Roadmapping is used by some of the world’s most successful organizations to develop innovation and business strategies.
This article explains what a roadmap is and why they are needed.
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
What is a roadmap?
There are many definitions for roadmaps. A roadmap is …
… a plan or strategy intended to achieve a particular goal [Oxford dictionary]
… a detailed plan to guide progress toward a goal [Merriam-Webster dictionary]
… a graphic visualization of potential or planned activities, outcomes or capabilities in support of an enterprise’s strategic intent that enable stakeholders to make and enact decisions as part of outcome-focused enterprise architecture [Gartner Hype Cycle for Enterprise Architecture, 2013]
There are several types of roadmaps. Although roadmaps are all time-based representations of information, there are essentially four major types of roadmaps:
- Market or Environment roadmaps
Market or Environment roadmaps capture external influences that define market strategy and key opportunities. - Strategic roadmaps
Strategic roadmaps capture specific opportunity strategy with required functional and organizational alignment. - Product roadmaps
Product roadmaps captures product evolution plans and platform development. - Technology roadmaps
Technology roadmaps captures development plans and the capability to meet product plans.
Why do we need a roadmap?
Roadmaps can be instrumental in bringing stakeholders to consensus:
- Roadmaps can result in more well-informed investment decisions that deliver business outcomes.
- Making better-informed cuts in spending without affecting vital programs.
- Canceling low-value projects earlier in the development process.
- Creating new revenue streams from existing product or services.
- Consolidate redundant technology developments taking place in multiple locations.
What are the challenges?
Enterprise architects often struggle to create roadmaps that resonate with and effectively inform executive stakeholders who need to make business-outcome-focused decisions.
- Enterprise architecture teams are challenged to create roadmaps that focus on strategic business outcomes.
- Competing demand for detailed plans obscures and distracts enterprise architecture teams from focusing on higher-level, actionable deliverables.
How is roadmapping related to other disciplines
It’s obvious that roadmapping is part of the EA effort, but roadmapping is also closely related to other management disciplines.
Roadmapping and Program/Project Management
Roadmapping is about structuring activities in support of desired change to achieve intended goals. A roadmap is a plan to guide progress towards these goals.
Project/Program Management is about making a planning to realize the change. The roadmap is valuable input for making the planning. A roadmap is leading towards the order in which activities need to be executed. Project/Program Management is about planning resources, budget follow-up and managing risks that may occur while walking on the road.
Roadmapping and Change Management
Change need to be managed. Change impacts organizations, processes and people. Change means adaptation to new processes, tools, …. Change Management is an important governance mechanism to control (proactively) the impact of change.