What is a roadmap?

Roadmaps typically includes key projects and timelines to help guide the organization in achieving its targets.

A business roadmap helps you and your team visualize exactly what is needed to transform the company’s vision into reality and when. Think of it as a moving visual timeline of everything that should happen to get your business from where it is today to where you want it to be in the future. It’s like a long-term project tracker. The roadmap should include all the strategic targets and initiatives that you have prioritized and agreed to complete. You can lay out what will happen in a given month, quarter, or year. You can pick a timeline that suits you and your business the best to visualize and feel motivated toward achieving your targets.

You may find that if you pick a timeline that is too long term that you feel unmotivated because the business achievements seem far away and intangible. This has a negative impact on motivation unless you carefully and consciously include lots of significant wins along the way. On the other hand, if you create a timeline that is too short, you’ll be forever updating and creating new roadmaps which could get frustrating and eat up a lot of time.