Roadmaps Reduce Risk
What kind of risk?
As is clear, this roadmap process inspires many conversations about costs, coordination, priority, timing, and risks. Roadmaps help call out risk that is systemic as opposed to directly tied to the effort.
For example, a single project might be put onto a roadmap to replace a management tool used to keep servers running. The replacement process itself might have many risks, such as the need to learn a new system, installation challenges, or more.
But, there might also be more risks such as how management agents will work or be compatible with existing software running on the servers. There might be reporting based on the old system that needs to be updated, and if there are any extended outages during upgrade there might be ripple effects far from the immediate upgrade work (service desks, mandatory government reporting, and more).
Thus, roadmaps help find risks that can only be mitigated with clear communications, cross-team collaboration, and a consideration-of-the-whole rather than a micro-focus on a specific project or effort.
Summary: Roadmap Benefits
Roadmaps are a conversation starter, a shared forecast, and a tool to set priority. They only work if the roadmap is a collaborative creation, where business and technology teams work together to determine what needs to be done.
Benefits Summary:
- Strategic Alignment Across Teams: All teams involved in the roadmap focus on the strategic objectives, how these translate to larger efforts, and how the forecast changes as markets and business opportunities evolve.
- Improved Communications: The shared roadmap becomes an easy and clear reminder of what is “successful” and what is “mis-aligned” over time. The repeat use of the same format helps people quickly understand status and ask informed questions.
- Structured Collaboration: By building the roadmap together, all teams understand the work to be done. Additionally, work in one area might imply another team is needed for success. This is a benefit of the ‘No Surprises’ rule, where all stakeholders should know what’s on the roadmap and be prepared to assist as needed.
- Better Resource Usage: When teams all work towards a common goal, there is less risk that they will work on duplicate tasks or against each other (even unintentionally). Also, if the business has selected the best strategy possible, roadmap items will advance the company towards those strategic goals.
- Lowered Risk: As people have a chance to review the roadmap and discuss what it implies, important questions or insights surface much earlier than without the roadmap. When the roadmap forecasts a few quarters ahead, there’s ample time to consider what the roadmap means, the work to do, interactions that are important, and technical investments that will be needed.
- Proactive Planning: Similarly, thinking ahead means the organization can start to discuss budgeting, staffing, and other similar matters with more certainty than without a roadmap. A major effort that will involve a substantial amount of money or people can then be discussed and planned. The decision to make a major effort can be weighted against alternatives, especially where hiring or contracts are involved.
What Roadmaps Inspire
The process of creating, maintaining, and communicating a roadmap will inspire several important activities within an organization:
- Shared Goal Setting: Groups that might not normally talk together meet, agree on shared goals, and define these where all stakeholders can see them and use them for planning.
- Collaborative Planning: Similarly, groups can create plans that optimize for the big picture so that one group doesn’t build a solution that is locally beneficial but harms the overall operations of the organization.
- Systemic Risk Mitigation: Teams can discuss ways that a project in one area might create ripple effects in others. Steps can be taken to avoid situations where a well-intentioned project harms organizational outcomes.
These activities deliver several things that help the organization stay relevant and competitive:
- Organizational Agility: Technology roadmaps need to be flexible and adaptable to accommodate changes in business strategy, market conditions, and emerging technologies.
- Contingency Planning: Planning for unexpected events and incorporating flexibility into the roadmap to allow for adjustments and course corrections.
- Monitoring and Review: Regularly reviewing and updating the roadmap to ensure it remains aligned with current business needs and priorities.