What is a Roadmap?

• A simple overview of abstract processes
  ProjectsProjectA project is a time-limited undertaking with defined objectives and resources that delivers unique results and often includes complex tasks. are often very complex. This makes it more difficult to have and maintain an overview. With a roadmap, you get an uncomplicated overview and can see all the important phases at once.
• Strategic alignment of projects
  With a roadmap, you can see whether your current and future projects are aligned with the company’s goals. This also ensures that you are using your resourcesResourceResources are all the people, places and things that you need to complete projects. The most important resource? Employees, of course! wisely.
• Uncomplicated communication
  If you and your colleagues keep the roadmap well-maintained and up to date, it simplifies communication as a lot of information is easily visible.

To create a roadmap, follow these steps:

1. Define goals and strategy: Think about it in advance. What strategy are you pursuing? What is your vision? Who are the stakeholders? What are the challenges? What is the main goal?
2. Collect information: Gather all the important data you need, e.g., project plans, budgets, schedules, etc.
3. Set priorities: Which outcomes and initiatives are most important to achieve your strategic goals?
4. Determine the structure, milestones, and time frame: Set a realistic end date for your project. This will create accountability and ensure that the project is not pushed aside. Structure the roadmap and define main phases and tasks. Mark on your roadmap when certain achievements should be reached. By defining milestonesMilestoneIn project portfolio management, a milestone marks an important point in a project’s progress that requires monitoring or decision-making. Milestones indicate project phases, marking the completion of objectives or the…, you can divide the strategy into achievable goals and concrete measures.
5. Review and optimize your roadmap: Make sure you have entered all the information correctly and that your goals and messages are clear.
6. Share your roadmap: Bring other stakeholders on board and get their input. Use the roadmap to transparently communicate your project’s progress, direction, and priorities.
7. Update your roadmap regularly: Always add new data and findings to the roadmap to ensure you have an up-to-date overall picture.

In project managementProject ManagementProject management is the planning, steering, and monitoring of projects to achieve specific objectives within a given timeframe and budget. and project portfolio managementProject Portfolio ManagementProject portfolio management (PPM) is a process that seeks to select, prioritize, monitor and analyze a company’s projects., roadmaps are helpful for maintaining an overview of a project or the entire portfolio. They help you present your strategic planningStrategic PlanningA strategic plan is a document drafted approximately every 2-3 years that seeks to lay out an organization’s goals over that timeframe and how they can be achieved. It is… clearly and make it transparent for others in the company. Roadmaps provide quick answers to questions such as the following:

• Are your projects going according to plan?
• Are they in line with the corporate strategy?
• Where could bottlenecks occur?
• Where are there dependencies?
• Are you utilizing your resources correctly?

Gantt chartsGantt ChartsSynonym for → GanttA Gantt chart is a categorical list on a vertical (Y) axis mapped against time on a horizontal (X) axis and is used to visualize tasks or project plans into… and roadmaps are similar in many ways – after all, they do both depict projects on a timeline. The main difference between them is how people use them.

Gantt charts focus on project implementation. They help you understand how a project should be completed (when, with how much capacity, etc.).

Roadmaps, on the other hand, depict the big picture, without details on specific implementation or capacities. Therefore, they’re a great tool for maintaining an overview. They focus on strategy and goals and show you why a project should be completed.

A project timeline visually displays tasks within a project in chronological order. It is more detailed than a roadmap, but has no focus on strategy or goal. A roadmap usually includes a timeline.

Roadmaps got their start in cartography. A roadmap is, literally, a street layout with detailed plans for routes. This concept was eventually adopted by the tech industry. In the 1970s, Motorola began to use the concept of a roadmap to plan and visualize different developmental goals over a long period of time. Since then, roadmaps have become a tool with many uses that we have implemented, for example in project portfolio management.