Digital Transformation Assumptions Log
This is a practical guide to building a assumptions log for a digital transformation project — a register of the assumptions the plan depends on, to be validated, adapted to the realities of modernising how the organisation operates using digital technology.
What a Assumptions Log is
A assumptions log is a register of the assumptions the plan depends on, to be validated. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Assumption. On a digital transformation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Digital Transformation project
Digital Transformation projects live or die on modernising how the organisation operates using digital technology. A well-built assumptions log gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how digital transformation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Assumption
- Impact if wrong
- Owner
- Validation status
Digital Transformation-specific considerations
Tailor the assumptions log to the risks that most often derail digital transformation projects:
- Cultural resistance and adoption
- Over-broad, unfocused scope
- Benefits that never materialise
Example
On a real digital transformation project, the assumptions log would be shaped by modernising how the organisation operates using digital technology. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — cultural resistance and adoption, over-broad, unfocused scope, benefits that never materialise — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.