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Steer a transformation program

You lead a transformation program that runs over several years and several steps. Each step changes the information system, and the next one starts from what the previous one delivered. Boldo lets you describe the program, prepare every step as a working copy of your data, see what each step changes, and know in advance which processes and teams are affected.

In the examples, the program replaces the historic ERP with a new one, in three steps.

Before you start​

  • You need to be allowed to create projects and scenarios. If a button is missing, ask an administrator.
  • Never used a scenario? Read Work in a scenario first.

1. Describe the program in the repository​

Create the program in the Project inventory, like any other project: its description, dates, budget, the department that leads it, and the applications it transforms.

The program: €4.8 million, 49% consumed, from March 2025 to December 2027. It transforms 5 applications and contributes to 5 business capabilities.
The program: €4.8 million, 49% consumed, from March 2025 to December 2027. It transforms 5 applications and contributes to 5 business capabilities.

This page is the program's identity card. Members with the required read permissions can consult its status and budget, and its relationships show what it touches.

2. Prepare one step per scenario​

Each step of the program becomes a scenario. The first one starts from the real data. Each following step is a sub-scenario of the previous one, a scenario built on top of another: it starts from everything the previous step changed.

Indentation identifies parent scenarios and their sub-scenarios.
Indentation identifies parent scenarios and their sub-scenarios.

In the example:

  • The first step replaces the old data warehouse with a new data platform.
  • The second step builds on it and replaces the e-commerce site.
  • The last step builds on the e-commerce step, replaces the historic ERP and switches off the server it runs on.

To create a step, open the menu of the previous step in the Data context selector and click New sub-scenario.

3. See what each step changes​

Open the review of a step, then Overview in its More menu. By default, a sub-scenario is compared with its parent: you see only what this step adds to the previous one.

Compare the program diagram in the parent and target scenarios.
Compare the program diagram in the parent and target scenarios.

The Compare with selector lets you compare a step with the real data instead, to see the whole road travelled since today.

4. Find out who is affected​

An impact analysis starting from the program answers the question every program manager gets: which processes and which teams are touched?

From the program to the applications it transforms, then to the processes that use them, then to the capabilities and teams involved: 27 assets in all.
From the program to the applications it transforms, then to the processes that use them, then to the capabilities and teams involved: 27 assets in all.

In the example, the analysis reaches 5 applications, 7 business processes, 10 business capabilities and 5 teams. Each stage of the analysis goes one level further: applications first, then processes, then capabilities and teams. It is your list for the change management plan.

Open the same analysis inside a step to see the situation at that step: in a scenario, the analysis reads the scenario's data.

5. Deliver wave by wave​

Deliver each step when it goes live, starting with the first:

  1. Apply the first step to the real data.
  2. Once it is fully applied, the next step moves up: it now starts from the real data, with its own changes intact.
  3. Apply it in turn when it goes live, and so on until the last step.

A step can also be delivered in part: apply only the changes that are ready, and the rest waits for the next wave.

Review the program status and consumed budget in the scenario.
Review the program status and consumed budget in the scenario.

Each application goes through the review, element by element, as described in Apply a scenario, and undo if needed. Along the way, keep each step in line with the one it builds on: Resynchronize takes in the latest data of its source.

Key points​

  • The program is a project: its page gathers dates, budget and what it transforms.
  • One step, one scenario. Each step is a sub-scenario of the previous one.
  • An impact analysis starting from the program lists the processes and teams to support.
  • Deliver wave by wave: apply each step to the real data when it goes live, starting with the first.

Go further​