Design Roadmapping

Timing is of strategic importance in catching opportunities and leveraging technological interventions. Timing is also crucial when new products are ready to launch. Being among the first can make a large difference in sales and market share.

In between the initiation and the launch, different 'roads' lead to the creation of different products and services. The pacing and synchronising of "technology forecast", "market encounter" and "product evolution" plans are major challenges. A roadmap structures and supports these cross-communication dialogues.

The key insights for innovation managers in industrial firms are that, in striving for competitive timing or industry synergy, roadmapping provides a means to achieve these objectives and, in applying roadmapping in the organisation, dialogue and pacing are critically important. The design roadmap is defined as a canvas that reflects expected core design elements to be acquired throughout various types of design activities.

Design Roadmapping offers insights and guidelines on design roadmapping approaches from a future studies and design research perspective. It outlines the origins, background, and latest research results. In addition to the theoretical concepts, examples of roadmapping are presented from the experience of strategic designers and innovation managers. This includes venture CEOs, CPOs, Heads of Design, product managers, and technology and programme managers of companies such as Samsung, Starbucks, Peerby, Ikea, Booking.com, and many more.