Deeson has been delivering digital transformation projects for our clients since 2001. In that time we’ve identified that the three components common to every successful transformation, without exception, are people, process and technology.

It’s easy to get bogged down in the technology aspect of digital transformation. As a digital agency, we understand the appeal of technology to help solve a problem. But to execute meaningful and lasting organisational change, you need to include people and process in your approach.

This is why we run our blueprint workshop at the very beginning of a project, before we even start thinking about design and build.

Running a blueprint workshop.

The blueprint workshop is an intensive one-day session, led by a senior Deeson director and attended by all the client’s key stakeholders and the entire project delivery team from Deeson’s side. 

We meet in person and ask a series of questions designed to provoke conversations around the organisation’s vision and strategy, project requirements, internal and end users, and key stakeholders. The focus is wider than just technology – it focusses on people and process too. 

The final deliverable is a comprehensive written report outlining everything we covered on the day, shared with every member of the project team.

Case study – Shepherd Neame.

In October 2017 Deeson was announced the winner in the Brand Experience category at the 2017 Acquia Engage Awards for our work with Shepherd Neame. We ran a blueprint workshop at the start of the project, and this laid the foundations for a highly successful digital transformation effort.

Our brief was to help the client execute a mission-critical update to the way their brand is reflected online. This project also presented an opportunity to streamline operating procedures, improve the content editing, governance, and publishing process, and integrate a large and complex digital estate so that content could be managed from one central location. 

During the blueprint workshop, we spoke at length with all key internal stakeholders to understand the shape of Shepherd Neame’s business, their challenges, competitors, long-term aspirations, and current thoughts on the redesign.

We conducted an in-depth competitor analysis, reviewed their data and analytics, and spent time identifying all the relevant systems we’d need to integrate with the new site. Only one we had this research meticulously recorded in the blueprint document, did we enter the ideation phase.

The final result is an elegant digital solution that aligns perfectly with the new Shepherd Neame brand identity, and significantly strengthens their proposition and public perception in a highly competitive landscape. 

Each time we run a blueprint workshop, we find that giving stakeholders an opportunity to speak openly about their drivers early on helps establish a common understanding within the team. At the same time it allows us to identify the fundamental aims and measurable goals for the project, underpinning its success from the start.

Join the Deeson team and be a part of our growth. We’re currently hiring for several roles, including a Key Account Director.