What is it about?
With the current industry movement to “digitally transform” there is much fervor to do something, to change in some way, to do things differently and digitally; however, the last decade has shown that most organizations do not know where to start or abandon transformation efforts. And often the approaches taken fall in the realm of “low-hanging fruit” or “easy wins” which rarely result in the foundational change needed. NASA was no different in the early years of its digital transformation and this drove the development of what eventually became known as the “Four-Layer Cake”. The Four-Layer Cake provides the critical approach for determining the core areas for investment to gain the greatest return without having to boil the ocean or hope that the low-hanging fruit will provide the foundational elements for a domain’s transformation.
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Why is it important?
Companies and organizations do not have unlimited budgets to completely recreate their entire infrastructure and processes, so having a methodical, consistent approach to determine the best place to invest to realize the needed transformation changes is critical.
Perspectives
As the Digital Engineering Program Manager for NASA, I have personally executed this approach multiple times successfully with different groups within NASA where previously they were locked in analysis paralysis or were busy investing in solutions in search of problems and not addressing the true needs to achieve their actual needed outcomes.
Terry Hill
NASA
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: NASA's Four-Layer Cake: Systematic Approach for Developing a Digital Transformation Tactical Plan for Organizations, January 2025, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/6.2025-1658.
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