Embedding Governance in Digital Service Transformation
As Digital, Data & Systems Lead within a 98-person transformation program, I partnered with Defence executives and 11 service providers to design compliant workflows, data concepts, and orchestration processes that unified base services across NSW and VIC.
CHALLENGE
Defence needed to modernise 11 fragmented service models into a consistent, governed, and user-friendly experience. Legacy processes lacked integration, compliance, and data standards, leading to inefficiencies, risk exposure, and poor user experience. The goal was not only to digitise but to establish a governed digital operating model fit for Defence’s compliance, legal, and cultural context.
APPROACH
Governance by Design: Embedded compliance, auditability, and legal integrity into workflows and data flows from the outset.
Orchestration Engine Design: Defined a custom orchestration layer to automate validation, enable anomaly detection, and provide escalation pathways.
Executive Alignment: Aligned Defence executives and 11 service providers under a unified model, creating cross-functional accountability and shared success criteria.
Human-Centred Transformation: Anchored the system design in Defence’s “Stronger Me, Stronger We” principles to ensure adoption aligned with cultural and human realities.
OUTCOMES
Governance & Compliance: Embedded guardrails and data standards that ensured legal integrity and operational interoperability across all providers.
Operational Efficiency: Introduced anomaly detection and predictive modelling concepts that reduced issue resolution times by months, improving service continuity for ADF members.
Enterprise Capability: Shifted Defence from fragmented services to a unified digital operating model, laying the foundation for AI-enabled workflows and future automation.
Human-Centred Impact: Delivered an accessible, integrated vision that made “Defence life like community life,” improving usability while maintaining strict compliance.
