Roadmaps

Roadmaps help an agency transition from development to implementation of a digital or ICT vision and target state architecture. They provide a graphic visualisation of the potential activities, capabilities and outcomes required to support the agency’s digital or ICT strategic direction and vision.

While the strategic document remain relatively static, roadmaps may change in response to changes in investment decisions, resources, the performance of initiatives and the impact of these changes on the current and future digital or ICT work plan.

Audience

A practitioner in the context of this guideline can include one or more of the following roles:

• Digital or ICT strategic planners
• Agency and service strategic planners
• Enterprise architects
• Information managers.

Roadmaps are abstract plans for business, information or technology change, operating across multiple disciplines over multiple years. The development of roadmaps is iterative and my need to undergo several rounds of consultation in accordance with any communications plan currently in place.

Gather information

A gap analysis will ensure that the proposed architecture is complete and highlight areas of business, information, application or technology capability required that need to be included on associated roadmaps and implementation plans.

Before developing a roadmap, practitioners should ensure they have an adequate understanding of the outputs of the following guidelines:

• Sponsorship, scope and stakeholders
• Planning team and resources
• Current state
• Target architecture
• Gap analysis.

Depending on the planning objectives identified these guidelines, more than one roadmap may be required.

Roadmap co-design

The development of roadmaps can be achieved using a workshop approach. Sharing and collaborating on a roadmap with stakeholders and business representatives provides visibility of different perspectives and enhances the co-design process. Adopting this co-design approach also improves the chances of choosing an optimal pathway.

Roadmap timeframes

The timeframes included in roadmaps should reflect the timeframe of the strategic document to which it relates, however a greater level of abstraction may occur in the outer years of the roadmap.

Roadmap elements

There is no single template for a roadmap, but common roadmap visualisation elements can include:

• details of potential work packages, solutions or deliverables including a name and description or domain
• identification of dependencies or relationships between work packages, solutions or deliverables
• demonstration of how the implementation of work packages, solutions or deliverable will contribute to the incremental achievement of outcomes and delivery of benefits
• workstream or swim lanes
• interactive elements that help stakeholders and users drill down for more detail.

See the following videos for roadmap development activities and tips:

• Five tips for effective technology roadmapping
• Guide to roadmapping

Additional roadmap themes and elements

Roadmaps should not just depict the technology changes required. Roadmaps can include other details including, but not limited to:

• business or organisational changes required
• changes to the way information is created, used, shared or managed
• changes required to deliver strategic changes in the workforce including the reskilling of staff or the recruitment or sourcing of staff
• changes required to bring about the application and technology target state architecture
• a summary of the timing and estimated level of investment required.

These themes can be represented as workstreams or swim lanes or as separate roadmaps.

All strategic documents and roadmaps should be endorsed by the planning sponsor. For agency wide strategic documents and roadmaps, it may be necessary to seek approval from the executive officers of the agency including the Director General or equivalent.

Where a public launch of the strategic documents including roadmaps is proposed, Ministerial approval may also be required.

We recommend practitioners seek the help of marketing and communications specialists within their agency to conduct an editorial review and support the overall presentation of the roadmap(s).

Roadmaps will form the basis for the development of initiative proposals.Refer to the Initiative proposals guideline as your next step in the planning process.