The following steps can be used to create a Strategy Roadmap:

1. Define your vision. A company’s vision endures over time, and because your team does not know how long it will take to reach the desired end state, it is crucial that every member of the team understands the vision. The vision is the guiding point for the entire strategy, regardless of how long it takes to execute it. Whatever framework your team uses to create the strategic roadmap, the vision should be prominently placed at “the top.”
2. Define your organizational values. It is important that the organization’s values align to the vision. Values are also enduring and become the cultural glue that allows everyone to work together to achieve the vision.
3. Define strategic goals. Define the critical goals or steps that need to be taken to bring the organization’s vision into reality. These goals can more broadly span the entire organization, or they might be limited to one specific department (e.g., development of marketing strategies, improving the quality of customer service, etc.)
4. Define your strategy. Choose what strategy will help the organization reach its larger goals. This can be done using the Balanced Scorecard framework, a SWOT analysis, or other strategy tools. Consider the larger goals set forth in this framework (i.e., finances, customer, internal processes and learning and growth) but in a broad way. More specifically, outline the plan by outcome (i.e., finances and customer) and process (i.e., internal process, learning and growth). The best strategic roadmaps connect all four goals with the outcome goals being supported by the process goals.
5. Define your action plan. Determine the actions that need to be taken to execute the strategies. This is the most important part of the roadmap because it lays out concrete tasks that employees can do to bring these abstract concepts into reality. Consider who will be accountable for each action and when they should complete it, but ensure that the actions are feasible and measurable.
6. Identify barriers. Think about what actions might be perceived as or are risky as well as other organizational factors that might prevent successful strategies or practical actions from occurring.
7. Create a phased approach. Review everything previously defined and then create a phased approach by outlining the different steps or horizons that will lead you from the current to the future state. Be sure to celebrate the achievement of smaller milestones in order to build momentum towards the ultimate goal. This is especially critical for longer strategic initiatives where it is easy for employees to get discouraged.

A strategy team or business leader looking to visualize the types of actions needed to help a company or organization to achieve its long-term goals for success should look to the new online Strategy Roadmap template from Praxie. This online tool allows business strategists to use more creativity and collaborate more openly with colleagues around the world. Get started with our Strategy Roadmap template. 

How to use it: 

1. Review the template and note that it can often be helpful to start with the long-term and work backwards. 
2. Enter your vision and then create your strategy roadmap by outlining the progression of your strategy over time.  
3. Change topic areas as desired and modify the definitions of short, mid, and long-term to fit your desired definitions.  
4. Create an action plan based on creating your Strategy Roadmap. 

Unlike most traditional Strategy Roadmap techniques, Praxie’s online Strategic Roadmapping software tools allow any team or organization to instantly begin working with our web templates and input forms. Our digital platform goes far beyond other software tools by including progress dashboards, data integration from existing documents or other SaaS software, elegant intuitive designs, and full access on any desktop or mobile device.