The procedure for developing a roadmap. Road map. Tactical plan for the implementation of the project. Types of road maps

The problem we are considering here can be formulated in different ways. We can say that we are striving to bring order to the company's business processes, to make them transparent and manageable. We can say that we are creating a process management system, or in other words: we are introducing a process-oriented approach to managing a company.

Whatever you call it, the bottom line is that we want to create working process controls that allow for continuous improvement. We are building an organizational system, and this building must be carried out on the basis of a certain methodology and technology. No one will undertake to build a house or a ship without owning the technology for building the object that needs to be created. “Organization building” is no simpler than engineering. It also has its own laws and rules, the violation of which never goes unpunished. A huge number of unsuccessful projects in the field of “institutional building” is explained precisely by the fact that the work was carried out without an “architectural project” in violation of SNIP (building codes and rules). Therefore, in our work on the implementation of a process approach to management in a company, we will be guided by a strictly defined technology, which is presented in the diagram in the form of a project roadmap. We will follow this map step by step, consistently approaching our goal - the creation of a process management system.

The first point of our "road map" is the identification of the company's strategy. It is necessary to clearly articulate the main principles of the company's activities in its target market, identifying its customers, key values ​​that are significant to consumers and the main differences from competitors. This is important because from these principles follow the requirements for the internal organization of the company, for its processes and structure. It makes no sense to engage in processes without defining who they should serve and what they should be in order to satisfy customers and provide superiority over competitors. All this follows from the market strategy.

The next step is the development of an organizational concept. This is a kind of "architectural blueprint" of our organizational system. It defines the structure and relationship of processes, as well as the main responsibility centers and their functions for maintaining processes.

The organizational concept serves as a basis for identifying processes and developing an organizational structure. These two tasks are solved in close cooperation. In the process of identifying processes, their characteristics are determined: inputs, outputs, clients. suppliers, performers, goals and targets. The executors of the processes are determined in relation to the organizational structure, while the structure itself is specified and detailed.

Using the results of process identification, we can determine performance indicators for performers and form job responsibilities for them. Further, requirements for the positions of performers, remuneration rules related to performance indicators, process regulations and instructions for performers are developed.

This is the sequence of “building” the company's process management system. Violation of this order inevitably leads to the failure of the project and the frustration of both managers and employees.

Each stage of this “road map” will be discussed in detail in our next articles.

It is also important that all this “construction activity” be carried out in the form of a project. That is, according to a clearly defined plan with specific deadlines, responsible executors, control and evaluation of results. The project may cover the processes of the entire company or one of its divisions; this must be determined first. The objectives of the project should be formulated in such a way that measurable criteria for success are defined. It is necessary to answer the question: “What business indicators should be improved as a result of the implementation of the process approach?”. This can be inventory turnover, reduced logistics costs, increased production volumes, or other indicators.

Then, a project team should be formed, which should include representatives of all parties interested in the process: process clients, suppliers, performers and, of course, the process owner. Customer representatives in the company are marketing specialists, suppliers representatives are procurement specialists. If the project covers all the company's processes, the project team should include all top managers.

To prepare a project plan, you must use our "road map", which contains all the main stages of work.

It is important that the official status of the project be established by order of the general director, which defines:

• Project Manager,
• The composition of the project team
• Goals and criteria for the success of the project,
• project results,
• Project plan.

In the course of the work, it is necessary to conduct weekly reviews of the results obtained and the problems identified, to develop solutions that ensure further progress.

Many projects die due to poor management. The reasons for the high "mortality" of organizational change are well known. I will name three of the most common.

1. Lack of attention to the project from the head of the company . When the leader believes that it is enough to assign responsibility and not think about it anymore, then the project uncontrollably "goes to the bottom." No change in an organization can take place without the strong support of management. The leader of the company must demonstrate a relentless will to change, constantly monitor the progress of the project and remove all obstacles in its path.
2. Low employee engagement . A highly counterproductive approach to process implementation is when business analysts or external consultants develop process regulations and then managers force employees to work according to these regulations. People resist changes that are imposed on them from the outside. The energy of resistance can be transformed into a force for change by getting people involved in process development early on and working with them all the way to the end results. In this case, people consciously and responsibly relate to the implementation of decisions that were developed with their participation.
3. Wrong methodology for organizational change . Carrying out organizational changes requires special competencies, knowledge of the methods of carrying out changes and the ability to apply them. The methodology for implementing the process approach, outlined in our articles, makes it possible to reduce the risks of this project. To do this, you need to follow the “road map” and our recommendations.

In the following articles of this series, we will discuss in detail each stage of the implementation of a process-oriented approach to managing a company.

Practical guidance on implementing a process approach is provided in the e-learning course How to Build a Process Management System in Your Company.

Organizational planning systems are one of the most important management elements in global business. All over the world, companies, especially international corporations, are facing increasingly intense international competition. Environments, circumstances, customers, products, and prices change, and managers must constantly find their own way to survive and achieve the best results. Corporate « road map» (corporate roadmapping) is part of corporate foresight, it is a special form of strategic planning that helps to find the right decisions in relation to changes in the environment that are increasingly increasing competition. In this article, we give an explanation and offer our vision of the standard for this type of corporate planning.

This article is based on a thorough analysis of the existing literature on corporate roadmaps and illustrations of the proposed provisions with individual examples from the business sector. It should be noted that the examples we used cannot claim to be the “best” statistics. Moreover, in the current environment, the “best” statistics are not so important, they do not exist due to the unpredictable and often unfavorable business environment. Thus, we cannot say that the general outline of the process of creating a corporate roadmap presented in the article is the best, however, in our opinion, it is quite applicable.

The first companies to use in the late 1970s. roadmap method, were Motorola and Corning. It was during this period that the US economy was in a state of stagflation and was characterized by high inflation, stagnation in business activity, and rising unemployment. During the presidency of John Carter (1977-1981), the weakening economy and unemployment were unsuccessfully fought through increased government spending, the establishment of regulated wages and fixed prices to curb inflation. Perhaps more successful, but less visible, was the deregulation of many industries. One way or another, many of the problems of that period were associated with a change in the vision of the future.

The application of the principles of the "road map" was most noticeable in the practice of corporate governance in the United States. Thus, under the leadership of R. Galvin (R. Galvin), then the CEO of Motorola, the task was to stimulate managers at all levels of the company so that they pay due attention to the future state of technology, and provide them with some tool for organizing the forecasting process. . As a result, an approach was proposed aimed at achieving a balance between short-term and long-term problems, strategic and operational challenges related to technology and other aspects of the company's activities. Motorola has found that embedding such a culture at all levels of the company provides an opportunity to find solutions that convey the vision and goals of management, stimulate research, and control developments.

Technological foresight and its method - the construction of a technological "roadmap" (technology roadmapping - TRM) - have become a mechanism for verifying the reliability of information and the main way to make strategic decisions in international business. But we emphasize that the technological "road map" is just a product of planning, and not an element of the strategic management process. Simplifying somewhat, a roadmap is a learning process through which members of a group identify gaps or new opportunities in particular areas of interest to them.

Let's pay attention to the international coordinate system (Worldwide Reference System - WRS), developed by NASA and which is a global system for identifying data received from satellites. Here, the main point that creates a certain "similarity" with the principle of creating a "road map" is the continuous scanning of the planet's surface, which allows you to collect and use a much larger amount of information compared to static methods. The principle of building a "road map", like the WRS system, should also be the constant search for the right "trajectories". This approach, which is both innovative and evolutionary, makes it possible to solve new complex problems that affect not only technical or technological aspects, but also economic, social, demographic, ethical and other criteria for making strategic decisions.

The creation of a roadmap should be a strategic process aimed at achieving the desired performance at real cost, using the right methods and at the right time. The mechanism for building a corporate roadmap should enable managers to link the vision of the corporation, its mission, strategy and operational plans with the main activities of the company in the long term. The development of a corporate roadmap should be integrated and continuous, but not a unified process, and should also facilitate the alignment of business operations - whether in marketing, finance, human resources, research, technology, products or individual projects - with the strategy of the corporation. A roadmap can be part of the communication process in corporations.

The application of the corporate roadmap should cover a wide range of activities related to planning, including:

1. Scientific planning. It is a multifunctional process that takes into account the requirements arising from various experiments and operating processes. Scientific development planning is based on synergistic approaches used to comprehensively cover scientific areas, based on the main goals of this business.

2. Technological planning. This is one of the most important processes carried out in order to use technology more effectively in an organization. The process planning process helps to minimize technology-related problems and avoid unnecessary equipment costs.

3. Product planning. It is the most common type of roadmap associated with the introduction of new technologies in the production of industrial products, and often covers more than one generation of products.

4. Planning opportunities. A kind of roadmap that is similar to product planning, but more suitable for service businesses and aimed at incorporating know-how into organizational capabilities.

5. Integration planning. In this case, the "road map" is aimed at the integration or development of the organizational structure, analysis of the interaction of various processes to form a new synergistic structure.

6. Program planning. Here the emphasis is on the implementation of the strategy, a closer connection with project planning.

7. Process planning. This type of planning promotes knowledge management by focusing on individual processes.

8. Long term planning. Used to expand planning horizons and anticipate more distant events in a given industry, nationally or globally.

9. Strategic planning. The strategic dimension of this kind of roadmap is to support changes in the company's core business, leading to a variety of opportunities and threats at the corporate level as a whole.

10. Interfunctional analysis. If the road maps are successfully used in several divisions of the company, then with the help of their analysis, common needs, gaps and overlapping programs for these divisions can be identified.

The main feature of using the method of creating a "road map" is that it helps to bring together certain groups of people in a company in order to develop a common vision for the future in areas that affect their business. The use of roadmaps in strategic planning should be based on teamwork and intensive exchange of information and knowledge. A multifunctional approach, a free-thinking environment, a clear understanding of business needs, effective time management, understanding of development prospects and many other factors can influence the creation of the right road map.

Benefits of a corporate roadmap

At the level of both an individual company and the industry as a whole, a corporate roadmap can be used in various ways, with a number of benefits arising from this (Fig. 1). Success depends on how the principles and methods for creating a corporate roadmap can be agreed upon—rather than implemented in isolation. The construction of a roadmap can contribute to strategic processes at all levels, although the way it is applied may differ. The Roadmap sets a uniform framework for all processes and ensures that the best vision of the future that has been formed is articulated and communicated to others.

Rice. 1. Benefits of a corporate roadmap

The main advantage of a corporate roadmap is that it provides clear visual information, directives for making “best” decisions, and tools for control. It does this by identifying needed processes, new business opportunities, or gaps that need to be filled in order to develop more competitive and more realistic goals and plans for the company's results. The management of the company must identify options for managing risks and investments through the coordination of processes - both within an individual firm and between members of an alliance.

One of the benefits of a roadmap can be that management actually understands the needs of the company and as a result either gets the processes they need to meet those needs or prepares existing processes to do so. At the industry level, the processes of creating a "road map" affect many companies, united in a consortium or simply belonging to the same industry. At this level, through the "roadmap" it is possible to develop new key technologies and products, which makes it possible to avoid excessive funding for the same direction of research. This creates significant benefits, since the development of a certain technology or product can be very expensive for an individual company or take too long to develop. Thus, the roadmap prioritizes investments based on a certain list of key factors (drivers) and seizes emerging opportunities. Also, the roadmap can be used as a strategic marketing tool to analyze which product has a key value for the company. Any roadmap should explain the needs of the company to its employees, management, customers and all stakeholders, allowing them to realize what the company needs to change in order to achieve overall success, and to participate in these changes. In general, the creation of a corporate "road map" is especially important in an environment where the strategic results of the actions taken are not obvious.

The place of the corporate road map in the general taxonomy of road maps

The type of roadmap used should be consistent with the specific needs of the company or industry. For example, a corporate roadmap can be created in close integration with partners, in partial interaction with them, or separately from them, depending on the conditions and form of cooperation. In general, roadmaps can form a taxonomy consisting of scientific or technological, industry, product-technological and product roadmaps, or they can be presented in the form of a multi-level time diagram that includes various levels of knowledge related to goals, resources, etc. . Note that in the literature the general concept of "road map" is often identified with the concept of "technological road map". Usually, three levels of maps are distinguished: a “road map” for the external environment, a “road map” for an industry, and a “road map” for a corporation, although a number of their combinations are known, such as technology-industry, product-technological, product-scientific “road maps”. cards”, etc.

Roadmaps of the environment are designed to answer the following questions: what can we do to protect our environment or stop the deterioration of its quality, implying not only climate change, but also resource depletion, energy scarcity and extinction of species? Can we expect our efforts to be sufficient to change the future? What should be our goals in the field of interaction with the external environment? Industry roadmaps should describe not only a certain “starter” set of actions, but also show how to achieve the desired future. How can we better understand what problems exist in our industry, can we cooperate with our industry partners?

Corporate roadmaps, unlike the previous two types, are a powerful tool for achieving strategic focus that is critical for the company, implementing the necessary processes and, as they develop, integrating technology, product and corporate programs of various departments. These segments and their place in the taxonomy of "road maps" (viewed from within the company) are shown in Fig. 2. The basic taxonomy presented in the graph includes a horizontal level (time period), a vertical level (goal) and a diagonal level (the importance of the roadmap for shareholders and managers) and demonstrates the differences, connections and importance of the processes of creating a roadmap in companies.

Rice. 2. Taxonomy of the "road map" within the company

The main direction of the company's strategy, expressed within the corporate roadmap, is the most important for the company and should usually be clarified first. The key to product, technology or science roadmaps is to set specific goals and understand market needs through trending and accurate forecasting. These private roadmaps should be a valuable source of information for refining the corporate roadmap. There must be strong feedback, however, and the corporate roadmap is meant to provide a strategy on which to build individual roadmaps.

Participants in the process of creating "road maps"

In the process of creating a roadmap, a well-formed team of experts should be involved in systematizing and providing the information necessary for planning. The ultimate goal is to help make sound investment decisions. Both corporate and industry roadmaps require certain information, knowledge and skills. Thus, according to , "road maps" should be created by top management, who is also responsible for updating them. Typically, the process of developing roadmaps brings together various "stakeholders" from both the organization and others. Forming a team is a very important step in the process of creating a roadmap, in particular, support from management is needed in the selection of its members and the allocated budget. The team should be formed with representatives from the R&D department, heads of technology departments, representatives from the finance department, and key people from all other departments. At the same time, the process of creating a roadmap should start with a small team, which includes employees from the marketing, research and development departments, the design department, as well as the department involved in general management, development, production and sale of individual products. And only later should the team be gradually supplemented with managers and shareholders. Note that team members must approach R&D, manufacturing, marketing and finance from both a commercial and a technical perspective.

Individual team members or consultants must be familiar with the principles of implementing the process of creating a "road map", as well as be able to identify the needs and incentives for the development of the company. Some members this process, of course, must have knowledge in the area for which the road map is being drawn up. However, while these skills are quite important, having them alone is not enough. Interpersonal communication skills and group work skills are equally important. If a roadmap project is being undertaken at a corporate or industry level, the team either needs a consultant with both roadmap development and interpersonal communication skills, or the team must be highly integrated. Typically, the procedure for the formation of a "road map" involves the participation of key stakeholders representing different levels and departments of the organization (Table 1).

Table 1. The degree of importance of various participants in the process of creating a "road map"

Note: The number of x's indicates the importance of participation.

As follows from Table 1, the creation of a "road map" is a task for the level of strategic management and major shareholders, a task for "lean management", involving representatives of the departments of finance, personnel management, public relations, commodity production management and marketing. Thus, a cross-functional team should be created in the company. Creating a roadmap strategy is not the only element in the overall roadmap process. Other stages are aimed at improving cross-functional communications within the company. Synergies between team members can have a positive impact on this process. This is because in this case, when selecting team members and reaching agreements, the process of creating a “road map” as such is taken into account. At the same time, all participants in the process, the degree of their responsibility and the level of authority should be clearly defined. It is necessary to separately determine who will make the final decision in the event that an agreement between team members cannot be reached. However, in general, if the "road map" is created by the joint efforts of the participants in the process, then they should come to a deeper awareness of the problems and understanding of each other.

The process of creating a "road map" in a corporation

The creation of a roadmap is a needs-driven planning process to identify, select and develop a corporate strategy to meet the interests of shareholders and achieve the best company results in the long term. A corporate roadmap is a kind of complex plan developed using roadmap principles at the corporate level. At this level, good corporate decisions are not about choosing the right strategy for how to spend money or how to produce an intended product, but about finding that master plan that will form the basis of a complex high-level strategy for the future. The classic business strategy, due to its simplicity, can only be used as material for the development of a corporate roadmap. Both approaches require different kind commitments in terms of time, cost, amount of effort and level of detail. It is known that there are a number of approaches that should contribute to strategic planning: asset portfolio management, new product development, competitive analysis, benchmarking, project management. However, the main one, in our opinion, is the process of forming a "road map", which links organizations, functions, processes and time.

The creation of a roadmap is a bottom-up process that allows different employees to share the vision of long-term planning and to participate in it to the best of their ability. The use of a roadmap is a kind of “response” business process that provides organizations with the ability to respond to changing conditions in real time. One course of action can be chosen and a specific plan developed. If there is a large uncertainty or risk, then several directions can be chosen that can be followed at the same time. A corporate roadmap should be brought to life by a real need, and not by someone's subjective decision. For example, if a company has a need to be first in the market, then creating an optimal marketing strategy is a potential solution to this problem. Therefore, the roadmap team should start with a need, not a predetermined idea of ​​a possible solution. Starting with a solution and only then finding out the need is, in fact, a completely different approach. The roadmap should provide a way to identify, evaluate and select processes that can be implemented to meet the core needs of the business. However, a corporate roadmap is a high-level strategy for the development of any type of activity. Further, more detailed plans are required to concretize actual projects and processes, and it is necessary to coordinate all planning activities.

A roadmap, as a visual representation of a specific sequence of steps over time, depends on the specific methodology used by the company. The main goal of this technique is awareness of the right steps and preparation for the future. For example, the process of creating a "road map" may consist of the stages presented in Table. 2.

Table 2. Different approaches to creating a roadmap

The multilevel vision of the roadmap should include a time level (“know when”), a target level (“know why”), a supply level (“know what”) and a level of resources (“know how”). In accordance with different approaches to the process of creating a "roadmap", in order to manage the presented four levels and achieve its main objectives, the process of creating a "roadmap" should go through three phases: the stage of preliminary actions; the stage of creating a corporate "road map"; stage of implementation and control (Fig. 3).

However, first of all, managers should answer the following questions:

• What is our company doing?
• What are the main advantages of our company?
• What does our company want to do?
• What are the key components of our business?
• What processes can we use to manage corporate strategy in a company?
• What roles do our employees play in this strategy?
• How can we highlight the corporate roadmap and highlight its value to projects?
• How many road maps does our company have and what are the real results of their implementation?
• What are the biggest problems of our company?
• What are the main stakeholders of our company, especially among the customers?

Rice. 3. The process of creating a corporate roadmap

Preliminary actions

The process of creating a corporate roadmap begins with research and analysis of the internal and external environment of the company, which can serve as a source of initial information. For the process to be successful, its participants must have a strong commitment to the organization. Initiating the process requires significant effort, especially in the early stages when the mission, vision, strategic goals, resources, scope, team and frame of reference are defined and aligned with the roadmap process. It notes that "the most important roadmaps emerge in response to perceived threats and link plans for implementing a particular process to the interests of organizations and individuals."

Accordingly, existing concerns are better stimulating the creation of a "road map" than a simple "search for development opportunities."

The research and analysis stage (A1) should include an analysis of the internal environment of the company, an analysis of the immediate environment, and an analysis of the macro environment. One starting point is an analysis of the skills, know-how and core competencies of the company. It includes an analysis of what can be achieved with these skills in the near and distant future. Internal analysis can help identify the company's strengths and weaknesses in order to increase its competitive advantage. A company's strengths are its resources and capabilities, such as patents, goodwill, cost advantage, skills, know-how, natural resources, networks, etc. The absence of these advantages can be considered as a disadvantage. The study of the external environment that accompanies portfolio analysis is extremely important in the process of creating a road map.

Analysis of the immediate environment, or industry analysis, identifies new opportunities and threats. For example, potential opportunities might include an existing vacant market niche, the emergence of a new technology, or the removal of trade restrictions. However, new severe restrictions, the emergence of substitute products or new competitors are threats to the company. To avoid confusion, let's clarify that creating a roadmap is a kind of meta-method. It may include well-developed planning methods borrowed from techniques such as SWOT analysis, the Porter approach, portfolio analysis, the BCG matrix, development of event scenarios, the quality function deployment method, etc.

The analysis should justify why a corporate roadmap is needed. Key decision makers need to find out if they are really facing a problem that can be solved by creating a corporate roadmap. This is done at the problem definition stage (A2). Managers must eliminate problems in order to meet their needs and achieve their goals. At this stage, for example, the following statements can be made: “The information system is not standardized, and its elements are not interconnected, which hides information from employees and makes effective activity impossible” (Daimler); “new legislation requires large pharmaceutical companies to enter into licensing agreements” (GlaKo); “Production costs exceeded those of competitors due to high labor costs, overcapacity, and overly complex manufacturing methods” (General Motors).

As soon as the essence of the problem is clarified and the decision to continue the project is made, the next stage begins - the definition of the mission and vision (A3). The mission statement should describe the purpose of the business. For example: “Our mission is to be the best partner for our customers, suppliers and employees. So far, our work has been extremely successful” (Volvo). To function successfully, a company must develop a good business concept or idea. It is necessary to formally state what business we are in, what we do and what our target market is. For example, Microsoft's vision is "a deep understanding of the challenges our country faces and the complexity of the political, legal and financial challenges that the public sector faces every day." The process of creating a roadmap helps develop a shared mission and vision for the future as the company faces the challenges it must overcome in order to achieve its goals.

A company driven by mission and vision needs to define measurable financial and non-financial strategic goals (A4). Financial goals may include the following targets: achieving a certain amount of revenue growth, increasing profit by x% annually, increasing dividends per share, increasing net profit margin, etc. Non-financial goals are related to innovation, proper internal processes, cost-effective management system, etc. Non-financial goals are now more valuable than they were just a short time ago. More and more companies include non-financial data in their annual reports or in the agenda of shareholders' meetings, and non-financial goals are also taken into account in remuneration systems. "More than a third of respondents said that company performance is more determined by intangible assets and capabilities than by 'real' assets."

All strategic resources and budget (A5) should be related to the future of the company and may also include goodwill. The latter refers to the totality of a company's core resources, along with finance, human resources, know-how, information, technology, processes, culture, real estate, and so on. For the purpose of effective management, all resources must be listed in the corporate resource statement. This application must be accompanied by an annual financial statement.

Content and length over time (A6) are also of great importance. The content, scope of activities to create a "road map" is the total sum of the processes of creating a "road map", their requirements or characteristics. At this stage, all the accumulated characteristics go through the "road map" and are evaluated in order to eliminate uncertainty and resolve emerging problems. The evaluated characteristics are grouped. The purpose of this grouping is to identify synergies or existing gaps in any characteristics. In addition, interdependencies between groups of characteristics must be defined. The groups are then classified based on market impact and business needs. The project scope management plan is one of the most important information documents in a company. The process of executing this plan may include the initiation stage, the project scope definition stage, the scope planning stage, the scope change control stage, the scope confirmation stage (Samsung). The completed document should outline how the project will be defined, managed, monitored, validated and communicated to the roadmap team and all stakeholders. This document includes details of the scope of work required to complete the project. It is also used to control what is in and out of a given project through a change management system. The change management process begins with a change requirement, that is, identifying the characteristics that need to be changed. Therefore, the change is analyzed, its impact and the scope of the change requirements are identified. Once change actions have been identified and decisions have been made, changes can be implemented and documented.

The next aspect of creating a "road map" concerns the problem of the time interval. Roadmaps cover a wide time horizon - from 5 to 10 years - and can be used to describe past events, while choosing the best development path from several existing options. A roadmap can also be used to describe the future path of an industry: for example, the US semiconductor industry's roadmap outlines the next ten years for the industry. If the tasks are limited to a certain time frame, it is possible to coordinate the various development activities. The Roadmap allows you to monitor progress by tracking and evaluating the development of the roadmap process by identifying key success factors in order to assess the impact of the roadmap, assess progress against strategic goals, determine the impact and effectiveness of these actions. Key success factors may include factors such as quality, ability to innovate, technological expertise, manufacturing know-how, customer focus, friendly environment or friendly employees (Wurth).

As a result, not only the obstacles that need to be overcome to implement the strategy are identified, but also the time required for this is estimated.

Management must decide how much of the company's activities will go through the process of creating a roadmap, how long and how the corporate roadmap will be used in the process of making investment decisions. At the preliminary stages, the boundaries of the processes are defined, resources are provided and the team (A7), consisting of participants and sponsors of the process, is approved (see Section 3).

Creating a corporate roadmap

Once the preliminaries are complete, the roadmap team can begin to develop the roadmap. The first stage of creating a corporate roadmap requires the cooperation of the project sponsor and the entire project team in developing a plan that describes the process of creating a roadmap. Since the creation of a roadmap is a group process, this plan also concerns how and when the team will be staffed, what will be the schedule for the entire process. The most important thing is to formulate key questions or create a "main statement". Based on the preliminary results, the team must decide which area the roadmap will focus on and how the process of its formation will contribute to strategic decision making. This stage can be called drafting the main statement (B1), which includes one or two sentences defining what we want to do. However, it is necessary to be extremely precise: if the "basic statement" looks ambiguous and too general, people will not know where to start. Here are some examples:

• What events can Fila sponsor to position itself as a brand of stylish sportswear?
• What are the relatively cheaper offers for customers that will allow them to open a new account with Bank of America?
• How can we emphasize the individuality of the Whizz Mints brand in our advertising?

After the "key statement" is completed, one or more meetings should be held in which the "key statement" will be used as a reminder. Also, the ground rules for the process of forming a corporate road map should be established so that participants are not afraid to express their true opinion.

Further, in order to achieve the set goals (based on the conducted research and analysis stage), the overall opportunities and risks (B2) should be assessed in accordance with the real situation, taking into account the strategic goals of forming a corporate roadmap and stakeholders acting as a factor determining content of this process. The current impact and likelihood of each opportunity or risk is then considered. For this evaluation, a traditional 4×4 matrix can be used, on which impact and probability data can be noted. Benchmarks already in place are then reviewed to identify the need to address a particular opportunity or risk. The level and type of decision on each opportunity or risk may vary depending on the assessment of the impact and likelihood of the remaining opportunity or risk occurring, as well as on the roadmap team or its willingness to pursue a particular opportunity or take a particular risk. Therefore, specific plans must be developed to analyze the opportunity or risk. In order to carefully analyze each opportunity or risk, it is necessary to involve a wide variety of people who are part of the group involved in the creation of the road map. However, for best results, each opportunity (or risk) must be addressed by an individual. In order to clearly capture and understand the opportunities and risks at each stage of the roadmap process, as well as to develop ongoing plans for them, special official lists of risks can be used.

A company must always understand what it can afford with limited resources, what its top priorities are and what options are available. Another important aspect of creating a corporate roadmap is the identification of alternative strategies (B3). In accordance with the various choices, we determine at least three optimal and feasible strategy options. These alternatives, even if they do not meet some functional requirements, may include the best option, the worst option, and the "neutral" option as a certain basis. Understanding the alternatives is the basis for determining which possible solution represents the greatest value, given the combined costs, combined benefits, risks and opportunities. It is necessary to identify, measure and evaluate the costs, benefits, risks and uncertainties associated with each alternative. The preferred solution should be consistent with the relevant time scales and required characteristics. You also need to identify the priority goals of the roadmap to achieve a balance between conflicting requirements. The team must define the criteria and metrics (B4) against which planned options and success will be judged. In all cases, the team must prevent over-detailing of the requirements.

The initial assessment (B5) of the feasibility of the preferred option is based on the estimated financial costs and benefits in such a way as to see how they can be aligned with the overall financial strategy. How much is it? It is possible that the preferred solution requires unrealistic funds, although it is viable. Under these circumstances, the team should consider the next best option, re-investigate its funding, or explore a change within the project. At this stage, it will be difficult to analyze and accurately measure many of the costs and benefits, and therefore competing options need to be explored in detail as the relative costs and benefits may change upon closer examination. As a result, clearly uncompetitive options may be rejected at this stage. Before fully moving on to develop the roadmap, the team must get the approval of the strategic decision makers or their representatives.

Conducting practice-oriented seminars is the main mechanism for developing and evaluating the road map. However, the team involved in its development does not consist directly of top managers and shareholders. In this case, the seminars are just a series of meetings bringing together the right people for their opinion and, if necessary, peer review. Members of the roadmap team will monitor whether these processes contribute to the expected high-level strategy of the corporate roadmap (B6). You need to make sure that the road maps contain information received from all stakeholders. In this regard, it is necessary to check for inconsistencies in the road map from several points of view. For example, from the point of view of managers - whether the road map can be implemented within the planned time, or shareholders - whether the road map will give the necessary economic results, or from the sales point of view - whether the road map meets the needs and expectations of the market, and etc. The purpose of this evaluation is to obtain results that are consistent with all the characteristics that are necessary for the implementation of the road map.

Investors and decision makers need to be aware of all business situations in order to be consistent with the content of the project. They should not just make final decisions, but know the history of the issue and the surrounding circumstances.

During the decision-making process, managers are required to monitor the relevance of the initial conditions. Therefore, corporate roadmaps should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the real circumstances and financial results of the corporation, which will help to avoid wrong decisions.

A roadmap should always have specific goals, spread over time, and provide a comprehensive overview of the chosen area. The best form of creating a roadmap (B7) is a timeline that also has multiple goals and helps communicate the result and strategic goals being developed throughout the company. There are several ways to visualize the outcome of the roadmap process. One of them is the format shown in Fig. four.

The completed roadmap process should answer the following questions:

1. Why? (Strategic goals, business goals, resources, market needs, customer requirements, competitors, environment, industry trends, industry structure, internal business goals).

2. What? (Processes, technologies, products, systems, services, applications, capabilities, performance, characteristics, elements, basic principles).

3. How? (Strategy, culture, programs, competencies, knowledge, skills, equipment, infrastructure, standards, sources, projects).

4. When? (Plans, timetables, schedules, deferral systems, etc.).

Rice. 4. Corporate roadmap model

Following actions

The third stage of creating a corporate roadmap is the implementation of this process. The implementation phase should be an integral part of the overall strategic process for creating a corporate roadmap, and modifications should be made as needed during the change control process.

At this stage, the corporate roadmap is being reviewed, publicly announced and implemented.

This stage should include an analysis of the most important processes and competencies aimed at the successful implementation of the corporate roadmap. The analysis may include a strategic portfolio analysis, review of key processes, and identification of roadmap implementation issues that will be critical to achieving alignment between the roadmap and available budget and resources. The company's existing roadmap implementation team should also have experienced consultants to solve problems. In addition, it would be useful to train all participants, which could provide some synergistic effect.

The preliminary roadmap review stage (C1) usually has two objectives. First, within the framework of the working group, the results of the process of creating a corporate road map are approved. Secondly, the process of promotion and advertising of the recommendations offered within the framework of the "road map" begins. At the same time, in order to analyze the account in the "road map" of problems that are external to the company, it is very useful to receive a kind of review from an independent expert or a group of experts. If this stage is mandatory, then such feedback should be received during the creation of the corporate roadmap. After the working group completes the draft roadmap, it is distributed within the company to a wide range of employees to get feedback from different groups. If the roadmap effort is significant, including in terms of time, then interim press releases or fact sheets should be issued as part of this process.

Therefore, it is desirable to organize a management briefing (C2) on data, issues, scientific expertise obtained during the creation of the roadmap - in order to draw up a final report on the creation of a corporate roadmap (C3). After the release of the overall report, separate implementation plans should be developed, resources should be allocated, and the corporate roadmap should be implemented. The progress of its implementation is monitored and the report is reviewed and updated as necessary. The completed document should be a complex strategic plan. Once the roadmap is approved and published (C4), implementation plans should be prepared (C5). They are focused on individual activities, and also include resource plans for a longer period. When developing an implementation plan, the following issues should be addressed: developing a communication and reporting plan, allocating a budget to various processes and issues, developing a management plan in relation to timing, performance, cost, and change control requirements.

As the roadmap is being implemented, it should be periodically reviewed (C6) and updated (C7), especially if approved programs undergo fundamental changes or are affected by strategic outcomes. The monitoring process allows the strategy to be implemented under changing conditions, which may indicate that it is easier to follow a different strategy. This is the reason why the roadmap is not just a static plan, it will continue to develop until the strategy is implemented or the goals are achieved. Typically, changes to a roadmap stem from changes in the market, changing technology trends, or changing stakeholder needs. It is always necessary to evaluate the results regularly. In a successful business, planning processes define the main criteria for assessing the achievement of individual goals. Implementation plans should include a program for defining goals and responsibilities to assess progress in the creation and implementation of the roadmap and adjust it as necessary to meet internal and external changes. A system for tracking completed and achieved goals in a given time interval should work.

The most important in the process of implementing a corporate roadmap may be the following:

• effective prioritization: “If everything matters, nothing matters”;
• setting the criteria for responsibility defined in the plan for creating a corporate road map;
• defining clear criteria for the implementation of the corporate roadmap to help clarify its objectives and test feasibility;
• establishing reliable continuous communication about the problems and needs of the organization and its members;
• verification of the appropriate level of initiative of employees;
• confirmation that in the process of creating and implementing a corporate roadmap, the efforts of management are used in the best possible way;
• ensuring that people have the opportunity to directly participate in the creation of a strategy and strategic choice;
• confirmation of the presence of an explicit link between the implementation of the "road map" and the performance management system, etc.

Software plays an important role in the process of implementing the corporate roadmap. For example, SAP provides business maps to help companies highlight key processes and functions that can improve company results. SAP offers two types of business maps that represent different perspectives on processes: Solution Maps and Collaborative Business Maps. These maps can detail scenarios for a single industry or cross-industry scenarios within a single corporation or in terms of links between them. They also define activities, roles, system interactions, and business documents for enterprise collaboration. Another example is IBM, which offers a service methodology to support companies investing in Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). This methodology, which can be seen as a roadmap for SOA success, has many elements. One of these, IBM Business Enablement Services for SOA, defines how SOA can help meet customer needs or achieve business goals, and facilitates the alignment of a company's business and information technology. IBM Design Services for SOA helps clients create an architecture and a specific implementation plan for SOA. Implementation Services for SOA implement the goals that stem from the SOA vision and roadmap that the customer has. Management Services for SOA provides ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and compliance testing. The company refers to these services as a combination of programming code, intellectual property, and "best practices" derived from collaborations with many clients in many industries. Converting “best practices” and code learned from experience with hundreds of customers into service offerings based on company assets helps reduce risk faster and add value to customers on a tight budget.

A very common tool is The Learning Trust, which provides support for strategic roadmapping processes such as the Geneva Active Digital Library (ADL), Vision Strategist, and Web Viewer. ADL is used to disseminate information among users and educate them in the process of creating a "road map". Vision Strategist provides read-only access to road maps. Geneva Vision Strategist is a powerful web-based software that performs all the functions of Vision Map and more. Improving the software architecture is the main direction of development of the creation of "road maps".

Conclusion

In recent years, the business has moved from stand-alone, tailor-made solutions to complete, planned and global solutions. And most managers are trying to change their mindset about innovation and the future. This is becoming an extremely pressing issue. The main issue in this regard is not ignoring the changing environment, but the fact that managers do not use all the necessary approaches and methods, even if they are already available, especially information, skills, knowledge and know-how. Companies do not fully exploit what they have already achieved and do not really think about the uncertainty of the future.

The roadmap process has become one of the most common approaches to support decision making, corporate strategy and innovation in many areas of activity around the world. For example, The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) helps companies and countries fight marginalization trends in a globalizing world. UNIDO mobilizes knowledge, skills, information and technology to create efficient employment, a competitive economy and a sustainable environment. UNIDO's Foresight Programs promote strategic planning aimed at developing a diverse infrastructure and innovative capabilities, especially in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

The issue we have touched upon is also important because in many cases the results of studies on the use of road maps have turned out to be rather vague, especially when considering problems from a technology or product point of view. Again, roadmaps are also used in areas of activity that are in no way related to technology. Every company is different, with the magnitude, complexity, and speed of change highly unpredictable, and with competition and business resources increasingly global. Consequently, it is expected that organizations will be forced to respond faster to global changes and make more complex decisions. Top managers and shareholders must systematically prepare their business for future events, and the so-called old know-how must be the main material for their decisions. In our opinion, such a strategy for future global changes can be called "corporate knowledge strategy".

Literature

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Drawing up a "road map", or a step-by-step action plan, helps to form a common vision of the business in the company. It is the process by which experts predict what future technologies will look like and how markets will develop, and determine the consequences of such developments for individual companies. The model of such a "road map" provides a description of how development processes can be structured.

When drawing up a roadmap, it is necessary to clarify future goals (formulated mainly on the basis of expert opinions on how technologies will develop) and propose how to achieve them. Based on the results of such an analysis, it is possible to determine the contribution that an individual company can make to such development, or how this company can respond to ongoing changes. To explain this process, we will use the "road map" with the coordinates "products" and "technologies".

In recent decades, many different "road maps" have been created. When studying such "cards", where the bet is made on technology, four types of them can be distinguished.

• Industry roadmaps. This type includes maps that indicate the direction of the expected development of the industry. The process reflected in such a map shows the way in which individual companies choose to minimize their risk, which is achieved through the participation of various stakeholders in deciding the priorities for future technology development. During this discussion, the contribution to the study, which should be made by each of the parties, is determined. The industry roadmap can also be used to obtain funding (both private and public).
• Corporate roadmaps. They are designed to help individual companies make strategic choices and can be based on industry roadmaps. These "maps" describe combinations of products and markets.
• Product and technological roadmaps. It is one of the types of market analysis, product evaluation and technology studies that are combined to develop an internal R&D plan and a sequence of steps to be taken when introducing new products to the market. The model discussed below refers to the "road maps" of this kind.
• Competence-based research "road maps".

This type of roadmap focuses on the competencies and research needed to create a technology or part of it. Such "maps" are either compiled separately, or, as shown in Fig. 1 are combined with others into a single "map".

When to Apply the Model

Product and technology roadmaps can be used to provide more precise guidance for future activities. They are useful for more in-depth analysis by professionals who develop new markets, especially those with a technology orientation. In order to survive in such markets, it is important to develop new products, due to the constantly shortening of product life cycles. Therefore, roadmapping is a very useful strategy for companies that are constantly looking for opportunities to create new products and services. Thanks to this model, new markets, products and technologies can be structurally defined.

Roadmaps typically include the following descriptions:

• appearance on the market: description of the product and the research required to create it;
• purpose: results of market, product and technology analysis;
• time parameters: critical path and timing of the product on the market;
• resources: money, people and technology required to create new goods and services.

The use of roadmaps provides a number of benefits.

• The company involved in the preparation of the "road map" receives valuable strategic information.
• At the heart of long-term strategic planning is the collection of well-structured information, so that the company can make more informed decisions related to future products, services and technologies.
• Both internal and external data can be mapped on the map, which helps to come up with a well-structured vision of changing market factors, consumer demands, technologies, factors environment and suppliers.
• Achieving a better and more accurate alignment of R&D and product development costs, facilitated by identifying opportunities to combine new technologies with new products.
• Roadmaps can be a source of new use cases for existing technologies (old technologies for new products and services).
• The results obtained from such "maps" help to identify long-term strategic bottlenecks, gaps and uncertainties associated with products and technologies.
• Roadmaps are a powerful tool to tie the entire company to a new development strategy and new product development processes. With their help, project teams can quickly adapt to strategic changes.
• Such maps help to identify the potential for synergy between suppliers and buyers, as well as between competitors.

How to use the model

The product-technological roadmap is built based on the results of:

• market analysis;
• learning technologies;
• product ratings.

Market analysis is carried out on an “outside-in” basis and is designed to identify new and inherently long-term consumer needs. Its results show what the new needs and value added by the company(s) will be. The study of technology has a different focus - "from the inside out". In this study, the portfolio of products is compared with other possible goods and services. Technology research combined with product evaluation helps identify differences and opportunities for new products.

At the next stage, the results obtained with the help of the "road map" are discussed during the "brainstorming". Proposed new product ideas are evaluated in terms of potential gains that can be obtained, expressed in terms of such indicators as unique selling points (USP) and (return on investment, ROI); as well as from the standpoint of the risks accompanying this option (technological and market readiness); required resources (investments). Naturally, the most valuable new products are the offerings with the highest returns and the lowest risk and resource requirements. Based on the results of such an analysis, it is already possible to draw up an internal R&D plan, which is based on the research required in order to launch a new product into production. In addition, after that it is already possible to develop an action plan for entering the market with a new product / new service.

Although market analysis, technology research, and product evaluation can be done by company leaders (most likely with the involvement of an external consulting firm), the most complete and accurate road maps come to light when representatives of various organizations and universities participate in their development. One of the most important factors that largely contribute to the high quality of the roadmap is the involvement of "champions" in its development. This term in this case refers to respected and very well-known experts from a particular (technological) field. If an industry expert speaks out in support of the proposed roadmap option, other experts are much more willing to accept it.

There are other factors contributing to the success of this model. Here is some of them.

• Roadmaps should be drawn up by leading experts who are recognized experts who are well versed in the specifics of a particular industry.
• If executives want the roadmap to actually have a positive impact on their company, they must actively participate in its development themselves.
• Roadmaps should be updated regularly to keep up with ongoing product, market and technology changes.
• A specialist from an external company (for example, a consultant) can help with the process of developing a roadmap and conducting interviews with interested parties.
• For roadmap communications to be effective and for all roadmaps to be well aligned with each other, it is essential that a unified approach be taken when drafting them.
• The Roadmap should be seen as a long-term tool used for strategic development. If the strategic vision covers a period of less than two years, it is not suitable for compiling a road map.

conclusions

Roadmapping is a method of helping a company achieve a shared vision for the future; it is considered that the creation of a common vision of the world is as important as the preparation of the final version of the "road map". Therefore, the compilation of such “maps” may not ensure success for those companies whose vision of the world differs from the dominant one (for those companies that are involved in this business).

The main purpose of such a "road map" is to stimulate the activities of staff through a better understanding of the prospects and ways to improve the state of affairs. But while the roadmap outlines specific activities and projects, the future remains unknown and far from always predictable. Therefore, it should be considered as a way to visualize the future. However, despite the fact that such a "map" is compiled on the basis of market data, it is in no way predictive. In order to incorporate ongoing development events into the “planned” vision of the future, the roadmap should be updated frequently enough.

Any company whose business is not built on the knee feels the need for competent planning mechanisms. Сorporate Roadmap (corporate roadmap) is a similar practical tool for strategic corporate planning. Unfortunately, due to insufficient popularity, it is not widely used in Russian business.

What is a roadmap? It is the backbone of management's work. It describes the steps planned for a long period of time in a structured and sequential manner. Usually it is a year, three, four or five years. A business roadmap is one of the management tools in a company or group of companies. It is applicable in organizations with more than 200-300 employees, with two or more levels of management hierarchy. Attention is drawn to it by high efficiency, transparency and visibility, as well as the clarity of criteria for monitoring and motivating both individual employees and individual structures of a company or holding.

Essence of Corporate Roadmap

A roadmap is a set of measures to implement the achievement of the planned result, with a clear definition and audit of the starting point of movement. This is a toolkit for identifying gaps in certain processes and self-tuning the control system in the process of application.

To solve the problems, two models can be used. The first model allows you to build on accepted practice as you achieve results, step by step. It is used when the performance of the previous period is rosy and the company used other planning tools. The second model is the introduction of a new mechanism entirely. It is necessary in startups, in anti-crisis management, when changing technologies in the industry.

Corporate Roadmap stimulates those areas in management that will give the maximum effect to achieve long-term goals. Directions in the management of the company are stimulated at all levels of the hierarchy from top management to line managers.

The roadmap builds processes very well and balances the distribution of attention between solving short-term and long-term tasks. In essence, this document links strategic and operational tasks into a single mechanism. It allows you to find solutions that convey the goals and visions of owners and shareholders to all levels of the company, stimulate research and control the development of events in the right direction.

Corporate Roadmap tools are interrelated and include:

• Development of key technologies and competencies.
• Risk management and restrictions.
• Strategic marketing tools.
• Political management of human resources.
• Justification and proper use of investments.
• Development and mechanism for implementing decisions that lead to the success of the company.
• Support for strategic processes.

Step-by-step planning for roadmap development

The roadmap contains information that is a reference for monitoring and managing the process, as well as indicators of the success of movement along the route and tools for working with deviations (compensations).

Map development can be divided into two major stages:

• Goal setting and clarification of the real picture of the world.
• The task of moving towards the goal with clear results and responsibility for the result: what will happen or not happen when the goal is achieved or not achieved, in what areas, with whom, how significant the results will be.

We set goals and clarify the situation in the company

Step one. In terms of KPI, the flagship goals of the company (primarily in the field of marketing) are defined, associated with a new vision of the future. Goals are set by shareholders and management and then adjusted as they are audited and developed based on the Corporate Roadmap toolkit. At the same stage, additional (side) goals are set.

Step two. Audit, during which the choice of marketing and management tools to achieve the company's goals. At this point, it is desirable to assess the opportunities that the company has and determine what new tools it is advisable to introduce into management practice in order to use them. It is also important to evaluate the work of all managerial links, including the motivation of managers and their reorientation to more effective methods. The audit may include an assessment of interaction with third parties, but this work is also impossible without an assessment of the company's internal processes.

The analysis is carried out in different areas: marketing oscillators, commercial analytics, production opportunities, financial and investment evaluation. The heads of the main business divisions, areas and departments are involved in the process of auditing and agreeing on the findings.

After the audit is completed, we get: the first conclusions, a list of white spots, a list of hypotheses and clear target results. Owners of the company either immediately receive processes that provide the business efficiency they need, or information that allows them to prepare existing processes for the transition to more high level. The audit allows not to miss the important stages of the implementation of the developed set of measures, without which the stated goals will not be fully achieved.

Step three. Use of recommended tools. Corporate Roadmap tools are applied based on the tasks identified during the audit. The task of this stage is to get an answer to the question, due to which approaches the set goals will be achieved. What are the best practices that will allow us to do this? Analysis successful strategies will not only help to find new ideas, but will also allow you to determine whether business process reengineering is necessary for their implementation.

The third stage covers a wide range of issues and areas:

• Implementation of planning by sections, setting checkpoints, automation.
• Changes in technological processes.
• Management lever in the area of ​​control points and identified white spots.
• Attraction and involvement of human resources.
• Establish efficient processes to quickly apply incoming data.

As a result, we determine the leading trio of "goals - tasks - approaches" and formulate a concept that will be implemented.

We set the movement towards goals

Step one. Determine the starting position. To do this, we start from the results of the audit. The starting position is the starting point of the improvement route and the base for further success. It includes the presence or absence of a necessary and sufficient list of managerial, production, financial and marketing "weapons". As a result of the study, we get a block of the Corporate Roadmap document that describes the current situation "as is" - a description that is shared by all participants in the implementation.

Step two. We define the stages of action in various areas with indicators. This section can contain multiple scenarios. Each scenario (case) describes the structure of the stages, their sequence. Each stage answers the question of what will be done and why. Each stage can be detailed by areas of responsibility. For example:

• Product planning (portfolio).
• Planning opportunities and defining implementations in management practice.
• Segment capture planning (panel).
• Investment calculations.

At the end of the study of this block, we receive confirmation from the responsible persons of the route along which the movement will take place; if necessary, broken down by cases and areas of responsibility (subplans).

Step three. Implementation. At this stage, the roadmap implementation plan is described. This is the main interactive block, for which either the selected official (individually) or the department (collectively) should be responsible. Motivation and demotivation, authority - everything must be detailed and approved. The task of the stage is to develop a system of interrelated actions.

The action plan provided by the roadmap can be compiled in the form of a table with the following fields:

• Stage / sub-stage number.
• Main line of business.
• Case.
• Start and end dates (plan / actual).
• Expected results.
• Significant milestone milestones.
• Informing about the result (whom, when).
• Responsible.

In essence, this is a schedule for the implementation of the roadmap, which allows you to control the process and tie the deadlines for results to specified points in time with the introduction of rapid response (strategic focus). It is very important that actions are taken to monitor these indicators, control results and timelines.

When developing a roadmap, it is necessary to take into account the content of interrelated documents. This will make it possible to correlate the actions envisaged by it with other planned actions in order to avoid intersections, conflict of resources, duplication, contradictions and other embarrassments. Which documents should be reviewed first for inconsistencies? First of all, the main documents of the company: the company's annual report and investment projects. It is also important to study the basic documents: marketing and production planning documents, R&D and development data, analysis of opportunities by profiles. And we must not forget about additional documents reflecting the status of existing projects and programs. Accounting for related documents occurs at the end of the "Implementation" stage.

Document understandable to the cleaning lady

Did you manage to create a working toolkit in the end? Can the draft Corporate Roadmap be finalized? In order to understand this, we use a simple checklist:

• Minimum administrative resource, maximum practical result.
• Intelligibility, simplicity, clarity, clarity and transparency of the final document. It should be clear to any employee of the company from a cleaner to a top manager.
• Rapid movement towards the goal. Moving from stage to stage is easy, deadlines are monitored, progress is reported and gaps are addressed.

A roadmap or roadmap in the hands of a skilled product manager is a real strategic weapon. Just as most strategists know how to properly use their work tools, so the product manager must be able to tactically apply the roadmap and use the available services for this purpose.

While in the past, simple Excel or Powerpoint functions were enough for these purposes, today's product managers can really benefit and enjoy working with quality roadmapping tools.

Why is a roadmap needed?

The product roadmap consists of a global level initiative and all of its planned steps. It doesn't have to include every feature of the product and detailed lists of bugs. This strategy document is for separate planning.
Be sure to update the product roadmap throughout its life cycle. Included features, initiatives and requirements must be created and initiated by many parties: management, customers, sales managers, partners, support, developers, financiers and, of course, product people.

Roadmaps are not limited to products: their goals are similar to different types(for example, marketing and IT roadmaps).

Any roadmap focused on its audience has its own characteristics.

• Roadmaps for Developers typically focus on features, sprints, releases, and milestones. They are quite short and, as a rule, larger.
• Roadmaps for sellers focused on combining features and benefits for customers.
• External roadmaps(for customers or partners) focused on the main benefits of the product for them. Like any external document, this kind of product roadmap needs to be attractive, visually understandable, and accessible.

Also, roadmaps differ in different teams. For example, a roadmap in an Agile team will be different from a typical roadmap in Waterfall.

Differences roadmaps in Agile and Waterfall

• Waterfall teams are usually business oriented, based on financial metrics. In Agile, goals are customer-centric (such as user growth and customer satisfaction).
• Roadmaps in Waterfall show completions within a year or two, while Agile roadmaps usually show quarterly completions. Planning in Waterfall and Agile companies also differs depending on the timing.
• Differences are also related to the principle of interaction. Interactions in Waterfall teams are sequential, and Agile team members work according to cross-functionality and simultaneity.
• Finally, Waterfall roadmaps have limited flexibility, while Agile roadmaps are much more flexible, as is the methodology itself.

There is no perfect way to visually create a roadmap; you can use different templates to display basic data:

• Global strategic initiatives
• Releases by periods (quarters)
• Detailed Features
• Information about the bug fixing

How to create the perfect roadmap?

Spreadsheets

However, roadmaps in tables have significant drawbacks. The tables do not have sufficient visualization and they are not enough to present a strategic plan. In addition, the same Excel is a static document, which, after sharing, is difficult to control and synchronize versions with all team members.

Presentations

Why are dedicated services better than simple ways to create a roadmap?

• Visualize a product roadmap
• Link global strategy to roadmap processes
• Identify and evaluate ideas
• Collaborate with all stakeholders (including clients and non-technical colleagues)
• Integrate with third party systems

Once the product management service is defined, you can start creating a roadmap. Where to begin? How to create an understandable roadmap for everyone?

The main stages of creating a roadmap

1. Definition of strategy

2. Release customization

3. Feature prioritization

4. Sharing the roadmap

As a conclusion

Well designed roadmap software is a powerful strategic tool in product management.

What is your experience with roadmaps? Share your ideas and success stories.