Its not often you jump into your car with no idea where you’re going, is it? Generally, we have a goal or objective we’re working towards, getting the kids to school, going to the supermarket or getting to a meeting on time. We plan these trips, we calculate the time it takes us to drive to that destination along with the scheduled time we are supposed to arrive, if we have to make any stops along the way. Why? Because if we didn’t, nothing would get done!
We work our day to day lives into a schedule so we can maximise our time efficiently and enjoy more downtime. The same should go for your IT, to maximise your business’ efficiency your technologies should be roadmapped so you know how things are tracking if your doubling up and keep your eye on where the holes are.
The hard part is getting started, the three things we always do when setting up a roadmap for a client are:
- Go Visual
I have found visual representations the most powerful method for communicating in the workplace. Breaking away from the traditional dry technical documentation brings the non-technical stakeholders into the conversation. Applying a colour coding like a RAG is a must.
- Ă‚Â Keep it Simple
Don’t fall into the trap of adding too much detail. Keep the information as high level as you can without compromising too much. I usually restrict this to vendor, product and version.
- Make it a Living Document
Keep it up to date as things change. If you have followed the above rules this should not be an arduous task. I always have a reoccurring place-holder in my calendar every month to review and amend the document. Even more importantly use it every day. Print it out in poster format and hang it on the office wall. Take a copy to meetings and workshops where people can refer to it and use it. People will soon become dependent on it.
If you need help getting kick-started with a roadmap or strategy planning for your organisation then get in touch with us today.
If you’re looking for consultancy services to help design your own IT business processes, contact Starboard IT to find out what we can do for you.
