A service-oriented meta-design for the strategic digital transformation process in Natural History museums

Abstract

The mission and services of natural history museums (NHMs) show, preserve and study life and ecosystems on Earth to understand nature's patterns and support their conservation. The evolution of IS/IT has driven a fundamental transformation of services and processes within different types of organizations such as NHMs, giving rise to the phenomenon known in the literature as digital transformation. Digital Transformation (DT) is a strategic, organization-wide approach that brings and improves together processes, people and technology. DT is a complex process that requires organizational commitment, including the redesign of service/business processes, developing new skills, and sometimes overcoming people resistance and inertia. Museums have been no strangers to DT for the past few decades, but their pace of change has been slower than in other sectors, leaving most museums far from digital maturity. However, in order to open up their biodiversity data and increase the effectiveness of their service processes, NHMs are faced with the need to integrate IS/IT and transform digitally. Therefore, for NHMs strategic planning of DT has become crucial to set both a clear strategic direction for NHMs to fulfill their mission and maintain their relevance in 21st century. Using a design science research approach, the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) are collaborating in an applied research project, approved and funded by the Industrial Doctorate Programme of the Generalitat de Catalunya. The result will be a new methodology for strategic planning of DT in NHMs, as well as a first DT plan for the Collections area of the MCNB. This paper explains the meta-design carried out to build such a methodology.