2.3 Strategic Management Road Map

An alternative model for analyzing the process of strategic management consists of employing a strategic roadmap approach. Roadmaps are processes by which managers are able to navigate through uncharted or poorly defined territory in pursuit of their goal. A strategic roadmap gives a company a sense of direction, a sequencing of important steps, and an ultimate goal toward which it can strive. Figure 2.2 shows a representation of one such roadmap for the strategic management of projects (Cleland, 1996). It identifies 11 stages along a general route for the future of some enterprise and contains several checkpoints along the path to challenge assumptions and reassess the strategic process. The stages in the strategic roadmap include each of the following stages as identified in the animation below. To get information regarding each stage, just click on the road map sign.

Figure 2.2 Strategic Roadmap To get information regarding each stage, just click on the road map sign. For a printable version of these definitions, click on the figure caption. Cleland, D. L. (1996). Project stakeholder management. In D. L. Cleland and W. R. King (Eds.), Project Management Handbook (2nd Ed.).New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Copyright ©1996. This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The strategic roadmap approach to the strategic management of projects is useful because it provides project managers with a framework for both the key drivers in strategic decision making, as well as a process model for navigating through these key components. While Cleland's model is not intended as a "lock step" procedure by which strategic management should occur, it highlights many of the key elements in strategic planning, particularly as they have direct impact on the firm's management of their projects. As with the earlier discussion on alignment among strategic elements, it is important in conducting a strategic roadmap analysis to confirm that each roadmap component is considered not just by itself, but also viewed in relationship to the others. The key lies in creating not just a comprehensive strategic vision, but a consistent one, as well.