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Of course, it takes a bit of practise to become proficient and apply those principles in different contexts, but it’s something that most people can pick up and run with. We talk about the ‘why, what, how’ and use those principles through the process. And when we go through our step-by-step process, and the logic is clean and clear, people get it. You can create some nice, clean roadmaps just based on a bit of solid information and analysis. It is usually good to start simple or small, and then as you build your roadmapping capability you can increase the level of sophistication. You might see some roadmaps that can seem very sophisticated, but they don’t have to be complicated, especially when you are starting out in your application of roadmapping. Many assume that it will be difficult and complex, but it doesn’t have to be. And of course, a good roadmap, laid out on the page, helps others, not directly involved in its creation, to understand the developed strategy as well. So, the visual nature of the roadmapping process aids communication and helps people to exchange information and to learn from one another. You can then decide to either focus on that blank space and figure it out, or you can ignore it – but you’re doing so consciously and with reason. In addition, when you map things out, you can see patterns more easily, helping to identify where there is a lack of information or knowledge. This allows people to externalise the information in their heads – it also helps other people to pick up on these, build even more ideas and improve the thinking. People have to interact with these as individuals and as a collective to contribute their thinking. The roadmap itself is visual, of course, but the process we follow in creating it is also visual, in that we use charts and templates. It helps in the actual creation of the strategy itself, but also, importantly, it helps in the communication of the strategy. Roadmapping is a very visual approach to strategy, and this can help an organisation in two ways.

Then you can make better decisions based on the picture in front of you. It doesn’t do that just by itself, it’s about the process that helps you to structure your mindset and helps you to see where gaps or interlinks are.

It helps you make sense of such situations. In fact, I’ve discovered that some people consider roadmapping a risk management tool, and that makes sense, though I might call it more of an uncertainty management tool. How can you figure all of that out and still be able to do something good, such as being able to transfer technology from one part of the world to another? That question is what drew me to roadmapping. Roadmapping is very much about how you can make sense of an uncertain situation, so was appropriate to apply it to developing economies where there can be less structure to industry and innovation systems – there is usually a bit more uncertainty, coupled with other things, such as political issues, which add ambiguity. In fact, my first reaction was to apply roadmapping to technology transfer into developing economies, which is something that a few people since then have tried to do.

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I was also quite interested in how to apply something like roadmapping to difficult, complex and uncertain situations. But I always had an interest in the management and strategic aspect of manufacturing.

I trained as a mechanical engineer, where I always thought about fixing and making things. The first step on the roadmapping journey

Dr Imoh Ilevbare provides consulting on roadmapping through IfM Engage and is one of the course leads for the Product-Technology Roadmapping course for Cambridge Advance Online. A roadmap is not a static forecast, but rather a device to support strategic navigation, updated periodically as events unfold and new knowledge is gained.Īlthough the most common visual format looks similar to project and programme plans, roadmaps have greater scope and a longer time horizon, providing context and direction for strategic decisions, plans and budgets. Dr Imoh Ilevbare, Principal Solution Development Specialist at IfM Engage, tells Jason Naselli why he loves helping organisations to create their own roadmaps, how its visual approach helps organisations to design and communicate their strategy more effectively, and reveals some of the best and most interesting examples he has seen.Ī strategic roadmap is a structured forward-looking diagram that sets out an integrated view of the way forward for an organisation, sector or other system. Roadmapping is a powerful approach that can help organisations to effectively plan and communicate their strategy.