Governing Digital Transformation: An Integrated Framework for Project Management, Scheduling, and Change Leadership

Abstract

This article proposes an integrated framework for managing complex digital transformation projects within large multinational corporations. It critiques siloed approaches and argues that success hinges on the confluence of robust project governance, adaptive scheduling, and structured change management. This conceptual paper employs a single, in-depth case study of the Hilti Group's migration from SAP to Salesforce. The analysis is structured around a tripartite framework evaluating the project through the lenses of (1) the PRINCE2 methodology for project governance, (2) Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) for scheduling, and (3) the ADKAR model for change management. The analysis demonstrates that digital transformation projects are not merely technical upgrades but strategic organisational changes. The recommended integrated framework ensures strategic alignment through PRINCE2's business case focus, mitigates resource-based risks via CCPM's buffering system, and actively manages human resistance using ADKAR's staged approach to change readiness. This paper synthesises three established but often separate project management domains into a single, cohesive framework. It provides project managers and organisational leaders with a practical, holistic model for navigating the technical, logistical, and human complexities inherent in major digital transformation initiatives, thereby enhancing the probability of project success and strategic benefit realisation.