Hello everybody. My name is Maria Obara. And today we will talk about DS and don't of a product transformation.Uh We have a chat here so please use chat to ask any questions that you have and I will try to address them either during the presentation or later on, I will write a linking post uh with all the answers. So first of all, why is it so important for the tech community that we all represent here to actually care about product transformation? Well, it's 2023. Je GP T will probably soon replace all of us. Technology is the core to everything it matters the most in making your business successful. But uh many of us uh still manage a lot of stakeholders that sometimes tell us things like you are just an it person, you don't understand business, just deliver what I asked you for and phrases like that mean that uh your company still hasn't really finalized the product transformation.

If that's the case, then probably a lot of people within your business still don't really understand the proper role of technology as part of the business world, right? The role of it has evolved significantly in the last 20 or even last 10 years. Some companies are truly tech first. They don't have legacy processes, they don't have legacy workforce, they start from scratch. However, a lot of important elements uh in our life are not digital and the companies creating them manufacturing health care, construction, automotive, consumer goods.

Uh They are right now, they're much challenged by the growing role of technology. Sometimes they just struggle to adjust fast enough. And so this means that uh they are either starting or still going through the product transformation. I'm personally very passionate about this topic because I had the privilege to work in very different industries, sports, travel, fashion, automotive, uh online retail, and all those companies went through different stages of uh digital transformation and product transformation.

And it was the most interesting challenge for me as a tech reader to actually change the company culture from within as technology develops, we see more and more industries being disrupted, having to go through this transformation. Uh Remember when retail just went online and then actually travel finance also reinvented themselves and a lot of their services went completely online. So companies really changed a lot. And now even for manufacturing or automotive, we talk about uh digital trends, we talk about software defined.

So those pretty hardcore industries that were like very much rooted in the physical world, not the digital world even, they now have to learn about how to build software, how to be fast and innovative, how to completely change their innovation cycles to actually make sure that uh they react to the change in technology fast enough.

So it's a different ball game. Hence, transformation is really in a. So today, I will walk you through some D Os and don't of uh the transformation. But first, let me talk a little bit about uh two types of transformation. I mentioned them already. Digital transformation and product transformation. So what, how do they differ? And what is uh similar among uh the two of them? Well, first of all, digital transformation is really a process of just using digital technology to change how organizations operate, how they uh sustain their processes.

It's essentially an automation of processes, right? So technology is used to optimize more or less the same business operations. In many cases, it of course still means that some workforce is made redundant uh some structures within the organization change, but uh most of decision making structures still stay the same, most of kind of power balance still stay the same. So it's about really doing the same thing but faster, automating the existing processes. However, product L transformation is really very much different. It involves a change in of a mindset change of company culture. Because with product L transformation, the company truly needs to put the customer in the focus point and uh put the product technology product first and foremost in the focus point, right, and organize the process around it. Make sure that uh every decision, every action is centered around the customer and their needs. It really requires a very deep understanding of the customer of their journey. Uh ability to continuously gather feedback uh about how the customer actually uses the product and complete continuously iterate on the product to improve its value. So it's a lot to do with a gel processes with uh trust in the metrics gathering, the right metrics being data informed.

This approach is often used in software software is a services companies. Uh The product, software product is already uh the revenue driver for them. And so uh it is kind of uh already front and center to be centered around product. However, for more traditional businesses, it's definitely not the case. So it requires a transformation. Tech innovation will truly need to drive growth and uh cultural mindset within the company need to change, to sustain that. So what is uh required to make sure that this product transformation is successful?

So, first of all, I would say you really need to define the right model of the transformation. And uh what I've observed in my career is that uh there are, I would say three ways to do product transformation. Well, first and probably um pretty common one is to create a designated software or designated innovation unit within the company. So it's kind of a start up within the company So you separate the traditional part of the company from the new one, you call the new one innovation hub or whatever uh you insulate it uh from uh processes outside. And you make sure that uh you provide enough funding and enough flexibility to this start up within the company so that uh they can truly run fast and implement uh software innovations, tech innovations, faster, good approach definitely enables uh rapid innovation. However, there are some deficiencies with that as well because uh um it still means that this unit is insulated and the rest of the company doesn't follow the same culture, doesn't follow the same mindset. And then due to this isolation, it actually creates uh a significant time lag uh between um how the changes are going within this unit and maybe uh how these changes are propagated among the leaders that work with this small unit and how the rest of the company works.

So whenever you need support from some more center, uh like central functions of the company, like legal procurement whatnot, you would actually still have to go through legacy process and quite often they will clash and the overall company transformation will be pretty slow.

Then there is another way to do the transformation really, to approach it um towards the same company uh toward the whole company, sorry and to do it uh kind of from the outside. So you engage consultants, right? Uh There are multiple consulting agency great talented one that uh in last year um in recent years, truly understood the value of uh being product l the value of a gel transformation, growth mindset whatnot. And so they can definitely support any company going through the product transformation.

However, also some deficiencies with this approach. The biggest one is really that uh there will be always a lack of trust. Um Those external consultants are viewed as outsiders, there will always be questions like, well, yeah, but uh you don't really know how our our company operates, you suggest those generic actions, but our company is unique. You don't know enough about our intern sausage making.

And so there is this immediate mistrust and uh it can also slow down, slow down the transformation significantly. And then there is a third way which is hiring digital natives, so to say, to do the transformation, right? So you uh define the most critical positions uh in the company like uh uh CTO like Chief Product Officer or Innovation Officer and then they are direct and you hire them from the companies that uh significantly like that, that made significant progress in their transformation before or or kind of digital first product l first from the start.

So those big technology companies or any other successful companies that really show best product led practices, good approach, great approach. Again, not without some deficiencies. It is still a difficult uh journey to do the transformation. Even if you have digital natives and uh the pictures of the world will still anyways clash a little bit. Uh So the deficiencies I mentioned, but the previous model uh not to the same extent that, but they will still probably manifest a little bit with this approach as well. But uh I would say still this is a very important element of a successful transformation to be very mindful. What approach you are taking, what are the risks of that approach and how do you mitigate them? Right? And this is why I talked about some deficiencies, each one of those so that you can understand the risks better. Now, what would be the next critical element? It is really about finding allies within the company that will help you go through this transformation. As I mentioned, as I mentioned, mentioned before, um this resistance within the company with mistrust uh is really the key element that uh every company has to overcome when it goes through the transformation changes. Heart change means that uh the employees will have to start working differently.

Somebody will probably lose um some share of their influence. And uh this is never easy, right? So we are all humans, we all resist change most of the time I would say plus uh there is also a lot of information, a lot of data showing us that uh human humans really go through change in different manners. Some embrace it fast, some are actually slower and it needs to be acknowledged. Uh If you wanna make sure that your transformation is successful, you have to find powerful allies within the company uh within, let's say, legacy structures of the company that will help you transform it from within. You have to work through leaders and then help those leaders so that they can increase the circles of people that are involved into the transformation. You have to be humble to make sure that uh people see that you are trying to do what's best for the company and best for the customer and not just pushing your own agenda, right?

You have to provide enough education and evangelism about the benefits of the new approach, about the benefits of putting technology, putting the customer front and center. A lot of resistance comes from a lack of understanding, right? We all know that uh in most cases people forget new information quickly. And also that uh sometimes the message gets uh kind of uh misinterpreted, right? So you have to communicate, frequently, communicate, often uh keep educating and uh keep evangelizing and last but not least here, make sure that uh you actually make hr your ally and not uh your enemy in this transformation. It's often underestimated, but uh a product transformation usually involves certain organizational changes. And this is where hr will be really a very helpful element within the company to make sure that this is executed fast and executed in the right manner. Next, what I would like to talk about is that it's important to use the right mechanisms when going through digital transformation and product transformation. Special product one, it's not enough to just talk about change. It's not enough to just announce that from now on, we will all work differently. It doesn't work like that, right? You have to establish uh sustainable new processes and sustainable mechanisms to frequently audit that the company is really working following the new way of working, right?

So you have to have the right process for objectives and key results. You need to have uh a new product vision mission and strategy that everybody understands that everybody actually sees as the main tool to drive privatization within the company. What we do, what we don't do should be dependent on the product vision. Uh We we need to be very clear uh with the mechanisms to install agile processes and truly empower teams to make decisions on their level and not constantly push it up the ladder and become truly agile and not just waterfall that is uh masking as in the gel. And uh we have to be truly customer focused and think about outputs, uh not just outputs but the right business outcomes outputs like the number of features that we launched doesn't really matter that much what matters is what are the true business outcomes and uh data informed is also critical because you wanna make sure that it's one of the mechanisms, you establish the right metrics and you gather data, you follow data, you have dashboards that you can look at frequently as leaders and uh audit.

Now, another one that I would like to quickly talk about is what you don't do. So um really the big no, no of a product transformation that uh will not lead you in the right direction. Um First, don't is really don't have this us versus them mentality. I mentioned it before, but I want to talk about it again. It is probably one of the cardinals of a transformation. The moment you start uh talking about um OK, but we did this like this in my previous company and this is the right way to do things or like we te we are tech people, we understand this and you don't understand this. This is the moment you build this great wall, you build this great divide between the teams and it will be a lot more difficult for you to transform those other teams behind the wall. And now don't, don't expect quick results, right? Product transformation is a long game. And uh you will have to go several cycles probably a year with cycles uh to truly demonstrate that this new approach with uh empower teams with following the data with putting the customer front and center, you will need several cycles to demonstrate that it works and that it's truly now rooted within the company.

So don't expect quick results, don't promise quick results either. Don't under invests in metrics because again, to demonstrate success, you have to be able to measure it. And another important one don't duplicate functions. Uh This is probably a very easy trap to fall into when you see that uh uh in your company, um certain functions just are not fast enough to support your hyper innovations. It is very easy to just duplicate them within your tech department, right? And you have now duplicative functions that uh yes, maybe within your tech department, it will be a little bit faster. But the moment you have to still align with the whole company, it will come to a grinding halt because the process are misaligned to duplicative functions. Fight for power. Don't talk to one another, not gonna do any good. And the last don't is really, don't give up. I would say that this is probably one of the most important important. Don't uh product transformation matters. This is how we make sure that uh technology truly helps your business become successful. Technology empowers your business empowers people provides freedom to make the right decisions on behalf of the customer. And uh if you give up too fast, you will not see all those great things in action. All right.

So now just uh to the final notes, uh I will uh leave them here um on screen and uh to quickly summarize, it's really about making sure that uh uh you have the right culture, the right mindset and the right methodology. When you go through product that transformation, make sure that uh you keep communicating uh that you are very clear about establishing the right processes and a shared direct vocabulary. And that uh you do not give up, it's a journey. And uh if we stick to it, we will definitely get uh to great results. All right. Uh So, with that, uh thank you all so much for your attention today. Again, if uh there are any questions, I will be happy to take them also uh later uh through my linkedin profile. So please um join me, follow me, friend me and I'm happy to continue this conversation. I believe it's a very important one for the tech community. And uh I, I'm very passionate about this topic. Thank you all so much for your attention.