{"id":924,"date":"2025-11-11T13:09:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/?page_id=924"},"modified":"2025-11-28T19:03:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T17:03:42","slug":"tools-people-process-progress","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/tech\/tools-people-process-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tech Conundrum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull is-light wp-duotone-green\" style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);min-height:50px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"931\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-782 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad.jpg\" style=\"object-position:80% 14%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"80% 14%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad-800x388.jpg 800w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad-1536x745.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim has-background-gradient\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(90deg,rgb(255,255,255) 34%,rgba(255,255,255,0.58) 65%,rgba(255,0,0,0) 99%)\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-99cca8a2 wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\"><nav style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;line-height:1\" class=\"has-text-color has-base-color items-justified-center alignwide wp-block-navigation is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-navigation-is-layout-72be065f wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"Technology \u2013 Level 2\"><ul style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;line-height:1\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__container has-text-color has-base-color items-justified-center alignwide wp-block-navigation\"><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/360-degree-visbility\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Visbility<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/mapping\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Dependencies<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tooling\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Tooling<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tools-people-process-progress\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Tech-conundrum<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h1 style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-left:0;margin-right:0\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color wp-elements-49031cb4b1744a129271dd1611534cc4 wp-block-post-title has-text-color has-contrast-color\">The Tech Conundrum<\/h1>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1130\" height=\"1699\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tech-conundrum.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1494\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:350px;height:350px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tech-conundrum.jpg 1130w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tech-conundrum-532x800.jpg 532w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tech-conundrum-768x1155.jpg 768w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Tech-conundrum-1022x1536.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1130px) 100vw, 1130px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sitting in the kick-off meeting of a US$70 million digital transformation project turned out to be an educational experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project was doomed from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The ask:<\/strong> rebuild the company\u2019s core systems from the ground up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The top-five consulting firm brought in as the system integrator recommended a lift-and-shift approach \u2014 build the new tech stack on the side with ring-fenced teams, and then, when everything was ready, shift everyone over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re not going to do that,\u201d said the subsequently fired executive (who walked away with a fat package anyway). \u201cWe\u2019re going to have our digital transformation teams work alongside our BAU (business-as-usual) teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, it was an unmitigated disaster. Little change management, poor communication, a horrible attempt to hybridise Agile and Waterfall into a bastardised form of <em>WAgile<\/em>, no buy-in to the strategy \u2014 and the list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it went deeper than that. It could best be described by the phrase: <em>trying to fly the plane and build it at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a common problem in businesses: can we maintain the status quo <em>while<\/em> building a new future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer is tricky: you can, but only if you separate the new work from the status quo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At its heart, the challenge is this: you cannot ask status-quo teams to build the new world at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You have to create enough separation so that they can do BAU work over <em>here<\/em> while contributing to the new-world build over <em>there<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This requires careful workforce management \u2014 deciding how people take on different kinds of work, and how alignment and cohesion are created across the organisation around the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-f08131c5ceaa0c936322c4d0bc268541 wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of the day, <a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/process\/digital-transformation\/\">digital transformation <\/a>is people transformation. It is <em>not<\/em> just about deploying technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide tools is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-086dc8cf wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center has-border-color has-accent-5-border-color has-aspect-ratio wp-duotone-green\" style=\"border-style:solid;border-width:2px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);min-height:300px;aspect-ratio:auto;min-height:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"470\" height=\"600\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1319 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-watch.png\" data-object-fit=\"cover\"\/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-custom-green-background-color has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c05ca53 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tooling-example\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"470\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-watch.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1319\" style=\"width:60px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dcd278a1037bea652a5b8d51bf827ecf\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tooling-example\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1164\">Tooling&nbsp;example<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center has-border-color has-accent-5-border-color has-aspect-ratio wp-duotone-green\" style=\"border-style:solid;border-width:2px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);aspect-ratio:auto;min-height:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"888\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1318 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png\" style=\"object-position:69% 0%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"69% 0%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png 706w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator-636x800.png 636w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-custom-green-background-color has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c05ca53 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/experience\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"888\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1318\" style=\"width:81px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png 706w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator-636x800.png 636w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c90eb5b5420d7aa719fd70b0d590f73a\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/experience\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1167\">Experience<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center has-border-color has-accent-5-border-color has-aspect-ratio wp-duotone-green\" style=\"border-style:solid;border-width:2px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);aspect-ratio:auto;min-height:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"241\" height=\"784\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1317 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-tank.png\" style=\"object-position:32% 0%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"32% 0%\"\/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-custom-green-background-color has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c05ca53 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/portfolio-alignment\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"241\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-tank.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1317\" style=\"width:32px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2faf2bb036c0b477b973ffb970debd50\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/portfolio-alignment\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1169\">Portfolio alignment<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sitting in the kick-off meeting of a US$70 million digital transformation project turned out to be an educational experience. The project was doomed from day one. The ask: rebuild the company\u2019s core systems from the ground up. The top-five consulting firm brought in as the system integrator recommended a lift-and-shift approach \u2014 build the new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":516,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-924","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1495,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/924\/revisions\/1495"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}