows you to evaluate the success — or lack thereof — of your Digital Transformation project.
- Actionable – KPIs must be related to an actionable remedy in the event that a problem is identified.
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How to Create Digital Transformation KPIs That Deliver Results
The best Digital Transformation KPIs are identified as part of a process that begins with the identification of your goals or objectives as an organization. Here is a look at the four steps of KPI development.
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- Identify Your Goals and Objectives – What are your organization’s goals and objectives for the Digital Transformation project? And how does this technology serve to solve a problem?
- Define Success – What does success look like? What challenge are you seeking to overcome? What problem are you seeking to solve with your Digital Transformation project? These questions will guide you toward a definition of success.
- Identify a Method of Measurement – How are you going to measure and evaluate success for this indicator? What data are you going to collect — and ultimately evaluate — as part of the KPI tracking process?
- Develop Your KPIs – With the aforementioned steps complete, you’ll be well-positioned to create your KPIs. Remember to establish a schedule for evaluation too. KPIs are only useful if you review them on a regular basis.
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In addition, it’s wise to consider who ought to be involved in the KPI evaluation process. It is prudent to involve business leaders and stakeholders, but also actual users who have hands-on experience with the technology in question. Actual users will have more granular, “on the ground” insights that may be elusive to others who possess more of a broad, eagle’s eye view.
Choosing the Right Digital Transformation Development Partner
The best Digital Transformation KPIs are meaningless if you fail to find the right partner for your development project, whether it’s an AI-powered enterprise software solution, a business process automation or another Digital Transformation project.
At 7T, we’re guided by the approach of “Digital Transformation Driven by Business Strategy.” As such, the 7T development team works with company leaders who are seeking to solve problems and drive ROI through Digital Transformation and innovative technologies such as AI.
7T has offices in Dallas, Houston and Austin, but our clientele spans the globe. If you’re ready to discuss your Digital Transformation development project, contact 7T today.
