Effective AI Implementation to Drive ROI

What role do technology and AI play in driving business value and transformation?

Technology and AI are critical enablers of successful business strategies, offering improvements in cost, efficiency, and service. They are integrated into a wide range of projects, such as finance and planning system replacements, customer relationship management applications, and new AI tools like automated customer journeys. These initiatives are essential for enhancing financial and operational performance, especially amid economic challenges like increased financing costs and resource constraints. Organisations must demonstrate clear business value from these tech and AI projects to capitalise on their potential benefits.

How can organisations build a business case that aligns tech investments with strategic goals?

Building a compelling business case involves a clear articulation of the investment's purpose and benefits. The business case should be structured like a pitch deck, including an introduction and problem definition, a rationale for the proposed solution, a roadmap with key milestones and performance indicators, and a summary of the risk-adjusted returns. A pre-mortem approach can be valuable in identifying potential risks and success factors, allowing organisations to reshape the project or prevent risks from occurring. The focus should remain on business outcomes rather than just project costs and delivery schedules.

What are common pitfalls in tech projects, and how can organisations improve success rates?

A major pitfall in tech projects is the lack of a flexible model that accommodates changes in business practices, leading to failures when contexts change. Unlike bridge-building projects, tech projects often suffer from design flexibility issues and lack in-depth investigations post-failure, resulting in repeated mistakes. To improve success rates, organisations should adopt risk-based decision-making, ensuring a balance of expected returns and associated risks. This includes a clear articulation of the project's business benefits, cost and investment estimates, and understanding the impact of changes in the business context.

What are best practices in risk-based decision-making and governance for tech initiatives?

Risk-based decision-making involves assessing both the expected returns and risks associated with tech projects, ensuring decisions are coherent, transparent, and value-based. Governance of tech initiatives should involve effective oversight and steering, incorporating technology, business, and user perspectives. A steering committee should regularly challenge and review projects to ensure they stay within acceptable risk parameters and align with the business case. Agile re-planning and rescoping should be employed to reflect changes in the business context, ensuring the continued capture of value. Governance practices should facilitate progress tracking and value realisation throughout the project.

How should organisations approach the governance of complex technology projects?

Effective governance in technology projects requires a balanced composition in steering committees, including technology, business, and user perspectives. These committees should regularly review project progress and make necessary scope management and trade-off decisions. Governance should focus on ensuring projects adhere to acceptable risk parameters and that the expected business value is realised. The board and its subcommittees should provide oversight to ensure that transformation projects deliver on their intended outcomes. Agile re-planning and rescoping should be adopted to adapt to changes in the business environment, maintaining alignment with strategic goals.