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1. Define a measurable goal |
A goal for your entire engagement should be stated succinctly with a measurable and clear metric for success and an indicative time frame. Here is the classic example of a well-stated goal:
“I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth”
President Kennedy. May 25, 1961.
The very act of coming up with a goal statement forces you to think about the fundamental problem you are trying to solve, the measurement of success for a solution, and a feasible time frame.
For software projects, a goal needs to include the target audience and a clear outcome. We aren’t building software to build software — we want to have a clear, positive impact on real humans.
A Lean Product Design approach is an effective way to define your goal, usually stated in terms of an hypothesis that is validated in small experiments through an agile process.
In order to create a successful service, it's essential to define your target audience as narrowly as possible. For example: anyone can visit your website, but your focus is people who need food stamps. Try to create a description of your audience in terms of who they are, rather than referring to your service. For example: low-income Americans primarily accessing digital services through community centers or their smart phones.
Your goal is not to have more people use your software or visit your website. Your goal is to actually have a real-world impact on specific people. The software is the means to that end. Write down the outcome that you seek to achieve, and put it in a place where the whole team can read it: on the wall or in your GitHub README file or wherever the team looks everyday for status or news. Throughout the project, this will help with prioritization and allow your team to work collaboratively toward this shared goal.
A roadmap can help provide a higher-level view (big picture) and visualize the plan and vision for the overall project or for a longer period of time, such as the next quarter.
In creating a roadmap, keep your goal in mind and focus on the outcome of the deliverable, rather than what you currently think you need to build to achieve that outcome. The best roadmaps allow for you to change the detailed route that you will use to get to your destination, as you learn more about the terrain.
A roadmap can also be a useful document to help familiarize people with your project, and to keep high-level stakeholders up to date with your current direction and overall progress. To accommodate for change, it's essential to periodically revisit the roadmap.