It is useful to think about investments in digital as essentially investments in change. It includes changes in how an organization interacts with its customers, citizens, or patients; in operational processes; in business models; in supply chain relationships; and in how employees use information to generate insight.

One tool that I have used to great effect to improve the likelihood of a successful result from digital investments is the benefits dependency network (BDN). This tool seeks to get managers to identify and map all the changes that they will be required to make if expected benefits and outcomes are going to be delivered. It also illustrates very clearly how this change will be enabled and shaped by digital technologies. The resultant network shows how each of the expected benefits will be delivered through a combination of technology and business changes and how these are related to each other.