Digital Transformation Readiness Checklist
Readiness is not enthusiasm. It is sponsorship that will hold, capacity that has been released, data that can be migrated and governance that can decide. Programmes that start without these do not fail at the end; they fail from the beginning and find out at the end.
Why it matters
The decision to start is usually made on strategic need and vendor timing. Readiness determines whether the thing can actually be delivered by this organisation, in this year, with these people.
- Capacity is the binding constraint: The subject matter experts a programme needs are the people the business cannot spare.
- Data condition sets the timeline: Cleansing is business work, it is large, and it cannot start too early.
- Sponsorship has to survive: A sponsor who changes role mid-programme takes the mandate with them.
The workflow
- 01
Sponsorship
A named executive whose own objectives depend on the outcome, with the tenure to see it through.
- 02
Case and scope
A problem stated in one sentence, and a scope with explicit exclusions.
- 03
Capacity
Named people, released for named percentages, with backfill funded.
- 04
Data
Quality measured, ownership assigned, cleansing started before the programme needs it.
- 05
Governance
Forums, delegations and a decision route that can move at programme speed.
- 06
Change capability
Someone accountable for adoption, resourced, from the start.
- 07
Funding
The full envelope, including internal effort and the year after go-live.
If the honest answer to "who will do this work?" is "the same people who are already fully committed", the programme is not ready regardless of every other answer.
What you need in place
- Executive sponsorship with tenure: And a succession plan for it.
- Released capacity with backfill funded: Percentages that appear in someone's actual workload.
- Measured data quality: With cleansing under way.
- A working governance route: Tested on a real decision before mobilisation.
- Change resourcing from day one: Not a phase before go-live.
- A funded post-go-live period: Hypercare and the deferred scope.
Questions to ask
01Sponsor
Who is accountable, and will they still be here in eighteen months?
Sponsor turnover is one of the most reliable predictors of failure.
02Capacity
Which named people, for what percentage, and who does their day job?
Unanswered, the programme will run on people's evenings.
03Data
Has cleansing started?
If it has not, it will start six months too late.
04Decisions
How long does a decision take today?
A programme will need them faster, not slower.
05Competing change
What else is the organisation doing this year?
Change capacity is finite and usually already spent.
06Stopping
What would make us stop?
A programme with no stop condition cannot be governed.
Metrics and KPIs to track
Readiness criteria met
By category, before mobilisation.
Capacity committed
Days released against days planned.
Data quality
Against the threshold required for migration.
Competing initiatives
Concurrent change affecting the same people.
Decision latency baseline
Measured before the programme starts.
Alongside this