---
id: "framework-adaptation-triggers"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["§ Adapting Design and Governance as Conditions Change"]
tags: ["change-management", "business-evolution"]
related: ["concept-continuous-adaptation"]
steps: ["\\\"Strategy shifts: Changes in business models (e.g.", "moving to subscription/usage-based offerings) or product portfolios (e.g.", "moving from mass-market to specialized therapies) that alter who is responsible for customer value.\\\"", "\\\"Customer evolution: Changes in customer lifecycle", "such as moving from high human-guidance needs early in a complex purchase to self-service automation as familiarity grows.\\\"", "\\\"Digital advancement: Technological leaps (e.g.", "from print to e-commerce", "or the introduction of AI-driven lead scoring and generative AI) that shift systems from supporting decisions to making them.\\\""]
sources: ["attention"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-attention"
originDay: 4
articleStem: "hbr-new-31-tailor-digital-strategy-customer"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/tailor-your-digital-strategy-to-reach-every-customer"
sourceTitle: "Tailor Your Digital Strategy to Reach Every Customer"
---
# Triggers for Design and Governance Adaptation

Three distinct forces that cause existing digital design and governance to **stop fitting** the company's needs, requiring continuous adaptation — the 'Building for Continuous Adaptation' theme, [[concept-continuous-adaptation]]. Watch these as **leading indicators** for recalibrating [[concept-digital-governance]].

1. **Strategy shifts** — changes in business models (e.g., moving to subscription/usage-based offerings) or product portfolios (e.g., mass-market → specialized therapies) that alter *who is responsible for customer value*. Understanding this requires [[prereq-sales-lifecycle]].
2. **Customer evolution** — changes in the customer lifecycle, such as moving from high human-guidance needs early in a complex purchase to self-service automation as familiarity grows ([[concept-flexible-boundaries]]).
3. **Digital advancement** — technological leaps (print → e-commerce, or AI-driven lead scoring and generative AI) that shift systems from *supporting* decisions to *making* them ([[claim-ai-forces-governance-shift]], example [[entity-grammarly]]).

> **Enrichment:** GTM strategy and customer behavior are documented as continually evolving; the discipline is to treat design + governance as living systems rather than one-time builds.