Road map for cloud delivery

Build a Software Roadmap

#1 Determine where you want to go. What do you want to get out of the system compared to what all the stakeholders want. Is that the same and have you agreed on the best approach. It can be tempting to convince or overrule your team, but this is probably a bad idea.

#2 identify key players. Who is driving and who is going?

#3 Set an Itinerary of what you are going to do when you get there. You will be traveling far, but after you get there what are you going to do next?

#4 Plan for the trip. Did you pack provisions, are you going to have rest stops or benchmarks along the way to track progress? You need to make sure you have the necessary resources such as money, fuel, time to get there and plenty of leeway for making pit stops. This is the most critical step:

1. Testing time and resources
2. Infrastructure and hosting options
3. Project management and planning
4. Requirements review
5. Architectural design
6. Software development platforms
7. New and emerging technology trends evaluation

#5 Pack: you need things for this trip. Prepare a budget for items when you get there and things you need along the way. This includes licenses, server provisions, cloud contracts and vendor agreements. Are you purchasing proprietary software to help?

#6 Compare Options: There are many different ways to get where you want to go. There are many options about architectures and software required the complete a project. What pieces are you going to build yourself vs which pieces would it be better to hand off. There are resource who can help with the options process to determine the maturity.

1. Are you considering open source technology?
2. Are you considering a professionally designed user interface?
3. How are you planning on doing the testing?
4. How are you planning on doing the overall delivery of the product?
5. How often are you going to make updates?

#7 Assign Responsibilities: This is key to make sure everyone is in place at the right time to make sure the project is going as planned. There should be a clear way to measure progress and get the ship back on course if something should go wrong.

#8 Travel. Traveling is not done without constant watch on the resources and getting anyone who is assigned tasks in line. The goal is to get on the road and start as quickly as possible. You may find out that the planning you are doing only helps in a small fraction of the situations. But, if you do not get on the road, you will not realize that there are situations that you did not plan on. For instance the weather. But, being agile and having your resources in the right place at the right time, you can accommodate any unforeseen circumstances.

#9 Have Fun: Everyone wants a great trip. But, fighting in the back seat or complaining will not get anyone there in a good way. So, make sure everyone is well fed and have plenty of things to do to occupy their time. This makes sure everyone feels important and has an overall better trip. Take breaks, stretch your legs and look at the sites. It is always fun to marvel at how far you have come in such a short period of time. But, then get back in the car because you still have more adventures ahead.