Insights
Digitising a Bad Process Just Gives You a Faster Bad Process
There is often an assumption that digitising an existing process automatically makes it better.
It doesn’t.
If a process is inefficient, overly complicated, or collecting information that nobody uses, converting a paper form into an app simply creates a digital version of the same problem.
The first question shouldn’t be “How do we digitise this?”
It should be “Why are we doing it this way in the first place?”
Before developing a digital solution, organisations need to understand the process behind it. What information is actually required? Who uses it? What decisions does it support? Where are the delays, duplication and manual interventions? And what does the person performing the task actually need in the field?
In many cases, the biggest improvement comes long before any software is introduced.
It comes from simplifying the workflow itself.
Take a routine equipment inspection. A paper form may contain dozens of fields because additional requirements have been added over time. Digitising that form field-for-field may remove the paper, but it doesn’t necessarily improve the inspection.
A better approach is to challenge the process first.
What are we trying to identify? Which readings actually matter? What constitutes an abnormal condition? What action should be taken if a defect is found? Who needs to know? What information should be captured automatically rather than entered manually?
Once those questions have been answered, technology becomes a powerful enabler.
Information can be captured once at the point of work. Reports can be generated automatically. Defects can trigger workflows. Trends become visible. And the right information reaches the right people without additional spreadsheets, emails or manual processing.
That’s the difference between digitising a process and improving a process.
Digital transformation is not about replacing paper with software.
It’s about creating simpler, more effective ways of working.
So before starting the next digital initiative, it may be worth asking:
Are we solving a process problem with technology, or are we simply making an existing process run faster?
