Don't Push the River: Finding Flow in Your Digital Transformation's Gap Analysis
In a recent discussion, I emphasized that the journey to successful digital transformation begins not with a solution, but with a deeply understood problem. Asking the right questions, those that probe the details of a challenge rather than suggesting a fix, is paramount. Now, let’s dive deeper into the very heart of that initial phase: the gap analysis.
 |
| Photo by Falco Negenman on Unsplash |
The proverb "Don't push the river, it flows by itself" offers a profound insight into how we approach discovery. It signifies the idea of letting things unfold naturally, embracing an organic process rather than forcing an outcome. In the context of a digital transformation gap analysis, this wisdom is invaluable. It suggests that genuine problems and their underlying causes often reveal themselves when we create space for exploration, when we listen more than we direct, and when we allow insights to emerge rather than trying to pull them out with force.
But here’s the inherent tension that consultants (and leaders
and project managers face): while the river needs to flow naturally to reveal
its true contours, every business initiative, including a gap analysis project,
operates within constraints. We have timelines, budgets, and the very real need
for efficiency. We come armed with pre-prepared templates, detailed
spreadsheets, and structured methodologies. These tools are designed to
streamline the process, ensure comprehensive coverage, and prevent the kind of
aimless wandering that eats up precious time and resources.
So, how do we reconcile the wisdom of "don't push the
river" with the undeniable demand for a structured, efficient approach to
uncovering our digital gaps? How do we prevent our prepared frameworks from
inadvertently compromising the very quality of the insights we seek?
The Essence of "Not Pushing the River" in Gap
Analysis
To truly let the river of understanding flow during a gap
analysis, we must cultivate an environment that encourages genuine, unfiltered
articulation of challenges. This means:
- Suspending
Pre-conceived Solutions: Walking into a diagnostic meeting with an
internal team, already convinced they need a specific type of software,
effectively pushes the river. It narrows the discussion, preventing
alternative perspectives or deeper root causes from surfacing.
- Creating
Space for Narrative: People explain their problems best through
stories, examples, and detailed descriptions of their daily struggles.
"Not pushing the river" means actively listening to these
narratives, allowing for tangents that might lead to unexpected but crucial
insights. It's about letting interviewees elaborate on "how" a
problem impacts them, "when" it occurs most frequently, and
"who" else is affected.
- Embracing
the Unexpected: The most valuable discoveries in a gap analysis often
lie outside the expected parameters of your template. A casual remark, a
frustrated sigh, or an anecdote about a recurring "fix" might
illuminate a systemic flaw far more effectively than a direct question.
Allowing the conversation to flow naturally can unearth these hidden gems.
- Focusing
on Symptoms and Impact: As we discussed previously, the core of
problem-focused questioning is identifying symptoms and their ripple
effects. When you "don't push the river," you allow these
symptoms to present themselves naturally, letting the current of
discussion guide you towards their origins.
This organic approach prevents the analysis from becoming a
mere box-ticking exercise, ensuring that the identified gaps are authentic and
truly reflect the operational reality.
The Indispensable Role of Structure and Efficiency
While allowing organic discovery is vital, operating without
any framework is, quite frankly, a recipe for chaos and wasted resources.
Imagine trying to map a river without any instruments, just blindly following
its twists and turns. You'd never get a comprehensive picture, and you'd
certainly miss critical tributaries.
Prepared templates, structured interview guides, and
analytical spreadsheets are not the enemy of discovery; they are essential
tools for:
- Comprehensive
Coverage: Templates ensure that no critical area is overlooked. For an
airline, this means systematically reviewing every facet of Flight
Operations, CAMO, AMO, and their interfaces.
- Data
Organization: Once insights are gathered, they need to be captured and
organized in a consistent manner. Spreadsheets provide the structure
necessary for comparative analysis, pattern identification, and
quantifiable measurement of the gaps.
- Focused
Inquiry: While the "river" can flow, it needs banks to guide
it. A prepared framework provides a starting point for discussions,
ensuring that conversations, however wide-ranging, eventually loop back to
relevant operational areas.
- Efficiency:
Pre-preparation saves time. You don't start every interview from scratch.
You have a foundational understanding of the areas to probe, allowing for
more productive use of limited stakeholder time.
- Comparability:
When multiple interviews or workshops are conducted, a consistent
framework allows for easy comparison of findings across different teams or
departments, highlighting common pain points or unique challenges.
The true art, then, lies in how these structures are
applied.
Reconciling the Two: The "Guided Flow" Approach
The most effective gap analysis projects adopt a
"guided flow" approach, which is a delicate blend of structure and organic
discovery. It's about having your river map ready, but being prepared to redraw
sections based on what you actually encounter.
- Templates
as Flexible Frameworks, Not Rigid Questionnaires: Your pre-prepared
templates and spreadsheets should serve as a dynamic guide, not a fixed
script. They are a valuable resource for ensuring comprehensive coverage
of potential problem areas, from flight scheduling complexities to
maintenance planning bottlenecks. They prompt you to ask about specific
processes, data points, and pain points. However, they should never
constrain the conversation. If a stakeholder veers into an unexpected but
insightful area, follow that thread. You can always loop back to the
template later. The goal is to uncover insights that the template
helps you categorize, not just to fill the template.
- The
Interviewer's Skill: The Navigator of the River: The consultant
conducting the gap analysis is key to this balance. They must possess a
critical skill set:
- Deep
Listening: Not just hearing words, but understanding context,
emotion, and implicit meanings.
- Probing
Questions: Knowing when to ask "why?" five times, "how
does that affect X?", or "can you give me an example?" to
drill down to the root cause.
- Adaptability:
Being comfortable diverging from the prepared questions to explore an
emerging insight, then skillfully guiding the conversation back to the
framework.
- Empathy:
Understanding the daily frustrations of operational staff helps build
trust and encourages more open sharing.
- Iterative
and Adaptive Process: Gap analysis is rarely a linear process. Initial
interviews might reveal overarching themes, prompting the creation of more
detailed, targeted questions for subsequent deep dives. The framework
itself can (and should) evolve as the understanding of the organization's
unique "river" deepens. This iterative refinement allows both
structure and organic discovery to inform each other. In my own
experience, this is often difficult or unintuitive for aircraft
maintenance engineers and aircraft technicians (and even Pilots), as they
are accustomed to set procedures (like those in an Aircraft Maintenance
Manual), where the work steps are linear and the desired outcome determined
in advance.
The Consultant's Unique Prowess in "Guided
Flow"
Balancing the imperative for efficiency with the need for
organic discovery is precisely where a skilled consultant provides immense
value.
- Objective
Facilitation: Being an external party, a consultant can facilitate
discussions without internal biases or political baggage. They can ask the
challenging questions without causing friction and ensure all voices are
heard.
- Battle-Tested
Frameworks: Consultants bring a wealth of experience, equipped with
robust, proven methodologies and templates honed across numerous projects
and industries. These aren't generic forms; these are thoughtfully
designed to provoke thought and capture relevant data.
- Expert
Navigation: Crucially, a good consultant has the experience and
intuition to know when to "push" (apply structure to move
forward) and when to "pause and let flow" (allow deeper
exploration). They are adept at recognizing a superficial answer versus a
genuine insight and can guide the conversation towards the latter.
- Synthesis
and Strategy: Beyond just gathering information, consultants excel at
synthesizing disparate qualitative data, quantifying problems where
possible, and translating raw findings into a coherent, actionable problem
definition that forms the strategic bedrock for digital transformation.
They understand that the ultimate goal is not to deliver a
perfectly filled spreadsheet, but to uncover the most impactful problems
that, when solved with the right digital solutions, will yield the greatest
strategic benefit to the airline.
The Outcome: True Transformation
When the "don't push the river" philosophy is skilfully
woven into a structured gap analysis, the results are transformative:
- Precision
Problem Identification: You move beyond symptoms to uncover root
causes, ensuring that subsequent digital investments target the real pain
points.
- Optimized
Solution Design: Solutions are tailored to actual needs, leading to
higher adoption rates and tangible returns on investment.
- Enhanced
Buy-in: Stakeholders feel genuinely heard, leading to stronger support
for the transformation journey.
- Reduced
Risk: The likelihood of implementing an ill-fitting or ineffective
solution is significantly minimized.
Ultimately, successful digital transformation in aviation, whether it's optimizing flight operations, revolutionizing CAMO, or streamlining AMO, doesn't happen by chance or by brute force. It happens by understanding the landscape, listening intently to its rhythms, and guiding its flow with intelligent purpose. It's the art of enabling the river to reveal itself, ensuring that when you do decide to build a bridge, it connects the right banks, to the right places.
Edited: 09-Jul-2025
Enjoyed this post? Share it with a friend!
Have feedback or a question about this post?
Send Feedback via Email