Roadmap: What It Is and How It Simplifies Work

A roadmap is a visual representation of a project strategy: key goals, tasks, timelines, responsible parties, and milestones. With a roadmap, it’s easier to understand the purpose of a task and the ideal outcome. Anything can be the focus of your roadmap: a new product or even a company growth strategy.

Roadmap: an example from Roadmunk

What is a project roadmap

A project roadmap serves as a comprehensive guide for all participants. It defines goals, assigns tasks to specific individuals or teams, and sets deadlines. This ensures that all project participants have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Based on the roadmap, the project manager creates a detailed plan where tasks are broken down into steps, deadlines are set, and responsibilities are assigned.

Imagine a construction company is working on a project to build a new residential complex. A roadmap is created to manage this process. It outlines all stages of construction in detail, from the development of project documentation to the completion and handover of the complex. Each stage is handled by a specific division of the company. For example, the architectural bureau is responsible for the design phase, the general contractor oversees construction, and the landscaping department handles the site beautification stage.

Is a roadmap just a project plan?

Roadmaps are especially valuable in multidisciplinary projects that involve various work groups. These teams may operate independently, but for smooth collaboration and to achieve a common goal, they need to follow the points outlined in the roadmap.

Take, for example, the development of a new product at a large household appliance company. Engineers are designing the device, the design department is working on its appearance, and the marketing team is preparing the promotion campaign. Each team has its own tasks and deadlines, but they all share a common goal: the successful launch of the new product. The project roadmap clearly shows the development stage, who is responsible for what, and which tasks need to be completed by certain deadlines. This way, all teams work in harmony and address issues on time.

Roadmaps and project plans serve similar purposes but have key differences. Both documents outline the essence and set the course for successful completion. A project plan is more detailed, breaking down each task and phase. In contrast, a roadmap is an overview document that focuses on key milestones and the overall direction.

Project plan template on smartsheet.com

Despite their different levels of detail, both tools remain flexible and are subject to adjustments in case of unforeseen circumstances, such as material delivery delays.

A good project management option is a Gantt chart. Read the article Gantt Chart: What It Is, How to Create And Use It to learn how to apply it in your work.

What is a roadmap used for?

Below, we’ll take a closer look at how roadmaps help teams.

They make it easier to ensure everything is going according to plan. Take website development as an example. It's important to make sure the site aligns with its main goals. Suppose the original plan was for a simple informational resource, but during development, the designers got carried away and added too many interactive elements. As a result, the site became overloaded and difficult to navigate. To prevent this, it's essential to refer back to the original technical specifications.

They make it easier to keep tasks on schedule. All team members should have access to the roadmap so they can track their progress and stay aware of deadlines.

For example, copywriters realize they need more time to write content for a new section of the website. They update the roadmap, and marketers, seeing these changes, adjust the launch timeline for the advertising campaign if necessary.

The roadmap provides an overview of the project’s current stage, making it a convenient tool for presenting to managers, clients, or investors. They typically want to understand the big picture without diving into details.

It makes it easier to create a project plan. The roadmap is an excellent foundation for further breaking down the project plan. You can divide it into more specific goals, tasks, and stages to create a clear step-by-step action plan for the team.

Types of roadmaps

Roadmaps are valuable tools used in various areas of life. They can be applied for managing large companies or even planning a group vacation. In project management, several types of roadmaps are commonly distinguished:

Marketing roadmap. This type helps you form a strategy for promoting a product, set marketing goals, and choose the tools to achieve them.

To make it easier to track the results of your efforts, consider using Altcraft Platform analytics. This convenient marketing automation platform processes large amounts of data, instantly calculates and displays analytical reports.

Product roadmap. This roadmap outlines the creation of something new or the development of an existing product. For example, a company plans to create an online platform for remote student learning. The roadmap for this project should highlight the involved departments and key stages of work: market and competitor analysis, concept and functionality development, prototype creation and testing, refinement, project launch, as well as promotion and marketing.

Example of a product roadmap

Sales tracking roadmap. In this type of roadmap, the sales department outlines product goals and the steps to achieve them. For example, a tech store's sales team may set a goal to increase smartphone sales by 10% in one month. This can be accomplished through a promotion offering a gift with a smartphone purchase, bonuses or discounts, as well as by calling regular customers.

Alignment of company project roadmaps is crucial. All roadmaps must be synchronized and based on a unified strategy. Otherwise, the efforts of individual teams may end up working against each other.

How to create a roadmap

Let's look at the key steps for creating a roadmap and the information it should include.

Who is this roadmap for? The successful creation of a roadmap directly depends on understanding its target audience. The visualization and content of the roadmap should be tailored to the needs and interests of those for whom it is intended. A roadmap for project investors will be significantly different from one designed for employees. Investors are likely to be more interested in key milestones, deadlines, and potential profits. On the other hand, the development team will need more detailed information about tasks, technical aspects, and the division of responsibilities.

What will the roadmap look like? Choose an appropriate structure for your roadmap based on the goals and target audience. There are three formats of roadmaps:

Time-based roadmaps. In this format, goals are placed on a timeline, reflecting deadlines for strategy execution. This allows you to visualize progress and easily monitor performance.
Roadmaps without time frames. This type is used when it's impossible to set precise deadlines due to a lack of long-term planning. In such cases, goals are listed in order of priority.
Hybrid roadmaps. These combine both time frames and priorities. Short-term tasks usually have exact deadlines, while long-term goals are prioritized but not bound to a specific timeline.

What are the goals of your roadmap? Now that you know the target audience and the purpose of the roadmap, it's time to outline its main milestones. At this stage, you don't need to go into detail. Focus on the key objectives that need to be achieved.

What is your strategy? Develop your plan. This includes analyzing resources and capabilities, as well as selecting the most effective approach for implementation. The next step is to analyze ideas and tasks themselves. They need to be broken down into individual items, assessed for complexity and effort, and their interconnections determined. Then, prioritize and highlight the most critical goals, establishing deadlines for their achievement. You should also allocate available resources.

How will you control work processes? Develop a system for tracking task completion and define the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the project. Regularly monitor progress and achievement of KPIs. Analyze the data obtained and draw conclusions. Make adjustments to the roadmap: add new tasks if necessary and remove those that are no longer relevant. Update the information on deadlines and analyze the data regarding the project's effectiveness.

How can you assess performance using KPIs? And what are they anyway? Read the article Key Performance Indicators: What They Are and How to Use Them.

Where to create a roadmap

The simplest option for a roadmap is to sketch it out on a board. However, for larger organizations, this approach is ineffective. It’s better to use specialized project management services that make it easier to track progress.

The main criterion when choosing a service is user-friendliness. Don’t rely solely on popularity if a particular program causes discomfort during use. The market offers a variety of alternatives, so finding a suitable option shouldn’t be difficult.

Here are a few tools for creating roadmaps:

Google Sheets

This service requires no special skills or paid subscription, making it accessible to a wide range of users. Creating a roadmap is quick and simple.

However, it’s important to note that this tool is not suitable for complex or long-term projects. Its functionality is limited to creating simple roadmaps, and the interface is not optimized for working on large or multi-stage projects. Nevertheless, Google Sheets can be a useful tool for small companies, as well as for creating an initial sketch of a roadmap.

Draft of a simple map in Google Sheets

Miro

An interactive platform for teamwork. Here, users can create notes, drawings, and plan projects. Any number of participants can connect to a single board, but only one user can edit it at a time. There are over 300 templates available, including examples of product development roadmaps, technology roadmaps, and many others.

Example roadmap from Miro

Roadmunk

A specialized service for creating roadmaps. It offers around forty ready-made templates for various fields such as IT, marketing, sales, and more. Additionally, Roadmunk integrates with Jira, a popular service for project and task management. The free trial period lasts for two weeks.

Product card template. Source: roadmunk.com

Conclusion

A roadmap is a dynamic tool that allows teams to effectively manage projects, track progress, adapt to changes, and ultimately achieve their goals.

The roadmap outlines all the important parts of the project: stages, objectives, timelines, and interconnections. This helps project participants understand what they are working on and how their efforts relate to other tasks.

The roadmap simplifies deadline management. It is easy to monitor progress and adjust timelines for tasks if necessary. Additionally, the roadmap is flexible—it can be easily adapted to any unforeseen circumstances that arise during the work.