Get Down To Business: Developing Your Product-Technology Roadmap

This is the continuation of my previous blogs on roadmapping:

• Roadmaps and Roadmapping: What and Why
• Successful Product-Technology Roadmapping
• How To Manage The Initiation Phase For Successful Product-Technology Roadmapping

The development phase of the roadmapping process involves building an action plan and clearly answering why-what-how-when questions for achieving the objective that was defined during the initiation phase. As I mentioned before, roadmapping is a flexible process and it can come in many different forms: market, technology, product, service, capability, science/research, product/technology, etc. This blog specifically focuses on product-technology roadmaps and roadmapping process.

The product-technology roadmapping process may start with the needs of the market and customers, customer/market focused roadmap, or maybe focused on identifying markets and customer segments that could be served with a specific product or technology, product/technology focused roadmap. Regardless, product-technology roadmapping is a needs-driven planning process, where key technologies are identified and linked to the product or product lines to satisfy the strategic intent of the firm over a given period of time. The strategic planning activity links three critical elements: customer/market needs, products and technologies.

Given the intensity of the roadmapping activity, it is important to define and manage the process accordingly. I have outlined a generic process based on my experience that you can customize to your needs. Finally, keep in mind the 9 critical success factors as you launch into the development phase.

Say “no” to paralysis by analysis

The research portion of the development phase is focused on gathering data on market, customer and technology within the scope and boundaries defined during the initiation phase of the roadmap. SWOT, Porter’s 5 Forces, STEEP, forecasting, and ecosystem mapping are some of the tools that can be utilized for information gathering and organizing. There are many sources available in the public domain including marketing data, patents, industry standards, industry publications and analyst reports. Where applicable, research adjacent markets, emerging technologies, collaboration sources and value networks. The goal is to build deep understanding of the market, customer and technologies by investigating the trends, drivers, needs, and noting relevant specific and quantifiable targets.

Information collected during the research stage is then processed during the brainstorm portion of the development phase. The goal at this stage is to sift through all the data to identify and align key needs, benefits, drivers, features, products, customer segments, partnerships, and technologies that can support the strategic intent of the firm. This is also where strategic opportunities and strategic problems are captured. Scenario planning can be useful for discussing alternatives, trying out different approaches, or to just get the creative juices flowing. At this stage, it is important to look beyond the data and challenge known assumptions, as it will lead to more creative and innovative ideas for the analysis stage.

During the analyze portion of development the goal is to develop hypothesis, paths, options and determine the critical solution requirements for the product-technology roadmap in question. Ideas need to be analyzed for strategic fit, core competency alignment, and implementation feasibility; checked to see if fits within the boundaries; and prioritized. To be most effective, asking questions and challenging assumptions is most needed for this aspect of the process. Here, scenario planning can also bring flexibility into the roadmapping process by establishing alternatives that would drive the decision making for things such as technology selection, patent protection or standards compliance.

The drafting of the roadmap is the process of distilling the needed information into a format that is ready for communication and sharing. I have captured the minimum set of information that should be on your roadmap report as part of your checklist.
You should also visually represent your roadmap in whatever form best meet your needs, as long as you keep in mind to show the integration of key pieces of information in a multi-layer format with a time-line.

Finally, before launching into the dissemination phase of the roadmap process, you need to verify & validate your draft roadmap. This includes checks for completeness and validation of the roadmap through reviews with various stakeholders and groups, and hopefully agreement for the implementation and ownership of the roadmap.

Cartography of roadmapping

At a minimum, the draft roadmap report needs to include relevant information and assumptions used for developing the roadmap.

• Analysis and synthesis of market, customer and technology trends, drivers, challenges and opportunities;
• Relevant information on historical data about enabling/inhibiting economic and social dynamics: learning curves, adoption curves, inflection points, …
• Critical solution requirements, where applicable include specific and quantifiable targets;
• Key competencies and skills required for success in the future and identification of existing gaps;
• Key opportunities for innovation and differentiation;
• Critical success factors for a successful roadmap implementation;
• Options and alternatives for technology commercialization and technology diffusion including make/buy recommendations;
• Prioritized recommendations, including implementation recommendations;
• Key takeaways from the sessions in regards to short-term, mid-term and long-term directions;

The idea of integrating key pieces of information in a multi-layer format with a time-line is quite simple. However, actually putting that on a piece of paper, such that it can be easily communicated and maintained can be another story. There are many roadmapping software products in the market, however I have not personally used any of these tools. If you have experience with these tools, please share your observations. However, here are two basic layouts that you can customize for your needs.

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