The difficulty of the DX project and the burden on the person in charge increased

Macnica, which has supported over 300 DX projects to date, has the following to say about recent trends surrounding projects.

“The number of management teams recognizing the need for DX and incorporating it into their medium-term management plans is increasing. Some companies have completed the step of technical verification, and are proceeding to the phase of interlocking with management issues and actual operation.In addition, the shift to digital has accelerated due to the impact of the COVID-19. Due to the unstable economic environment, approval requests for plans have become extremely severe, and I feel that the demands for deadlines and speed in particular are increasing every day.” (Maruyama)

Under the influence of these trends, the expectations and burdens of project leaders and members have increased dramatically.
Management also finds it difficult to judge the relevance and progress as good or bad. And what they all have in common is that there is just too much to consider.

What is the wall that prevents DX?

So what are the barriers that block DX? It's because it's "too difficult".

"For example, when creating materials that break down the medium-term management plan, 'changes in business processes and collaboration between departments' are issues, and we discuss who will do it and whether there are people who can actually do it. Many people seem to find it difficult to actually reach a consensus across departments.” (Maruyama)

From the system point of view, each department has already made its own optimizations, which makes it even more difficult.

Maruyama analyzes that "difficulty of communication is high" when digging deeper about "difficulty". In particular, the DX promotion department is positioned between management and related departments, and requires complex communication.

From an organizational perspective, the business volume of the DX promotion department is very large, and it can be seen that the situation is difficult.

Workarounds for DX barriers arrived at from 300 cases of support

In order to break through the barriers to promoting DX mentioned above, it is essential to “create a form that facilitates communication.”

“When management, related departments, and the DX team become a trinity, communication will proceed smoothly, and the difficulty level will be lowered. There are four points to achieve this: ``health checkups'' and ``simulations.'' "Fit to Standard" and "Security" (Maruyama)

Regarding the health checkup (current situation analysis), Maruyama said, ``In communication between layers and departments, it is essential to have a consensus on the starting point. We always need diagnostics and analysis.”
On top of that, it is necessary to understand the issues in the current situation analysis and investigation in advance.

“Even if we understand the necessity of analyzing the current situation, there are still difficulties in implementing it. ' and 'costs are high when outsourcing.' Also, we must not forget that current situation analysis imposes a burden not only on the side of the investigation, but also on the side of the investigation." (Maruyama)

So, what will be the breakthrough point of the current situation analysis? It is to realize "objective and quantitative" current status and business process visualization that can be used between departments and layers "quickly and at low cost".

"Specifically, there are maturity diagnostics to check your company's position, and process diagnostics to analyze As-Is in your business, and Macnica also provides diagnostic services." (Maruyama)

As for “simulation,” communication becomes smoother by sharing experiences. According to Maruyama, the key to breakthroughs is to catch trends that are “cheap, fast, and don’t make too many details.”

At first, it is important to be conscious of grasping the whole rather than seeking high accuracy.

Fit to Standardについては、部門間の連携や業務プロセスの変更が入るプロジェクトでは、机上の理論による説明で経営層と現場の双方から理解を得る難易度が高くなります。
要件定義にかかる時間と工数も非常に大きくなってしまうケースが多く、これをドライブできる人材も枯渇しています。

Totally optimized digital infrastructure will be more difficult

“The Fit to Standard approach is effective as a breakthrough. In Japan, I think there are many Fit & Gap systems that match the system to the business. Fit to Standard, on the other hand, is a method of maximizing the use of so-called packages to match the business to the system.For insufficient in-house requirements, we do not develop add-ons, but externally cooperate with APIs The point is to realize it through the application utilization and development of the "(Maruyama)

For the Fit to Standard approach, it is important to have a good understanding of package standards

Regarding the last question, "security," Maruyama said, "Security is something that can easily be overlooked when discussing issues. Even if you consult with the IT department, they often say, 'Security in the OT area is not under the jurisdiction of the IT department.' It seems that.
In order to get the cooperation of the IT department, we need to think specifically about ``for what,'' ``when,'' and ``where and where will it be connected?'' and offer consultation at the optimum timing." To do.

In addition, if the deadline for security consideration is clarified and cooperation is not considered by then, interruptions and rework may occur. When creating the infrastructure configuration in the final phase, it is important to always consider security.

Failure to consider security requirements can have a significant impact on project progress

"It is important that you proceed with the best consideration in line with your company's policies. The IT department may be busy, but I would like you to try to communicate with them. The first thing you can do is manage and monitor your partner. If you want to complete it in-house, you need to assign a person in charge.Prepare preparations for accidents, escalation paths, and recovery procedures.You can also incorporate it into standards such as ISO. (Maruyama)

Reference material

*Registration is required to view materials. 
This is a guide to a white paper that summarizes three initiatives that will make a breakthrough in the DX project.

Related article

*Tech Blog*
Actual operation of manufacturing industry DX and AI--What are the pitfalls that are easy to fall into and how to deal with them?

*Tech Blog*
What is the best way to deal with "MES (Manufacturing Execution System)", which is the key to realizing data-driven management?

To top page