todolist # 7 - Define a roadmap

No plan is accurate. Some plans are useful. So it will be useful if we have a roadmap for the project. Roadmap is a set of milestones with forecasted completion dates.

Sample milestones for an IT project;

• Complete requirements freezing 01/Mar/2008
• Complete design 20/Mar/2008
• Complete iteration1 20/Apr/2008
• Complete iteration2 20/May/2008
• Complete beta testing 15/Jun/2008

It is always better to have some target dates, so that our energies can be focussed in achieving them. Remember, all you need to give to the senior management is the milestone chart and the progress against the milestones.

Now we are working on the development of a project management collaboration tool called collabtube. It is a small team working on it and we have a sponsor, who never asks for the status of the project. After the long year end break, we have not regained the momentum yet. We just come to the office, do our level best and the go back (what is the need for a plan. Any way we are doing our level best...and a plan is not going to make any difference ...that is the thinking). I have already started getting restless. Yes...we are all working very hard, still the sense of accomplishment has started eluding us. I think it is time to re-define the roadmap for collabtube project. Will get back on this later....