Project roadmap: redundant artifact or secret weapon?
When you need to present your project in a strategic context, one of the most useful documents you can create is a project roadmap. Unlike most other project artifacts, a project roadmap shows not only what’s happening within your project, but also how your project fits within the big picture. It is the sizzle reel for the overarching program, the origin story of your project, and the trailer for the sequels to come – all wrapped into one!
But the exact purpose and definition of a project roadmap is somewhat contentious. Is it a sales tool or is it a reporting tool? Should it be created before the project starts or should it evolve as the project unfolds? Is it just a roll-up of your Gantt chart? Or is it the ace up your sleeve that makes it all click for your executive stakeholders?
After reading this article, you’ll be well equipped to:
-Present your project to your steering committee succinctly and on a whim
-Convince a Dragon’s Den of executive sponsors that your project needs to exist
-Sell in the next phase of the program while you’re wrapping your project up
-Plot a course for yourself from project management to program management or portfolio management
Ambitious?
YES! Let’s dive in!
What Is A Project Roadmap?
“Put away your ruddy Gantt chart, and just give me the headlines.”
The fact of the matter is that many people involved in your project won’t need to absorb all the intimate details of the project the way you as a project manager may need to. Sometimes the most useful thing for people to really grasp is the project’s context and how all the puzzle pieces fit. As colorful and detailed as it is, most people don’t want to see your Gantt. What they need to see is your project roadmap.
The essence of a project roadmap
In its most basic form, a project roadmap is a summary of the context, impetus, and logic of your project in strategic terms. It focuses on the “why” more than the “how” or the “what”, and it keeps things at a level that anyone can understand.
There is admittedly some disagreement on what a project roadmap actually is. Some say it’s a blueprint that you create before a project so that you can make sure the project objectives are clear. Some say it’s an asset you use throughout a project to present high-level status to high-level stakeholders like steering committees and executive sponsors. And others say that it’s a document that you use to pitch the next phase as your project completes.
I’d argue that these are all the same thing. They just have different intentions at different phases of your project.
What does a project roadmap include?
At a bare minimum, a project roadmap should include the following:
-The project and program objectives
-A high-level project timeline or milestone view
-A summary of project deliverables or target outcomes
-Related risks & dependencies
In fact, a project roadmap could be a single page or slide that provides an at-a-glance view of the path that the project is taking to arrive at its destination. But it could also include a few other things to bolster the narrative. These things might include:
-The problem statement and/or hypothesis
-A synthesis of the facts and insights that justify the project approach
-The logic and rationale for how the activities will work together to be effective
-A listing of key individuals on the project team and a high-level resource management plan
-The steps beyond the project that are needed to continue the vision for broader success
Creating a highly detailed project roadmap might require its own project (see the section below called “Should you charge for a roadmap?” for more context). But in any case, the core principle is to keep your project roadmap succinct, high-level, and strategic.
