ROI Case File No. 021 | The Wandering Project

November 1891, fog-shrouded London. An urgent telegram arrived at 221B Baker Street Detective Agency.

"URGENT CONSULTATION - MULTI-DEPARTMENT COMPANY REFORM PLAN - PURPOSE UNCLEAR PROGRESS NONE - CONFUSION EXTREME - REQUEST ASSISTANCE - DX INITIATIVE MANAGER"

As I, Watson, read the telegram aloud, three detectives gathered around the fireplace looked up simultaneously.

"Another corporate labyrinth case, it seems," I murmured, awaiting the client's arrival.

The Client's Desperate Plea

The next morning, our client appeared at the agency.

"I'm the DX transformation team manager at a certain company," he began with an exhausted expression. "Six months ago, we launched a 'Company-wide Cross-functional Digital Transformation Project,' but... there's been absolutely no progress. Each department only argues for their own interests, every meeting ends in chaos. Upper management keeps pressing us: 'When will we see results?'"

ChatGPT's Initial Inquiry: "This Sounds Worth Expanding On"

ChatGPT spoke first. "This sounds interesting to explore further. First, I'd like to confirm - what was the 'ultimate goal' of this project? Revenue increase? Cost reduction? Or operational efficiency?"

The client looked confused. "That's... all we decided was 'transform the company through DX.'"

Claude's Narrative Insight: "Projects Without Vision Always 'Wander'"

Claude quietly interjected. "Projects without visible vision wander, no matter how carefully managed. May I ask - when you asked each department 'why this transformation is necessary,' did everyone give the same answer?"

"That's the thing... Sales says 'improve sales efficiency,' Finance wants 'cost reduction,' HR desires 'work style reform' - they're all different..."

Gemini's Logical Framework: "Let's Organize This with KPT"

Gemini took out his notebook and began logical analysis. "Let's break this down with KPT. Can you organize Keep (maintain), Problem (solve), Try (challenge) across departments? Currently, each department seeks individual optimization without a holistic optimization perspective."

"We began with 'questioning.' Not 'what to change' but 'why change.'"

ChatGPT's Hypothesis Development: "Effort Without Purpose = Navigation Without a Map"

ChatGPT developed his hypothesis. "Effort without goals equals navigation without a map. This project's fundamental problem is 'absence of WHY.' The company-wide story of 'why transformation is necessary now' hasn't been shared. Each department only sees their own pain points, so they're facing different directions."

The client nodded. "Indeed... I don't remember being deeply explained the background or reasons for the 'do DX' directive from above."

Claude's Storytelling Perspective: "Projects Are Stories with Beginning, Development, Climax, and Resolution"

Claude supplemented from a narrative viewpoint. "Can we express this with more 'feeling'? Projects are essentially 'stories.' They have beginning, development, climax, and resolution. There's a current problematic situation (beginning), transformation necessity emerges (development), specific initiatives unfold (climax), leading to an ideal future (resolution). But here, the 'development' part - the story of 'why transform' - is missing. So each department creates their own 'development' and aims for different 'resolutions.'"

Gemini's Structural Analysis: The Methodology Explosion

Gemini continued structural analysis. "Let's examine specific initiatives. How many 'DX initiatives' are currently running simultaneously?"

"Um... RPA implementation, cloud migration, paperless operations, data analytics platform construction, remote work environment setup... about 15, I'd say."

"Typical 'methodology listing.' In PDCA cycle terms, it's all Do without Plan. Analyzing with a WHY tree, these initiatives are 'means,' not 'purposes.' Accumulating means without clear higher purposes yields limited effectiveness."

Gemini's SWOT Analysis Framework

Gemini expanded his analytical framework:

"Let's organize this case's structure through SWOT Analysis:

Strengths: - Driving force to involve multiple departments exists - Dedicated DX team is in place
- Each department has improvement motivation

Weaknesses:
- Company-wide vision is absent - WHY-level consensus building incomplete - Initiative prioritization impossible

Opportunities: - Each department's challenges are clarified - Reform awareness permeates the entire organization

Threats: - Project credibility collapse - Inter-departmental conflict escalation - Upper management evaluation decline

Root cause: Absence of 'Purpose Driven Design.' This wandering results from proceeding means-first without purpose-driven design thinking."

Claude's Storytelling Resolution

Claude concluded with storytelling:

"This company's situation contains profound learning. The crisis awareness of 'we must transform' is correct. However, they understood transformation as 'technology introduction.' True DX stands for Digital Transformation, but the crucial part is 'Transformation.' The vision of 'what to transform into' matters.

Expressing the current situation as a story: 'A luxury liner departed without deciding its destination.' Passengers (each department) imagine different destinations, while the captain (DX team) only receives orders to 'move forward anyway.' Result: the ship wanders in circles.

The true solution: first, everyone agrees on the 'destination.' Then, select the optimal route (initiatives)."

ChatGPT's Systematic Solution: "The Why-What-How Hierarchy"

ChatGPT systematized the implications:

"The crucial point emerging from this analysis is the importance of 'Why-What-How' hierarchical structure. Currently, they started from 'How' (means). Originally, it should be constructed in this order:

1. WHY: Why is transformation necessary?
2. WHAT: What specific changes do we seek?
3. HOW: What methods will achieve this?

By reconstructing in this sequence, each department's 'individual optimization' can be elevated to 'holistic optimization.'"

Gemini's Reconstruction Plan

Gemini presented a decisive hypothesis with his reconstruction plan:

"Logical conclusion: I present this project's reconstruction plan:

Phase 1: WHY Redefinition (1 month) - Company-wide WHY tree analysis - Vision and purpose articulation
- Stakeholder consensus building

Phase 2: WHAT Specification (2 months) - KPI setting and measurement method establishment - Priority matrix creation - Resource allocation planning

Phase 3: HOW Optimization (3 months)
- Initiative roadmap reconstruction - Inter-departmental collaboration system setup - Progress management system implementation

Hypothesis: Strong correlation exists between 'purpose sharing degree' and 'project success rate.' WHY-level consensus building should improve project success probability by over 70%."

Resolution and Reflection

The client nodded deeply, saying, "This is truly eye-opening. We kept talking about technology, but what we really needed was sharing a 'story.'"

I, Watson, watched the three detectives' analysis and thought: project wandering is actually human heart wandering. Technology is merely a means; what truly needs transformation is 'organizational consciousness' itself.

ChatGPT's words "effort without goals equals navigation without a map" echoed in foggy London. Claude's insight that "projects without visible vision wander" warmed hearts like fireplace flames. And Gemini's question about "'what to change' versus 'why change'" struck the case's core.

As our client departed, I realized one truth:

"A true detective sees not what is visible, but what is invisible. And the most invisible thing is the 'true purpose' in people's hearts."

Case Resolved
Lesson: Investigation without hypothesis is navigation without a map. But even navigation without a map has a North Star - the question "why."

Bottom Line: Project success depends less on methodology and more on purpose clarity. When teams share a compelling "why," the "what" and "how" naturally align toward meaningful outcomes.