The problem
IT transformation programs — ERP/EPM migration, cloud transition, product org restructuring, run vs. change trade-offs — create friction that project dashboards don't capture.
What gets reported in steering committees is the schedule, the budget, the milestones. What remains invisible is the ground reality: silos between teams, misunderstandings about priorities, team fatigue, passive resistance, and competing priorities between business units and IT.
The result: decisions are made with an incomplete picture. Sponsors sense that "something is off" without being able to name what. Teams endure without being heard. Strategic trade-offs are made on gut feeling rather than structured evidence.
Typical signal: "We ran a project satisfaction survey last month. Overall score: 6.2/10. But we still don't know what's really blocking us, or what to prioritize."
Why traditional approaches fail
Internal survey
Scores without understanding. You know "things aren't going well" but not why, or what to do. Closed-ended questions don't capture nuance.
Workshops
Not scalable. 10-20 people max, the loudest voices dominate, introverts stay silent. Hard to cover all segments affected by the transformation.
Consulting firm
Budget of 50-150k euros, 3-6 month timeline. Sequential interviews (5-10 per week), manual synthesis. Qualitative depth, but slow and expensive.
Note: these approaches aren't useless — they're limited for a fast, actionable, and representative diagnosis of an ongoing transformation.
What Collective Insight changes
Collective Insight deploys a tool-augmented collective intelligence engagement, calibrated over 4 weeks, combining the depth of a qualitative interview with the scalability of a tool.
- Guided asynchronous interviews
50 participants explore topics in depth, at their own pace, in 20-40 minutes. No scheduling conflicts, no meeting rooms to book.
- Multi-pass "why" exploration
The interview adapts: it follows up, digs deeper, looks for root causes. It's not a fixed questionnaire — it's a structured conversation.
- Real-time representativeness tracking
Participation dashboard by segment. If a segment is underrepresented, targeted reminders are sent before the deadline.
- Structured and actionable synthesis
Not an 80-page report. A clear synthesis: archetypes, convergences/divergences by segment, root causes, and a prioritized action plan.
What you get
Three concrete deliverables, immediately actionable, delivered as PDF (client property). Plus 12 months of platform access to dig deeper.
Collective synthesis
Mission-specific archetypes (e.g., "the silent resistors," "the isolated sponsors"), convergences/divergences by segment (IT vs. business, management vs. frontline), identified root causes, acknowledged blind spots.
Prioritized action plan
Quick wins (immediate low-effort actions), safe levers (high-impact actions with manageable risk), medium-term initiatives. Each action is linked to a field insight — no generic recommendations.
Representativeness assessment
Segments covered, underrepresented segments, identified biases. No over-interpretation: what the data says and what it doesn't.
Examples of accelerated decisions
Here are the types of decisions sponsors make after a Collective Insight engagement on an IT transformation program:
Priority arbitration
"We thought cloud migration was the #1 priority. Frontline teams showed that clarifying run/change responsibilities is what unblocks everything else."
Responsibility clarification
"3 teams each thought they were responsible for the same scope. We were able to clarify it in the steering committee with structured evidence, not just gut feeling."
Quick wins on process
"The #1 friction point wasn't technical: it was the 5-level approval process. Simplified within 2 weeks."
Sponsor communication consistency
"Frontline teams were receiving 3 contradictory messages from 3 sponsors. The synthesis made that visible — and actionable."
Frequently asked questions
Raw verbatims are never exposed in the debrief. The collective synthesis is anonymized, with anti-re-identification rules (minimum thresholds per segment). Participants speak freely, and the sponsor receives actionable insights without putting anyone at risk.
The standard format is calibrated for 50 participants (the sweet spot for cost/representativeness). A pilot with 20-30 people is possible with adjusted pricing. Below 20, achieving representativeness by segment becomes difficult.
The two-part payment structure protects both parties. Part 2 (7k euros excl. VAT) is conditional on exploitability criteria defined during scoping (participation rate, segment coverage). If participation is borderline at D+14, a free one-week extension is offered. If it remains insufficient despite full execution of the communication plan, Part 2 is reduced or waived.
Those platforms are self-service tools with fixed questions and generic dashboards. You're left alone to interpret the results. Collective Insight is a guided engagement with guided exploration (multi-pass "why"), a delivered structured synthesis (archetypes, convergences/divergences, action plan), and scoping/debrief support. We don't sell you a tool — we deliver a result: an actionable diagnosis + a prioritized action plan.
Segmentation is defined during scoping based on your needs: by team, function, role, geographic site, seniority, or any other relevant criterion. The synthesis highlights convergences and divergences across segments. Anti-re-identification rules ensure that no segment too small can be identified.
A 20-40 minute asynchronous conversational interview, accessible online. Participants can pause and resume. The exploration adapts to response depth: rich answers mean fewer questions; concise answers trigger follow-ups to go deeper. Each participant receives their individual summary immediately after.
See also
Scope an IT engagement (30 min)
Free, no commitment. Together we determine if Collective Insight is the right fit for your transformation context.