The initial situation: Why a foundation made of toothpicks brings down every project

Anyone building a house first checks the building ground. Anyone starting a digital project often ignores this step and is later surprised to find cracks in the façade. The problem: every unresolved assumption about the actual condition costs many times over in the later course of the project. If there is a lack of documentation and the knowledge only exists in the heads of individual employees, every innovation becomes a risky blind flight.

The 6 pillars of a stable foundation

We analyze six core areas in order to transform the initial situation from “historically grown system landscapes” into a resilient starting field:

Mission & Restrictions:
What is the real trigger for the project? Do we know the current TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and do we know where the money is really going?

IT landscape & legacy issues:
Which systems (ERP, PIM, CRM) are in use? Which “special curls” do we need to cut off so that the new system is not immediately blocked again?

Data sovereignty:
Where does the data come from, where does it go and what about its quality? Data waste in a new system remains data waste.

Workflows & processes:
Are workflows still up to date or do employees manually enter data into five different systems “because we’ve always done it this way”? And are these processes also documented?

Use cases:
Which functions create real added value and what is just expensive “chichi”” that nobody uses in the end?

Stakeholder insights:
Who are the real users (internal and external) and what are their biggest pain points?

The maturity check: How stable is the foundation?

A realistic picture of your own situation is the best insurance against budget overruns. Where do you classify your company?

System knowledge not fully completed, processes and data flows not fully documented.

Main systems have been named, initial documentation exists. Knowledge is personal.

Comprehensive documentation of data flows and processes. Pain points are identified.

A complete overview. Processes are optimized, legacy issues identified and ready to be replaced.

Closing the “Gap to Good”

Are your foundations already shaking at the first request? Clarifying the initial situation is not a bureaucratic exercise, but an economic necessity. A systematic platform audit or a targeted workshop helps to uncover blind spots before they become an expensive disaster in the course of the project.

Checklist: The foundation test

Can we explain our entire system ecosystem in three sentences?
Are all interfaces and data streams documented up to date?
Do we know exactly which manual processes are currently consuming the most time?
Have we identified the “special curls” that could fall away with a system change?
Have we talked to actual end users about their daily hurdles?

TO THE NEXT PERSPECTIVE

TO THE PLATFORM AUDIT

The other perspectives:

1st crew perspective: Who does what, how and when?

This is not about organizational charts, but about real role clarity. Who decides what? Who contributes? What does the communication matrix look like? Commitment only arises when the “you take it, I’ve got it” principle is replaced by clear responsibilities.

More about the crew

3. clear target image: Where do we want to be at the end?

A target image is much more than a list of features. It defines the business vision, target markets and, above all, the KPIs by which success is measured. While detailed plans are often invalidated by the first problem, a strategic target picture keeps the project on course even in stormy phases.

More about the target image

4. solution: How do we build the bridge between ACTUAL and TARGET?

This perspective identifies the specific differences between the current status and the target image. It translates the black box “project” into a comprehensible roadmap with stages, decision points and clear next steps.

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