Companies all over the world are embracing digital transformation — the use of new (or already existing) technological capabilities — as the means to better work with their customers, distance themselves from (or keep up with) their competitors, and connect various aspects of their businesses. But to succeed in this endeavor — or even to simply get the most from their current tech — they must rid themselves of a heavy burden: technical debt. Put simply, technical debt occurs when you choose an imperfect short-term solution that will require a more substantial fix later, and includes disparate systems, added software to accommodate them, and added effort to work around them.
Effective Digital Transformation Depends on a Shared Language
For example, the word “customer” can mean different things to different departments.
December 14, 2021
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Summary.
Over time, departments develop their own languages. While sales, marketing, and finance all talk about “customers,” they likely don’t mean the same thing. For companies embarking on a digital transformation, these language barriers that grow up between departments are a problem — one tightly bound to technical debt, which includes disparate systems, added software to accommodate them, and added effort to work around them. Technical debt grows as departments adopt increasingly disparate business language and embed that language in their systems. To reduce it, companies must establish and rigorously adhere to a small, well-thought-out common language.