You’re Doing Change Wrong: Start with Process and Data Discovery or Don’t Bother

In large, complex organisations, transformation isn’t a single project. It’s a continual effort to make systems, people and data work better together to drive forward the overarching organisational mission and goals. Yet Gartner revealed only 48% of digital initiatives meet or exceed their business outcome targets, meaning over half are failing.  

With multiple programmes running in parallel, each with its own goals and pressures, change often becomes disjointed. That’s why meaningful optimisation starts with understanding: how your organisation actually operates, how processes move data and how that data enables (or constrains) the outcomes you’re trying to achieve. 

Many programmes, one purpose 

In most organisations, transformation starts small (a pilot or proof of concept) before scaling into something larger and more ambitious. This is of course a tried and tested approach, which ensures change is validated, measurable and repeatable. But as transformation scales, the challenge shifts. 

When dozens or even hundreds of programmes are running simultaneously, as is often the case in government and regulated sectors, it becomes essential to create a shared framework: a way to see how processes intersect, which data supports which operations, and where duplication or risk might arise. 

Without that clarity, every team is forced to rediscover the same ground. Projects overlap, resources are wasted and data issues compound quietly in the background. The result? Well-intentioned programmes that deliver in isolation but fail to move the organisation forward as a whole. 

That’s where the value comes from discovery at scale: creating a consistent, reusable approach that brings visibility and coherence across transformation programmes. We help teams see not just what is changing, but how and why it connects to the bigger picture. 

Bringing process and data together 

For years, business process mapping and data management have been treated as separate disciplines. They’re often owned by different teams, operating on different timelines, using different tools. But that separation is precisely what limits progress. Greater overall value is realised when they are brought together. 

Processes describe how data moves, whether that’s through transactions, reporting or decision-making. Data, meanwhile, provides the insight that fuels process improvement and innovation. When process and data discovery are aligned, organisations gain not only visibility of how things work today, but the foundation to improve them tomorrow. 

It’s why an approach that brings process and data discovery together is so valuable. It allows organisations to see not just how work gets done, but the quality, consistency and flow of the data that underpins it. This dual lens makes it possible to identify inefficiencies, surface dependencies and design change that actually delivers measurable value. 

When organisations understand both, they can begin to make smarter, faster, more confident decisions. Importantly they avoid the all-too-common trap of automating bad processes or trying to “fix” data without understanding its context. 

Discovery as a reusable asset 

Discovery isn’t just an early phase of transformation.  It’s an investment in the organisation’s collective understanding.  

It’s about building a reusable asset: a structured, living model of how their organisation operates, which programmes can continue to refine and use over time. Each discovery exercise adds to this knowledge base, so rather than starting from scratch, new initiatives benefit from the work that came before. This not only improves consistency and governance but also drives a culture of value sustainability within the organisation. Our approach lowers discovery cost, reduces duplication and speeds up results.  

Modernising the data infrastructure for a major government department 

One example of this approach in action comes from a major government department. Faced with a vast and fragmented data estate spread across multiple data centres and providers, they needed to modernise their infrastructure to enable real-time decision-making and long-term transformation. Supported with a team experienced in process optimisation, they were able to achieve a migration of 350TB of data into a secure, cloud-based environment. This resulted in consolidating suppliers, improving data quality and resilience, and realising around £5 million in annual IT savings. 

The project not only delivered immediate operational benefits but also created a scalable foundation for future innovation. 

Transforming with purpose 

True transformation doesn’t stop at efficiency. It’s about alignment, and ensuring that every process, every dataset, and every change contributes to the organisation’s purpose. 

This means looking beyond tactical fixes to see the strategic whole. At its core is a commitment to aligning processes and data structures with organisational outcomes, so transformation becomes a deliberate path toward achieving purpose, not just an endless cycle of change. 

That means starting small, validating approaches through proof of concept, and scaling when it delivers measurable value. It means involving people across departments, so that transformation is built on understanding, not imposition. It means ensuring that every improvement, however technical, is ultimately in service of a better outcome.