5 Questions to Answer when Building a Roadmap

If you've ever taken on the challenge of building a business or technical roadmap, you know it is both an art and a science. Not only is a roadmap a plan of record, but also it can a powerful communication tool if used correctly.

In my Business Architecture and Product Management roles, I am frequently asked about tools or templates for roadmaps that can accelerate the creation process. I've played around with multiple automated solutions, usually resulting in some sort of visualization pulled from a data source. But before we automate anything, it's important to get the basics right.

I find that answering a few questions up front can save time and effort and hopefully provide a genuinely useful, accurate, and durable view of the road ahead.

In a business context, the Oxford Dictionary defines a roadmap as "a plan or strategy intended to achieve a particular goal." I would also add that once the plan or strategy is decided (which is an art and science in its own right) a roadmap can be a great communication tool for building consensus with internal teams and/or stakeholders.

When I set out to create a roadmap, I focus on 5 key questions.

1. Who is the Audience/What is the Altitude?

As is the case with most business documents, the audience often determines the level of detail. If the primary driver for this deliverable is to ensure alignment from leadership or sponsors, it should be built with the exec summary in mind. If it is intended to be consumed by a project core team focused on execution, the level of detail will necessarily increase.

2. What is the Primary Purpose?

Roadmaps are built for just about anything: business strategies, org changes, mergers, product or line-of-business applications, programs/initiatives, etc. In my line of work, I often focus on people + process + tools, with dependencies visually highlighted. However, caution should be used here; it's a slippery slope when we ask the roadmap to do too much. It can quickly grow in complexity, thus impeding its ability to communicate a message clearly.

3. Is the Roadmap Tied to a Strategy, and Backed by a Budget?

This may be the #1 reason why a roadmap fails; a tie to a strategy and budget is critical. How many five-year roadmaps turn out to be accurate, especially in today's business environment where change is the only constant? Long-range visions are important, but roadmaps without links to strategy and funding are just pretty pictures. Informative and accurate roadmaps draw from an established strategy and don't attempt to reach too far beyond the budget horizon.

4. Is the Time Horizon Reasonable?

It can be tempting to "think big" and draw timelines that run off the right side of the canvas. However, five years is a long time and so much can change. At the program level, I tend to focus on roadmaps that fall into the budget horizon, and perhaps a quarter or two beyond. This indicates that a direction has been established, but funding is required. And in some cases, it is helpful to visually indicate the funded vs. unfunded part of the plan, to ensure proper expectations are set with your audience.

5. Who Will Steward the Roadmap?

Roadmaps are living, breathing documents, and require care and feeding. Ensure your business has that person identified - especially to make sure changes are made when required. Also, remember that a roadmap should never be built in a silo. A community of voices is required, so assigning an extrovert to this important task could pay dividends.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” A well-constructed roadmap drives clarity, unifies a team, and communicates the plan of record.