8 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 9 Design roadmapping

DESIGN ROADMAPPING
10 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 11 Design roadmapping

WHAT IS A DESIGN ROADMAP?

A roadmap on the strategy of design innovations takes the future vision as its destination. On the
map are pathways that are dotted with new products and services landmarks. For the journey
into the future time zone, a roadmap includes parallel tracks – next to the track for design
innovation in the existing business, a roadmap introduces the next frontiers of innovation with
new value propositions for new user groups. To learn more about the values of new users and
prepare for the disruption that a new value proposition may create, the alternative pathways
are mapped on the roadmap timeline - There are pathways that enhance the existing business
propositions and there are alternative routes towards the exploration of new market spaces
and new technology areas. The future timeline provides the backbone of the roadmap. Basically,
a design roadmap is a map used to visually track and strategically explore future design
innovations.
In this first chapter we will define what a roadmap is, and describe the overall process of
roadmapping. We will also take a deep-dive into the history of roadmapping and grasp some
inspiration from cartographic roadmaps. You will see that even the earliest roadmaps had
extraordinary visual power.

Design Roadmap

↘ Definition of what a roadmap is

Let’s start with the definition of a design roadmap. A roadmap is
defined as: a visual portray of design innovation elements plotted on a
timeline1. Elements such as user values, new products and services but
also market segments, technoloy applications and touchpoints. Each
roadmap has its particular format and visualisation2,7,8. An example
in figure 1.1 shows a service roadmap for a digital food service of a
grocery organisation. Design studios all over the world, from Denmark to
Australia and from Korea to the US, are experimenting with roadmapping.
Each finding their own style in plotting the basic elements of value,
product-, market- and technology choices on the timeline 3,4,5. Figure
1.2 provides a schematic overview of the typical elements included in a
design roadmap. Depending on the context and the designer’s signature,
each roadmap design has its particular format, specific additions and
signature visualisation. Figure 1.4 shows another example of a design
roadmap.
Roadmaps not only provide strong visualisation and decision
making support – they foremost enable organisations and designers to
devise creative responses to future strategic challenges3. A roadmap A ROADMAP is a visual portray of design innovation
supports the innovation strategy of an organisation, because the
decision making for a roadmap involves the creation, exploration and
elements plotted on a timeline.
convergence of ideas about the future6. In essence, a roadmap offers a
12 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 13 Design roadmapping

→ tactical plan on design innovations to turn a future vision into a reality.

Figure 1.1
Digital Food Service Roadmap The decision making involves innovation professionals at every level of YOUR FAVOURITES

the organisation1,6,7. Because articulating the design innovation plans VARIATIONS

cc Esmee Mankers, 2017.

Master of Science Strategic implies uncovering new trends, scouting for new technologies and
personal insight personal alternatives personal support personal variations personal menu personal planning
Product Design, Graduaction mapping user values2.. Together you decide on what future vision suits
report. Faculty Industrial
Design Engineering, your organisation. After which more decisions follow on the direction of
DIGITAL SERVICE TO SUPPORT
Delft University of Technology. the innovations, the framing of the time pacing and the concepts needed AND INSPIRE CUSTOMERS WITH In order for supermarkets to fulfill a more connected role in their
customers’ lifestyle, a digital service has been designed. It is
comprised of multiple features that support and inspire customers

to reach that vision1. HEALTHY CHOICES

with healthy eating. An online dashboard forms the system’s
foundation, which is connected to in-store touchpoints, providing
support and inspiration on relevant moments in the customer journey.

Noteworthy is, that it is actually quite rare to see a design roadmap How the company can realise this strategic vision is addressed in the
roadmap below. It summarises relevant insights, the resultant value
propositions, touchpoints and lean build-measure-learn loops that are

in public6. Often, it is a confidential document because a roadmap contains © Esmee Mankers

Graduation - May 2017
required to deliver the envisioned value to customers.

sensitive information that might be of particular interest to competitors,

journalists and individual users 7. Therefore, all the roadmaps in this book
have either passed their actualisation dates or they were newly created by
strategic design master's degree students as part of their learning process.
Customers want Always having to Customers make
Customers want

↘ Roadmap Design
balanced and use creativity for choices that
to determine the

insights
Customer varying meals for variation can be a preserve, improve
personal relevance a healthy diet struggle for
segment or reward their
and urgency of customers
(persona): progress
healthier choices
Investigator Ilse Go-getter Tim Adventurer Justin Go-getter Tim Fanatic Alicia

Just as there is no ‘standard’ design for cartographic roadmaps – “No two Customers want
to apply insights
to their personal
Customers do
not know how to
achieve their
Customers do
not know where
to start with
Customers
want simple
and actionable
On critical
moments,
customers fall back
on convenient, but
Customers seek
inspiration that
matches their
personal situation
Customers
- want
to use and
collect recipes
from multiple
Customers
anticipate their
healthy choices on
planned activities
Customers want
to make choices
that are tailored
to their personal
Customers want
to know the
consequences of
activities on the
situation and personal goal making healthier insights

cities in the world draw their maps to the same scale and use the same preferences choices less healthy habits
and familiarities
and preferences sources situation and
preferences
required healthy
choices

map legend”- no standard design exists for roadmaps 7,8,9. As a general

guideline, a typical roadmap will take a future timeline and four layers 2017 2018
2019
related to the innovation dimensions of: user value, markets, product
-service and technology as illustrated in figure 1.2. value “Determine your focus points with personal
insights and Receive recommendations on how
to reach it In an approachable way”
“Receive recipe inspiration That matches your
personal goal and focus points Based on
convenient variation of your favourites”
“Receive Activity-based nutritional
guidelines and recipe recommendations”

The minimal critical specification of a design roadmap is the

visualisation of only the product-service layer, with the layers of user in-store
service point
(mobile)
self scan
in-store
inspiration point
digital dashboard
personal recipes

value, new market segments and application of technologies explained

digital
dashboard recipes from in-store
export from import from magnetic meal synschronise augmented reality
planner external sources
digital dashboard external services services and devices
recipes and menus
from influencers

in words - as exemplified by the Wake-up light roadmap shown in

text
smart recognition
watch

figure 5.13. The maximal specification of a roadmap would include the

standard four layers of the design roadmap, and a parallel program layer
that translates the design roadmap elements into project activities and touchpoints
its resourcing in manpower and financial investment. As shown in the
example of the Quby roadmap in figure 7.5.
A roadmap design of the actionable innovation strategy has three
basic characteristics: it is (A) a visual portrait of the organisation’s future Add purchases
and adjust into

innovations, (B) outlined by user value, product - service, market and Insight in
nutritional
personal intake

Set goals and

technology elements (C) plotted on a timeline1. values of complete

INSIGHT & INSIGHT & challenges INSIGHT & INSIGHT &

build
purchases
RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS
GENERAL SERVICE PERSONALISED SERVICE MULTI-SIDED SERVICE Option to connect services integrated service
Adjust Nutritional and base suggested variations
Determine
nutritional recommendation on personal focus points
personal focus
points guidelines from external
service

(A) The ‘visual portrait’ characteristic of the map concerns the graphic Referenced
health-related
information
Nutritional
recommendation
based on food
philosophy
Export purchase
data for external
service

design and its visualisations on the map. Beyond a written strategy

document, a roadmap is an eye-catching, informative visual HEALTHY product
alternatives
personal
healthy product
alternative
healthy recipe
alternative
integrated
HEALTHY alternatives Option to connect
services and base
all suggestions on

portrait of the design innovation plans. It is a map, that enables Determine

progress and
activities

stakeholders to more concretely imagine and envisage design

favourite recipe
building blocks

innovations. A living visual ‘document’ - a map that graphically

Adjust and Insert recipes
insert personal from other
CONVENIENT CONVENIENT recipes CONVENIENT sources convenient
VARIATIONS VARIATIONS VARIATIONS variations

portrays and visualises the future plans of innovation.

GENERAL SERVICE PERSONALISED SERVICE MULTI-SIDED SERVICE integrated service
Focus point / Week & day
goal-based menus from
recipe recom- influencers
mendation

Recommen-
Plan and save Follow menus
dations for
day & week and recipes
recipe variations
menus from others

measure
How should insight in purchases What is an efficient procedure to From which external services do customers How can recipes be organised What should an open community with Which external
be offered? add purchases and adjust intake? want to import nutritional guidelines? into different building blocks? recipes and menus contain and look like? services and devices
can provide input for
adjusted guidelines?
What specific background What are motivating variable In what ways do customers want to What is the preferred way to determine From which external sources do
information do customers seek? rewards of challenges and goals? export their personal insight? customers’ favourite recipe building blocks? customers want to import recipes?
14 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 15 Design roadmapping

disruptive technology leaps and entirely new markets of users using

V3 entirely new platforms, products and services.
Practitioners from the telecom industry were among the first to publish a
V2
roadmap example 9, 10. Figure 4.3 shows a technology roadmap created by
User Value V1
Lucent Technologies10. This roadmap depicts key market values, product
Drivers visions and technologies on roadmaps visually organised into 'swimming
lanes'. Often, several lines of business including several product-service
system lines are mapped parallel to each other. Contemporary roadmaps
Market M1 M2
tend to have a service roadmap at their core 3,4, as illustrated in figure
Segmentations
1.4, and some roadmaps have extra layers that map out social trends,
business models and platform system releases.
Product PS3
PS1 PS2
↘ What a roadmap is not
Service
Innovations In trying to grasp exactly what a roadmap is and does, some managers
tend to relate them to product portfolios. The main difference between
Technology Future a roadmap and a portfolio is that roadmapping encompasses a time
perspective and a set of activities that allow a firm to envision, conceive,
applications T1
T3 T5 Vision select and direct the pipelines of new products that will align with
the firm’s strategy over the long term. While portfolio management
emphasises the commercial feasibility of new innovations with its
Time financial estimations related to business cases profitably, a roadmap
articulates a tactical innovation plan that translates strategic objectives
(years)
into a vision and concept ideas of what to innovate1. It shows the ‘roads’–
including potential alternatives – towards achieving that vision.
What a roadmap is also not, is an implementation plan. It does
(B) A design roadmap outlines the explorations on the value in the not plan the implementation phase of whatever single new product
market, product and technology area. A manager at British or service. Nor is a roadmap a planning suited for tracking progress.
Petroleum (BP) explained once that a roadmap contains “easy- As the roadmap example in figure 1.4 illustrates, roadmaps are not
to-comprehend descriptions of customer needs, technology created to support day-to-day planning, implementation oversight or
responses and R&D programs1.” Roadmaps unravel and connect operational management. On the contrary, a roadmap serves a long term
the different dimensions of the design innovation plans. view over several years and aims to support strategic stability. Opposed
to a resource- or project planning, a roadmap visualises a business's
(C) The timeline is the most prominent characteristic of a roadmap. strategic direction 3,7,8. The roadmap is discussed and adjusted only a
“The future timeline embodies the strategy narrative with a few times a year – perhaps once per quarter, or every six weeks – or
beginning, a middle and an ending, and the focal topic of design when there has been a disruptive event that requires an innovative
innovations1. ” The organisation's future vision is plotted at the end response by the firm 2,9,10. In essence, the roadmap shows the firm's long
of the timeline, while their current business situation acts as the term, strategic outlook over several years, and the timeline mapping
point of departure. signifies incremental steps or more breakthrough jumps toward design
innovations.
The timeline makes the future time clear (visually) and negotiable
↑ for interactions by the various innovation professionals involved. The Overall, a design roadmap provides a visual means of strategic
Figure 1.2
Schematic overview of the
timeline is the bridge in building and discussing the roadmap, connecting communication and direction of the innovation program, stable
elements of a design roadmap the three (or more) layers of the roadmap. It synchronises the choices enough to enable coordination across communities of innovation
cc Simonse, Hultink & Buijs,
and decisions on innovation. Beyond plotting the future progress of practice and flexible enough to adjust7,8, to different strategic
2015. incremental product or service releases, a roadmap also anticipates scenarios of design innovation.
16 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 17 Design roadmapping

Process of Design roadmapping

Underlying design roadmapping is a process of diverging and
converging activities structured in three stages. You can carry out three
main mapping activities, starting with ‘Value mapping’, followed up
by ‘Idea mapping’ and ending with ‘Pathway mapping’. As outcomes
of your roadmapping efforts, stage 1 aims for a shared future vision,
stage 2 a design roadmap and stage 3 a design program roadmap.
Depending on your role, the business context and the number of people
involved in the roadmapping team, the key activities can be organised
and subdivided into tasks to be undertaken by a single person or a
group. Team members share their findings and knowledge during one
(or more) roadmapping sessions per stage. Additional tasks tailored to
a particular context or strategy intent can be added. Figure 1.3 shows
the baseline of the roadmapping process – you may want to use it as a
guide when organising and preparing the creation of a new roadmap.

↘ Value Mapping
Roadmapping starts with value mapping. First you can conduct a
creative trend research, a divergent design research activity intended
to establish a future outlook on the environment of your organisation.
The trends provide potential directions of new opportunities of value
creation. After several members of the roadmapping team have
completed their design research, the team converges around an activity
of sharing and accumulating knowledge about the future. This team
activity is focussed on creating a vision. The mapping challenge is
to create a value map that fosters a collective understanding of the
current strategic position and to grasp new value opportunities from
trends and technologies into a future vision. With the values mapped
out, team members can more easily decide which unique value drivers
they want to underpin their organisation’s future vision. At the end
of this stage, the roadmap will have its destination: a future vision
statement grounded in unique value drivers.

↘ Idea Mapping
At the heart of the roadmapping process is idea mapping. During this
stage, the divergent activity consists of ‘technology scouting’ at the
detailed level of service systems modules, in parallel to more in-depth
research into user value drivers. The results of this research provide input Stages in the ROADMAPPING PROCESS are value
for the team activity of idea generation. The mapping challenge here is
to generate ideas for user values with matching technology applications.
mapping, idea mapping and pathway mapping.
On the draft roadmap prepared for such idea mapping, the time pacing
18 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 19 Design roadmapping

the ‘market pull’ - and the ‘technology push’ activities by synchronising

the innovation efforts along the design activities. With pathway mapping
you create different flows of activities for different types of design
innovations projects. During this stage, the important decisions for
Value Mapping Idea Mapping Pathway Mapping the roadmapping team relate to balancing the amount and type of
pathways within the constraints and the mapping of alternative pathway
scenarios. The team needs to harmonise the quantity and quality of
their innovations and the relationships between innovation pathways,
and ensure that all these factors adhere to existing and future resource
constraints. The deliverable of the third stage is a design program

CONSTRAINTS
roadmap.
RESEARCH
VISIONING

ACTIVITIES
SCOUTING
FUTURE

PACING
TREND

TUNE
TECH.

TIME

LINK
Design
Future
Vision
Design
Roadmap
Program ↘ Roadmapping team
Roadmap

To carry out the roadmapping process you will need more than one
person. Typically a team of innovation professionals with diverse
backgrounds and roles perform the roadmapping.
When you compose the roadmapping team, invite those who can
become active in one of the roadmapping activities including designers,
market intelligence experts and technology research experts who can
do the creative trends research or technology scouting. Involve product
managers, project programmers or people with similar roles who can act
as the owners of the design roadmap and design program roadmap. Also
involve one or two senior managers – preferably those who decide on the
long term development plans to align with their innovation priorities.
We also recommend that you invite persons who have the talent to
persuade senior management (vision champions) and those who have the
strategy serves as a backbone. The decisions to be made, concern the communication and visualisation skills to convince the critical mass of
timing per type of design innovation in connection to the generated managers on design and innovation. Whenever appropriate think about
concept ideas, user values and technology options. The result of the selecting people for your roadmapping team, who are your organisation’s
second stage is the delivery of a design roadmap. business-to-business clients, strategic partners, preferred suppliers
and do not forget to include one or two inspirational ‘rebels’, who are
↘ Pathway Mapping passionate about future imagination.
Compose the roadmapping team in such a way that you ensure
To finalize the roadmapping process, the key activity is the mapping of a solid base for creating common ground on the future vision and the
pathways of innovation activities. During this third stage the mapping design roadmap.
will enable the team to flesh out the design roadmap in greater detail,
and fine-tune it into a design program roadmap. The diverging concerns
the detailing that includes the estimations of lead times, resourcing in Roadmapping performance
manpower and financial investment. For the ensuing convergent activity
it is important to know the constraints of the resource investments
upfront. Then the team can connect the envisioned product-service On the subject of what you can achieve with roadmapping, several
↑
launches with the leadtimes for the development activities. They can experienced roadmappers have shared their learnings by documenting
Figure 1.3 ascribe lead-times for the development that take proofs of technology roadmapping examples from their organisation and industry. Some
Process of design roadmapping
into account, and the time it might take to design an application for that of them saw a large impact on the effectiveness of R&D through an
cc Simonse, 2017. technology. The mapping challenge is to overcome the tensions between increasing customer awareness and successful new products through
20 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 21 Design roadmapping

market differentiation: "We have placed competition ready products in

attractive market segments and better determined our technological
positioning - Siemens". Others saw an impact on cost efficiency through
a reduction in manufacturing costs and accomplishing cost leadership
through specific targeted innovations in their highly competitive markets.
Roadmapping’s "KSFs (key success factors) are time-dependent -
they represent hard and specific targets to be attained during the
implementation of the strategy and measure of the impact and
effectiveness of the R & D – BP1."
Almost all of them saw an impact on achieving a better competitive
edge by better time-to-market. – a better competitive timing1.
Furthermore, beyond a single company, in a roadmapping context of
an industry network, roadmappers experienced that "combining the
resources across companies may make developing the technology
possible and consequently the industry more competitive - Sandia1."
Several roadmappers reported about a roadmapping process among
alliance members: "we saw a long-term positive development of the
entire branch-Aircraft Devices1."
Our research delved into twelve professional roadmapping cases
and concluded that there are commonly two performance aspects
where roadmapping had an impact on: (a) competitive timing, and
(b) industry synergy1.Roadmaps can be effective artifacts for your own
organisation or for your industry sector.
In a corporate context, roadmapping can boost innovation
performance in the marketplace, offering you the chance to improve the
competitive timing of your user value innovations. Properly timing the
entry of the new value innovations is crucial, and depends on taking the
initiative and setting the bar, or being responsive and reacting flexibly. For
an industry impact, firms that are actively involved in the roadmapping
process can all achieve greater innovation synergy and thus affect the
industry's innovation performance across the board.

↘ Competitive timing
Competitive timing is competition-dependent timing of new product
introductions in response to the innovation cycles and launch rhythms of
rival market players1. Competitive timing is not about performance over
time in absolute terms; rather, it is relative – it involves the launch timing
of new value innovations by the competition.
Generally, strategic managers prefer long response times, because
the longer the elapsed time between entry of the first mover and that of
later entrants, the more opportunities become available to the first mover
to achieve cost and differentiation advantages. Research confirms that ROADMAPPING PERFORMANCE on improving
when firms research their competitor's activity, they are able to introduce
more distinctive products with a higher extend of innovation11. Studies
competitive timing or industry synergy.
on whether first-movers take advantage of these monopolistic benefits
22 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 23 Design roadmapping

found that success is largely determined by competitors' responses: with

QUBY VISION 2023 a fast response, the benefits are more temporary, while benefits are more
INTEGRATED WELL-BEING durable if there is a slow response12. This evidences that competitive
s t)
(te r timing has a high impact on an organisation’s performance.
it o
on
m On average, early and fast movers achieve greater gains (higher
extraordinary returns) than late and slow movers. First mover returns

g
ein
also suffer directly at the moment that competitors released imitations

-b
of their new products. Sometimes, leading firms also rely on competitive

e llw
timing when they intentionally wait until a competitor emerges in order to

ble
avoid cannibalization of their current products.

Intern a
Overall, successful firms have been found to have a higher sales
Internables
volume when they have the ability to get the market entry timing for
Artificial Intelligence 2022 their new innovations 'right' – neither too early nor too late. These firms
Device Mesh benefit from the positive impact of competitive timing with higher
iCoach (chat) returns12.

Emergency
↘ Industry synergy

r
it o
Industry synergy is the value that is created and captured over time by

on
m
n the sum of firms together relative to what they would be separately1.
ei

g
-b o Synergy impact stems from the increasing reality of complex product

e
l l

m
we H service systems and limited resource availability for innovations. "A
a r a b l e m art
We S certain technology may be too expensive for a single company to support
ate d
2020

Inte gr or take too long to develop, given the resources that can be justified . . . it
FA is impossible to independently develop all of the required technologies,
.0 M
technology partnerships can provide a way to leverage these limited
b2

ILY
Hu

resources - Sandia1." An industry roadmap allows industry partners to

l monitor)

WEL

Internet of Things
co-develop system technologies, rather than redundantly investing in
niv rt Home

Reaction
the same technologies and under-investing or missing other important
L-BEIN

Aging Population
Observe

Health Conciousness technologies1. One famous example of an industry roadmap is the

ersa
t ( Sma

semiconductor roadmap of ITRS (International Technology Roadmap for

G

Semiconductors)whose alliance partners include Intel, ASML Sandia,

y

b Partner
u

Qu i
b Samsung. In the PC market segment, research shows that when Intel
8

Fit
took the lead, they influenced the timing of industry changes in such a
201

←
way that other players – including customers, competitors, suppliers
NG
Figure 1.4
EI Strategic roadmap designed and alliances – joined in to adhere to Intel’s time-paced strategy13. This
Q u let A p p ( b a b y b
u

for QUBY
exemplifies industry synergy in innovation.
B

S m a rt H o m e H
L-

)
BABY WEL

cc Pepijn van Dalen, Luuk Roos There have been similar roadmapping initiatives in the aircraft
Cloud-based Architecture & Zoë Dankfort, 2016.
Observe Warnings
QUBY Project report, Design
and enterprise software industries. Branch networks bring together
Acceleration of society
Roadmapping Course,Faculty organisations from across an entire value chain. This kind of ‘vertical
Industrial Design Engineering,
Connected Society
Delft University of Technology.
integration’ can offer synergy impact to each strategic partner. From an
economic viewpoint, industry synergy represents cost savings or revenue
Ow
by

Partner 20 Please note that the design

O2 17 roadmap is created for Quby
enhancements, but from an innovation viewpoint, it also includes value
by Strategic Product Design adding and competitive advantages1.
APPLICATION Master students, and therefore
2016

do not reflect Quby’s actual

Overall, using roadmaps at the industry level relates to better
HARDWARE Quby 3.7 strategy. synergy in innovation performance among industry partners.
 222 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 223 visualise roadmaps

DESIGN ROADMAP NOW 1st Horizon: Baby well-being 10 2018 2nd Horizon: Family well-being 04 2020 3rd Horizon: Integrated well-being 01-2023

Connected society

Tactical roadmap Market

trends
Acceleration
Ageing

for QUBY MARKET

Health consciousness
Personalization

Smart home users

Target group
Young parents Family

Smart home

Quby thermostat Modular application

Quby smart home hub Integrated smart home hub

Application
Elderly well-being

Quby application Baby well-being

O2 O2 O2
PRODUCT
Well-being
module iCoach (chat)

Contact docter
Owlet O2 Family well-being via cloud Internable Emergency
Reaction Observe
test phase
Compare

Obeserve Reaction

Connection

Connected to family
Energy comparisons Connected to parents
Vision statement:
Internet of things
Home-integrated well-being
Artificial intelligence
Technology
trends Cloud-based architecture
Device mesh Internables

API Owlet module Fittbit module Family module Icoach module Voice control

Data Data collection Data filtering Device learning

→ TECHNOLOGY
Figure 7.5 Thermostat Heart rate
Tactical roadmap for QUBY Temperature
Sensors
Breathing Sleep monitor Activity tracker Voice recognition
cc Pepijn van Dalen, Luuk Roos Body movement
& Zoë Dankfort. QUBY Project
Report, Design Roadmapping
Master Course. Faculty Software
Industrial Design Engineering updates
Delft University of Technology.
App team Smart hub team App team Smart hub team App team App team Smart hub team App team
Please note that the design Quby
Owlet team Fittbit team Fittbit team Icoach team
roadmap is created for Quby
by Strategic Product Design
Master students, and therefore Owlet Fittbit Fittbit Icoach internable microchip
do not reflect Quby’s actual RESOURCES Partnerships Hospital company
strategy.
24 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 25 Design roadmapping

↑↙
Figure 1.5
Peutinger Map,
Dated 63-12 BChr.
Size: 680 x 34 cm.

The roadmap uses symbols to

represent landmarks, points
of interest and resources;
schematic lines with 5 km =
25 km to depict itineraries
and routes that led to the
metropolis of Rome.
 26 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 27 Design roadmapping

METAPHORS CASE
Roadmap metaphors
as round and flat. Besides mapping the geographical continents,
countries and cities including Europe, Asia and North Africa, at its
In Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, a roadmap is defined as edges – the map also features people, animals and creatures of
1. a map showing roads especially for automobile travel the after world, its depictions of our destiny resembles a kind of
2a. a detailed plan to guide progress toward a goal imagining of the time after the map's creation – or the time beyond
2b. a detailed explanation14. the map. In a metaphoric way, it can be associated to a design
The primary meaning of the word 'roadmap' – a map for navigating in roadmap, which is itself a depiction of future imaginings. Although, a
a car, taking us from A to B and showing alternative routes – provides timeline element that is typical for design roadmaps, is not explicitly
a strong metaphor for a design roadmap: in which strategy provides part of the mappa mundi. The map covers the biblical story time,
a journey, visions are the destinations, means are routes, and service from creation to doomsday.
achievements are landmarks. These kinds of figures of speech have At Hereford Cathedral in the UK, the mappa mundi is on display,
inspired numerous roadmappers in relating cartography to innovation measuring 1.59 by 1.34 meters. East, where the sun rises, is at the top.
strategy. Metaphors have the capacity to open up new ways of Countries and oceans are squeezed and stretched to fit into the map's
understanding15. In this section we share five cases of historical circle. The mappa mundi reflects the thinking of the medieval church.
roadmaps that did far more than suggest which route was possible. The inhabited part is shown– here Caesar Augustus, there farmers
First we go back to the oldest roadmap in history, then introduce a harvesting corn and over there performers dancing with bears. But
circular map of the world, examine a colourful example of a world then, the map also contains images of Adam and Eve, Noah and his
famous cartographer and, finally, take a leap forward to today's beasts and a man riding a crocodile. Short descriptions offer small
digital roadmaps, which enable us to navigate and visualise our future nuggets of wisdom like "Here are strong and fierce camels." Some
journeys in real time. of this information came from travellers and written accounts, and
some apparently came from pure imagination, such as those funny
↘ Peutinger Map creatures with huge ears wrapped around themselves. More than a
reference for geography, the Mappa Mundi is a work of the imaginative
On our deep-dive into the history of roadmapping we found the Tabula world.
Peutingeriana or Peutinger Map (figure 1.5) the oldest roadmap of
European heritage named after Konrad Peutinger, dating from about 50 ↘ From earthbound cartography to a bird's eye view
years before Christ. The Peutinger Map is a parchment scroll, it stretches
from west to east over 6 meters and 80 cm by 34 cm. The roadmapping art work of Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu is another
This map with every road literally leading to Rome, has an noteworthy source of inspiration. Blaeu impressed many audiences
extraordinary visual appeal. It was originally designed for the pilgrims with his quality and art work. He was also known as an innovator, as
of France to guide their travels along routes featuring visual icons that he was one of the first to use the newly invented printing process to
represent the orientation points and landmarks of cathedrals, towers, produce high quality colour maps. The map of Delft is part of the Atlas
rivers, forests, mountains, thermal sources. Maior, which measure 37,5 by 49 cm.
Similar to a contemporary subway map, the lines for each route Out of curiosity, we decided to compare Blaeu's excellent mapping
are drawn clearly, yet paid no heed to mathematical scale or geographic to today's cartography techniques with satellite and aerial mapping
precision, the essential being their indication of distances and important images. Nowadays, a satellite or aerial image provides spatial resolution
crossroads rather than topography. All of this makes the Peutinger map a ranging from 15 meters to 15 centimetres. In figure 1.6 a Google Earth
visually inspiring metaphor for design roadmapping. image of the Dutch city of Delft is shown below Blaeu’s hand drawn map
from 1649. The accuracy of Blaeu’s work seems to have stood the test
↘ Mappa Mundi of time! Despite being an important factual resource, it is also a work of
art. It is a source of information and inspiration. Google's aerial image is
Another famous roadmap is the Mappa Mundi, which dates from around arguably more accurate, and still despite the sharpness of its lines and
1300 CE16. The circular map has Jeruzalem as orientation point in the the height of its resolution, it leaves room for us to imagine how people
centre (see figure 1.9). The world that extends outward is visualised live inside the houses and buildings we see.
28 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 29 Design roadmapping

↘ The Map of the Internet

A more schematic map that is associated to the digital revolution is the
map of the inception of the Internet. Figure 1.7 shows the schematic
representation of the Internet. It connects the Advanced Research
Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) in Virginia with the network of
Stanford Univeristy in the west the US, to the MIT and Harvard networks
on the east further across the seas to London and in the west to Hawaii.
The schematic overlay’s squares and ellipses resemble a sort of
basic type of subway map that has no intention of representing the exact
distances the data packets would be travelling – it merely existed to
explain how the networks would interlink. Visible interlinkages are also a
crucial part of a design roadmap's composition.
The year 1974 of the Internet map demarcates the invention
of the TCP/IP by Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn. By a long run of 15 years
later Tim Berners-Lee, then scientists at CERN, designed the World
Wide Web concept in 1989. According to Berners-Lee "The Web is
an abstract (imaginary) space of information. On the Net, you find
computers – on the Web, you find document, sounds, videos and
information.... The Web made the Net useful because people are really
interested in information (not to mention knowledge and wisdom!17".
It is interesting to note that the two perspectives provided by 'the
Web' and 'the Net' are necessarily intertwined, and interlinked. In a
way, roadmaps do the same, interlinking multiple perspectives.

↘ Infographics
We are living in a new area of design, when our creative and design
abilities can be augmented with the power of big data. Although there
are many more metaphors we could explore, lastly we introduce an
infographic map by Francesco Franchi. He designed an impressive visual
representation of global high-speed train activity. Big data visualisations
often begin with a geographic silhouette – this makes the (localised)
data more understandable and accessible, by telling a complex tale in a
simple, visual manner. In the example shown in figure 1.8, Franchi uses a
map to support his visualisation of the routes high-speed trains take in
different countries. The colour scheme visualises presently operational
and non-operational routes, in addition to planned future routes. On a
↗→
Figure 1.6
design roadmap we also have several layers – we visualise the current
Joan Blaeu's Roadmap of Delft. business, the growing business for which the development has started
Dated around 1649,
Size: 37,5 by 49 cm
and the future business on which research is taken place. The circular
layout that Franchi uses in his high-speed train infographic could be an
Google Earth's image of
the city center of Delft, the
inspirational source for a layout for a design roadmap.
Netherlands. We have presented all these metaphors to encourage you to create
Dated: 2017.
Size: adjustable.
your own roadmap design.
 30 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 31 Design roadmapping

LAB ↗
5 6
Arrange the other 5 Choose another set of images from your matrix,
favourites from your and arrange them anywhere on the collage.
Design a collage of roadmap metaphors matrix and portray
them around the
You can take the same approach as you did in
the last step. At this point, your composition
centrepiece on the should be coming into its development.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
collage. Things to
→ access to the Internet to conduct a web image search
think about: do you
→ roadmap image matrix : 6x6 rows x columns digitally created.
want to arrange it
→ blanco sheet for the collage - for instance an One Note sheet.
symmetrically or
asymmetrically?
Would you draw two
identical versions or
two variations on the
same theme? Are the

1 2 7
C
Collect
ollect roadmap images and Fill out your roadmap image images similar to your Create or draw a pattern that connects or
metaphors from the web that matrix with images that appeal to centrepiece or do unifies the images on your collage, touching
appeal to you. Use the search you for each of the 6 innovation they create contrast? elements from each area. Think of this as
engine image view to pick visuals elements on the roadmap: User There’s lots of room to a way to give an extra layer of background
you like. Value, Market, Product-Service, play here, so have fun! detail to your collage.
Technology, Timeline (see figure 1.2
for the roadmap elements). Use
one row per element and make a
collection of several images per
element until you completely filled
the 6x6 matrix.

3 8
Pick 6 favourites out of all the For the remaining white space, mentally divide the collage in half, then finish each
images in your roadmap image half by colouring, rearranging, removing and adding images. Keep it simple. This
matrix. Which 6 elements really final step will help you make your composition saturate the collage in subtle ways.
stand out to you in your image
matrix?

4
Take the sheet to portray the
centerpiece of your collage. Pick
one of your favourite elements,
and give it centre stage on your
sheet. It’s up to you how much
space on the paper you use, but Creating a collage that centres on metaphors will encourage your ability to distil complex ideas
remember that this will be the into digestible sets of images. Starting with a simple, hands-on approach using the image search in
primary focus of the collage. your web browser, here is a perfect opportunity to prepare for your design roadmapping skills.

This is the kind of creative activity that you could easily do in one sitting, probably in less than four
hours. The objective of the Lab is to activate your design roadmapping ideas and generate your first
visual ideas for design roadmaps.
236 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 237 visualise roadmaps

DESIGN ROADMAP ↓
Strategic roadmap for QUBY

Please note that the design cc Zhang Ziyi, Yee Jek Khaw
Strategic roadmap for QUBY Smart Thermostat roadmap is created for Quby
by Strategic Product Design
Master students, and therefore
& Roël Tibosch QUBY Project
Report, Design Roadmapping
Master Course. Faculty
do not reflect Quby’s actual Industrial Design Engineering
strategy. Delft University of Technology.
38 DESIGN ROADMAPPING 39 Design roadmapping

↘
Figure 1.9 IN SUM
Mappa Mundi,
Dated around 1300 CE
We would like to conclude with an answer to the question prompted at the beginning of this chapter
Size: 159 x 134 cm. about what a design roadmap is.
cc Hereford Cathedral, UK
We began with this definition:
The roadmap features
Jeruzalem as its orientation
point in the middle and
→ A roadmap is a visual portray of design innovation elements plotted on a timeline.
geographical cities and
countries of Europe, Asia
and North Africa, at its edges.
The design of a roadmap is a team effort of multiple innovation professionals. The timeline and
It also visualises people, pacing are crucial – they synchronise and harmonise innovation decisions across functions, ensuring
animals and creatures of
the after world.
that innovation stakeholders from every area of the business are on the same page and concentrating
on the same goals.

→ The design roadmapping process is organised in three stages, of value mapping, idea mapping
and pathway mapping, each of which includes the divergent and convergent activities.

The respective deliverables of design roadmapping are a future vision, a design roadmap and a design
program roadmap. Together you carry out the roadmapping process in a team, and create not only
an image of the future vision but also the innovation pathways that the organisation can employ to
attain that vision.

Ultimately, we encourage you to develop your own signature roadmap in a process of co-creation with
your roadmapping team. We offered you the minimal critical specification that a roadmap requires.
We showcased a few roadmapping metaphors to trigger your design imagination, and offered a ‘Lab’
in which you could try yourself to compose an initial draft of a roadmap design. On the importance
of the strategic process, our first interviewee (TU Delft's Dean of Industrial Design Engineering)
emphasised the inquiry of the social and practical 'space', and the design of maps to structure to it
as well, all necessary when you are orchestrating the contributions of an intelligent and enthusiastic
group of professionals.

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