Roadmapping

Revision as of 18:33, 26 February 2018

Abstract

Programs can become very complicated as they evolve. It can be easy for individual projects to lose track of the program goal. A program manager will have to coordinate between multiple projects each focusing on different areas such as stakeholders, technology, material resources, infrastructure etc. A program manager might have all the necessary resources to ensure a successful program but if none of these resources are working together or if projects meant to support further development are not in place when needed the program will fail. As described by the PMI-standard

“Program management is the centralized coordinated management of a program to achieve the program’s strategic objectives and benefits. It involves aligning multiple projects to achieve the program goals and allows for optimized or integrated cost, schedule and, effort.”^[1]

Not only does Roadmapping help program managers align projects it also help them plan these projects efficiently. Furthermore Roadmapping helps programs managers handle and coordinate between different factors such as politics, economy, infrastructure, society etc.

This article will examine the following

1. Describe the relevance of Roadmapping in program management.

2. A detailed guide to the use of Roadmapping.

3. A critical reflection of the limitations of Roadmapping.

Roadmapping in Program Management

Roadmapping is the last step in the "Program Strategy Alignment" domain. It visualizes the objectives, opportunities and relations identified by the environmental assessment, business case and program plan. The Roadmap should clarify how the these objectives and opportunities should be implemented through projects and how these projects relate and support each other.

^[2]

A roadmap is a illustrative way of creating a representation of how projects in the program interact and depend on each other. It should visualize the mentioned dependencies, key objectives/milestones and identify necessary infrastructure.

The Roadmap has several benefits.

1. Depicts key dependencies between major milestones.

2. Clarifies the link between the business plan and prioritized projects.

3. The illustrative nature of the method helps identify and explain gaps in the program plan.

4. Creates an overview of key milestones.

5. Identifies key factors for the program planning including objectives, risks, end points, key infrastructure etc.

6. Helps program managers plan and develop key infrastructure to support the program.

Roadmapping Guide

There exist a number of different roadmaps and the method itself is bieng researched into as there defininetly is room for improvement. A roadmap that could be useful for program managers is the Strategic Landscape roadmap. The Strategic Landscape roadmap works at a higher level than more specific roadmaps like the technological roadmap. It makes sense to use the roadmap to create an overview of the the different projects and how they are connected. Furthermore the roadmap also helps define the projects based on their output and goals. An example of a Strategic Landscape roadmap is shown below.

File:Strategic Landscape.jpg.jpg

^[3]

The Strategic Landscape defines projects as either being based on providing Mobility, Technology or Enablers. It also encourages the user to analyze trends and drivers that could have a potential impact on the program. Starting from top to bottom

Trends and Drivers: This could be political, social, legal, environmental, economical or technological trends that could either hinder or benefit the project. Identifying these trends or drivers and properly preparing to either deflect or harness their impact could be critical to the program success. A PESTEL analysis is a useful tool in this area.

Mobility: Projects that provide the mobility needed the program to succeed. This could be infrastructure as seen in the English Olympics case. In that case, example the program needed extensive infrastructure in the form of roads, subway systems, sanitation, electrical cables, pipes, etc.

Technological: Projects that either acquire or develop technologies that support the program or in many cases other projects in the later stages of the program.

Enablers: Projects that provide other necessary outputs. You might have to acquire building permits from the government to build on a specific piece of land. It could also be acquisition of key partnerships.

Limitations and Dangers of Roadmapping

Roadmapping is a great method for aligning multiple projects towards the program goal, however there exist several challenges and risks.^[4]

1. Not a magic bullet – initially more questions than answers.

The initial roadmap does not gaurantee success. Furthermore many of the benifits of the first roadmap derive from the roadmapping process rather than the roadmap itself. The process brings together peopel from different projects, professions etc. and provides an oppurtunity for sharing information and perspectives. The greatest benifit of the first roadmap is mostly communicating the strategic vision and goals of the program.

2. The process and roadmapping typically need to be customised

The generic roadmap has great benifits for supporting the strategy and planning the program. However its not a template for every situation. It is important to be flexible and modify the roadmap to fit particular circumstances.

3. To simple

The graphical form of the roadmap helps communicate the program efficiently but does condense the individual projects. It is therefore important that the roadmap is supported by the appropriate documentation.

References

1. ↑ The standard for program Management, second Edition
2. ↑ Josef Oehmen, 2018, Advanced Engineering Project, Program and Portfolio Management
3. ↑ Phaal (2009), Cambridge University
4. ↑ Borch Placeholder