Taking Control of Collaboration in IT Transformation

Taking Control of Collaboration in IT Transformation

IT transformations depend on more than structure and systems. They rely on how people actually work together. This article explores how Cophi makes collaboration measurable using Organisational Network Analysis (ONA), how it reveals hidden risks in the human system, and how it helps leaders integrate those insights into governance for lasting impact.

The Blind Spot in IT Transformations

Major IT transformation programs often begin with solid technical foundations. There is a delivery framework. Architecture is mapped. Roles and responsibilities are defined. Governance is in place.

Yet even with all of this structure, things can still go wrong. Not because of the technology or the process, but because of how people work together across the system. Silos emerge. Ownership blurs. Friction builds beneath the surface. And long before any KPI picks it up, value begins to leak from the transformation.

This is not the exception. It is a pattern. These issues are common consequences of overlooking one of the most critical factors in complex programs: collaboration.

Why Collaboration Needs a Systemic View

In environments where responsibility is distributed across vendors and service providers, departments and teams, collaboration is both essential and vulnerable. Traditional tools focus on processes and deliverables. They rarely provide insight into how the people in the system are connecting, aligning and learning together.

This becomes especially risky during transitions. Moving to a new delivery model, integrating partners or scaling agile ways of working. Without trust, clarity and coordination, delivery slows, governance becomes reactive and people retreat into silos.

Leaders often sense this intuitively, but lack a way to address it systemically. That is where ONA comes in.

What Cophi’s ONA Reveals

ONA offers a way to map how collaboration really happens. It is based on lived experience. Who teams rely on, where information flows, how people solve problems together and interact socially.

Through a 10-minute structured survey, Cophi measures seven dimensions of collaboration, including information sharing, problem solving, psychological safety and feedback culture. The results are presented as a visual network and through system-health KPI: the Net Collaboration Score (NCS). With the NCS leaders can track collaboration health over time.

The real value lies in the dialogue it creates. Data-driven insights into collaboration help teams and leaders step back from symptoms and reflect on the system itself. They open up conversations that would otherwise stay stuck, and they do so without assigning blame.

Bringing Collaboration into the Governance Cycle

Cophi’s ONA is most powerful when it is not treated as a one-off analysis, but as part of the governance rhythm. Used alongside delivery reviews, retrospectives or quarterly business updates, it becomes a practical tool for learning and continuous improvement.

By embedding collaboration insights into the way programs are steered, leaders gain a new lens on performance. They can track how alignment evolves over time. Identify friction before it escalates. And strengthen shared ownership across teams and providers.

In short, Cophi brings the human system into the same spotlight as process and results. That is where meaningful transformation starts.

From Insight to Ongoing Impact

ONA offers something rare in IT transformations. It helps organisations see and improve the conditions for collaboration at scale. It does not replace existing governance or delivery frameworks. It adds something they often miss: visibility into how people actually work together across boundaries.

Cophi’s approach combines diagnostic insight, coaching and training of internal Change Makers to help organisations strengthen the human system behind delivery. Whether you are preparing for rollout, in the middle of implementation or looking to improve post go-live, we help you track what matters most: the ability to collaborate across complexity. And we help you embed that capability into your own teams for the long term.

Here is how collaboration intelligence supports every phase of IT transformation:

Illuminate barriers. Mobilise change.