Representing large changes on Roadmaps.

When managing large scale changes, finding the right way to visualize your roadmap can be tricky, especially when your audience includes both technical and non-technical stakeholders. The goal is to communicate clearly without creating multiple versions of the same plan.

Breaking it down

If you're familiar with project management or agile methodologies, you'll recognize the importance of breaking work into manageable, defined tasks. This approach allows each task to be clear, actionable, and connected to the bigger picture.

The same principle applies to roadmaps.

It doesn't have to be just one Roadmap

You don’t need one all-encompassing roadmap. In fact, trying to capture everything in a single view can make it overwhelming and hard to navigate. Instead, create multiple roadmaps at different levels of detail. This layered approach means each audience gets exactly what they need without being bogged down by irrelevant information.

You will find this extremely useful when presenting to your stakeholders. Executives will probably only be interested in the higher level, your leads with the middle and somewhat the lower level; and those needing to implement change will likely be more interested in the lower level.

But importantly, ensure there is correlation and a theme running from top to bottom.

Approaching the Roadmap

The most intuitive approach to building a roadmap is with the mindset of how the work will get done. But before that, you need to understand what you're doing and why.

You need to have a clear definition of what you are solving, write a problem statement, a clear mission and goal statement. This help set a strategic narrative for your roadmap.

Building a Housing Estate

To illustrate, let’s use an example of building a new housing estate. Disclaimer: I am not, and have never been in the construction industry!

• At the High Level your roadmap will represent planning, the number and type of house variations; land levelling/preparation; road layouts; infrastructure such as electricity, water, drainage and gas. And then of course the sales, marketing and grand opening milestones. These would be laid out as top level items that are to be executed in order of completion.

• At the middle level you might focus your roadmap on one or more of the above items getting into more detail.

  Let’s go with a single street. Individual home planning (House 1, House 2, etc); shared street amenities; milestones for sales and completions.

• And the lower level. A single house; foundations; walls; roof; interior work (kitchens, flooring, finishing, etc); utilities, inspections, landscaping and snagging.

Each level involves different teams, planning, and coordination, but they’re all connected. Therein lies the power of a well layered roadmap providing collaboration lineage and logical sequencing.

Simple Layout

Different levels and detail may require different layouts. I’ve found that a simple block diagram works best.

Use different swim lanes for activities, departments, discipline or skill with a simple time line across the top (remembering that a roadmap should not be driven by strict due dates, the roadmap should be set against objectives to provide visibility and clarity on direction in a logical sequence). Focus on objectives and dependencies over deadlines.

When it comes to implementation is when you want more detail; the roadmap should transition into more detailed plans through project management or product user stories, etc.

Roadmap Style Examples

Don’t forget to use your company colour palette and logo.

Roadmap Style Example 1.

Roadmap Style Example 2.