How to successfully approach a digital project

What is a digital project?

To set up a digital project, you first need to know what we mean by a digital project. The answer is actually quite simple. As soon as the 'end product' of your project contains an element that is digital, it is already a digital project. This ranges from basic digital services, such as a website or CRM system, to innovative applications like a digital exhibition or app.

In this 'longread,' we cover all the steps involved in a digital project within the basic services. By this, we mean the recurring, structural services that are part of the core of your organization, such as implementing existing internal systems or renewing existing digital tools.

This means that a digital project could involve a new software system, online document management, a collaboration environment, a new (corporate) website, or an administrative system (planning system, accounting system, etc.).

For a digital project as part of your basic services, you can clearly define in advance the desired outcome and the impact the project will have on the organization.

Setting up a digital project for your basic services

To successfully approach a digital project, you need to go through three standard phases: preparation, execution, and follow-up.

The preparation phase includes clearly articulating the "why" and setting up a project canvas. You can see this as a compact visual representation of a project, where you quickly and clearly structure important elements. This is useful for brainstorming, discussing, and planning your digital project. A project canvas can help you think about the questions you need to answer before starting your digital project.

1. Preparation

Go directly to Execution and Live

a. The project canvas as a tool for a digital project

Such a project canvas is a tool and a precursor to the briefing you ultimately communicate to a technical partner. It's a kind of preliminary research. In a project canvas, you answer questions like: why do you want this digital project, what problems are you solving with the digital project, and who is the digital project intended for? With DEN’s project canvas template and step-by-step plan, you can systematically map out these questions and their answers. This gives you a clear starting point for a digital project.

b. How can user stories help me?

In a project canvas, you often work with user stories. A user story is literally a story about a user. It’s a brief description of a user’s need in the form of a short narrative. User stories help you visualize in advance what exactly you are solving for whom and why with your digital project. Use our template for user stories within a digital project.

c. How do I determine what’s important in my digital project?

The MoSCoW method

While creating your project canvas and working with user stories, you’ll need to prioritize: what is important and what is not? To prioritize effectively within a digital project, you need to list: which elements are nice to have but not essential? What is desirable but lower on the priority list? And what do we (consciously) leave aside for now?

There’s a simple method to distinguish all these things: the MoSCoW method. With this, you differentiate Must have (mandatory), Should have (should ideally), Could have (nice but not necessarily now), and Won’t have (we’ll leave it for now). Here’s the difference between the four.

Must have

The Must-have list contains the elements crucial for starting the project. For example, hardware or privacy-assuring software.

Should have

The wish list contains items you want to deliver in the medium to long term. These items are not yet necessary for the first phase of the project (in the short term). For example, using a Large Language Model trained only with your own data.

Could have

A list of Could haves essentially says: this is nice to have, but maybe something for later. For example, a new CRM system that can ‘communicate’ with the CMS.

Won’t have

This one is clear: not needed (for now). By distinguishing these four, you have priorities in view and know what must and what can. This list also helps you during a concrete conversation later with your future technical partner.

d. Change management: how do you involve users in a digital project?

One way to make change easier and more successful is the Prosci method*, a well-known change management method. We guide you step by step through the Prosci method for change management.

Implementing a new system takes quite some effort. You can build it, but it also needs to be used effectively. How do you ensure that? And how do you reduce or prevent resistance in a digital project? Change management can help. Change management is the point where you actively involve everyone affected by the digital trajectory in some way. We guide you step by step through the Prosci method for change management so that your digital project is well-received by all your users.

*Prosci is a globally leading methodology for change management, focused on the human side of change. It uses the well-known ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) to guide individuals and organizations through transformations.

e. How do you write a good briefing?

For almost all digital projects, you’ll need an external party. A project canvas is usually too concise for a discussion — it’s more of a strategic summary. Therefore, it’s important to prepare a clear briefing before you start looking for a tech partner. In it, you specify your expectations, estimate the budget, mention a rough deadline, and indicate who needs to be involved internally.

f. How do I choose the right technical partner for my digital project?

Which technical agency would suit your digital project? Ask yourself the following questions during orientation: is this company familiar with your sector, and have they developed a similar product before? Does their way of working fit your organization? Does their project setup align with yours? Does a large or small agency suit you?

You can, of course, work with an agency you already know, but it’s also worth meeting new contenders or writing a pitch.

You’ve chosen your tech partner, now what?

You’ve selected your agency. Now what? Usually, the first step is to decide whether to go for an existing solution (possibly with adjustments) or a new product. The methodology is often determined by the agency you’re collaborating with.

They have experience building the product and can determine whether it works well in the context you intend to use it. Together with your tech partner, you’ll ultimately decide on: final methodologies, budget, planning, and the project team.

• The phases of an existing solution

If you choose an existing solution on the market, you can often agree on a pilot with your technical supplier. This is a kind of trial period. You don’t have to buy the solution immediately or acquire a long-term license, but you use the software for, say, three months as a trial. Afterward, you can often tweak and customize to achieve the optimal result.

• The phases of a new digital product

Are you building a new digital product? Then you generally go through four phases: exploration, development, testing, and implementation. But there’s a fifth! Adjusting and updating. This is sometimes forgotten but is an integral part of your digital product.

For each phase, it’s important to schedule measurement points and decision moments. You can document this in a work plan or roadmap.

2. Execution

Go directly to phase: live

You’ve chosen the right technical partner, sharpened the briefing, and completed the preparation — time to really get started. In the execution phase, everything comes together: plans become tangible steps, ideas are built, and your collaboration takes shape. Together with your tech partner, you define not only what is being built but also how you’ll work, with which team, budget, and timeline. In the following sections, we guide you step by step through this process so you can make clear choices and maintain control over what happens along the way.

a. What are the phases of executing a digital project?

b. Determine your work methodology

As you continue with your digital project, you need to decide how you want to work. There are different project methodologies for your digital project. For example, you can work with the waterfall method, agile/scrum, or hybrid.

What are the different project methodologies (and what is scrum)?

What if my external supplier wants agile/scrum, but my organization is used to traditional planning?

Discuss with your supplier what the possibilities and limitations are for your organization. Get informed about the expectations the supplier has of you in an agile/scrum project. Experience shows that a mixed form often works very well, so waterfall in your organization and scrum at the design company can work fine, as long as the process is discussed in advance and expectations are clear on both sides. Make sure to document this to avoid misunderstandings.

c. How do I determine the budget for my digital project?

The next step is the final budget determination. How much does a digital project cost? It often helps to reverse the question and ensure your request isn’t endlessly large and complex. The question then becomes: how big is this digital project for your organization, how much budget and team time can you allocate for it? With this question in hand, it becomes much easier to arrive at a budget because it makes the question more concrete and starts from the available resources.

Step-by-step plan to determine your budget

d. Planning

What does a planning look like? In a digital project, three components influence each other in terms of planning:

1. Time (the amount of time available/can be allocated)
2. Scope (what you’re creating)
3. Resources (technology, people)

This is called the scope triangle.

If you change one of the three, it almost always impacts the other two. Ideally, time, scope, and resources are always balanced. In practice, one or two often dominate. Be aware that there are one or two such focal points in your project that impact your planning.

e. Assemble your project team

How do you assemble a project team for your digital project? Digital projects almost always involve a project team that operates both within and outside the organization. We explain how to determine who you need inside and outside the organization. In any case, the roles of product owner, UX/UI designer, developer, content specialist, and tester must always be represented.

What roles exist within a digital project?

3. Live

Your digital project has been built, tested, and users can start working with it. The first thing you do after your digital project goes live? Celebrate successes! Reflect on what has been achieved and what positive changes are coming.

You now have a beautiful new system that will help you further in the process of digital transformation. It’s important not to see the end of the execution period as the final destination. There are several steps you can (and should) take.

Organize your organization well to manage and optimize systems. Technical management, an innovation working group, and knowledge building are important.

a. Set up a support system for users

Once your digital project is live, it’s important that colleagues know where to go with questions. Not only for technical support but also for the new way of working. Ensure a clear point of contact or team to answer such questions. Think of: internal colleagues for functional questions and an external helpdesk for technical questions. The key is that people know who to turn to with which question. IT systems can support this but are just tools; the core is a clear organizational structure for support.

TIP: Set up an online FAQ (frequently asked questions) list where answers are provided to common questions and it’s clear who to contact for further assistance.

b. Collect user feedback after going live

There are different ways to collect user feedback. Choose what fits your organization and the size of the group you want feedback from.

A small group?

The smaller the group, the better it is to do this verbally in a meeting. Prepare your questions in advance. To ensure everyone has a chance to speak, you can use a mentimeter (www.mentimeter.com).

A large group?

If the group is large, you can use an online survey and/or deploy key-users or ambassadors: these are designated colleagues who gather feedback from others.

c. Further development, management, and optimization 

A digital project is really never finished. You need to not only maintain a project technically (comparison: your phone also regularly needs updates), but you also need to make room for further development. Needs and possibilities will change.

Which three aspects should you keep in mind for management and optimization?

d. A digital project as part of digital transformation and digital strategy

Your digital project is now live — great work! But this is, of course, not the end of your cultural organization's digital journey. Digital projects contribute to a larger, continuous process: digital transformation. Digital transformation is a change process in which you continuously make choices, learn, and adjust.

Digital transformation means a vision in which digital projects fit into a broader digital strategy. A good digital strategy has concrete goals that contribute to change that is valuable for both the audience and the organization. With a good digital strategy, your cultural organization is resilient and future-proof in a continuously changing digital landscape.
 

e. How do I measure the impact of my digital project?

It’s logical to wonder what the impact of digital activities is; how it contributes to social, educational, or artistic goals. This is also part of your digital strategy. You define the impact goals for your project or organization in advance.

Next, you determine which (digital) activities contribute to these goals. You measure this impact by testing your assumptions after implementing the new systems. Collect data about your audience, both qualitative and quantitative. For example, age categories and people's reactions to their experiences. This will give you insight into what really works in practice. Based on these insights, you can substantiate strategic choices, adjust, and allocate resources more effectively in the future.