Project Landscape Map

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What is a Project Map?

A Project Map or Project Landscape Map is a generic overview of the structure of a project.

The project structure is often unclear among the project stakeholders. Sometimes, only the project manager or some steering group members have this kind of view. However, too often, no one has a clear, shared view of the project structure.

In that case, repairing faults, doing damage control, and improving the structure is impossible. Because where do you start?

An old Chinese saying is: if you don't have an overview of your soldiers, you cannot prioritize the actions for the attack by your army.

A Management Report View of your Project

A Management Report View of your Project is a visualization wherein the status and progress of the structure of a project is reported.

Below is an example of the Project Landscape Map Report View. This visualization is identical to the previous one; now each item in the diagram is assigned a color indicating whether the underlying document or product is correct, complete, available, and/or approved on time.

You need an overview in order to prioritize

This is an example Project Map.

The red color on this example report view tells us a viewer quickly which products or documents are incorrect, incomplete, not available, or not approved on time. Then you can start fixing things. You can prioritize because you have a (shared) overview of the current status of the project's structure.

How has the Project Map already saved project time & project budget?

These visualizations have already saved project time & project budget for a large number of projects. Below are three practical case scenarios from projects where this visualization helped solve problems.

• Case 1 - A project was started up, and the consultants of the suppliers were creating deliverables. Only half of the project was found to be incompatible, as the deliverables did not fit together. The project architects then created the project landscape map and identified a missing solution architecture blueprint and three conflicting standards in use.
  Based on this visualization, they decided to create a solution architecture blueprint, select the correct standards, and recreate some deliverables using only those standards. The project could be completed ahead of schedule, resulting in success and saving time and money.
• Case 2 - A project was already running for 7 years. The organization analyzed and redesigned its business processes to ensure the project's solution was used optimally in practice. It was found that the solution lacked functionality. No deliverables were defined for this functionality, and there was neither a budget nor sufficient time to create them.
  At that point, the Project Landscape Map was designed for us, and it revealed that the original business case was no longer a valid financial business case because it was not aligned with any business goals.
  The project took too long (more than 9 months) to execute, making it years out of date with the current solution concept. The project manager advised the owner-client to halt the project. The client requested a new, valid business case, using the project's allocated time and budget.
• Case 3 - A program consisting of 5 projects was already running for three years. The project was running out of time but not out of budget. As a result, the program committee hired more consultants to produce the planned deliverables and ensure the project was completed on time. However, with each deliverable created, the project generated two or three unplanned deliverables, increasing the time required to complete it each week.
  At that point, the project architects created the Project Map, which revealed that the business case had never been approved, that no document outlined the requirements, and that no single solution architecture blueprint provided a logical overview of all deliverables as integrated solution components.
  The business case was updated and approved, and the requirements Excel sheets were incorporated into a single approved document. Next, a solution blueprint could be created to demonstrate that 70% of the deliverables were unnecessary within the solution's scope and context. This helps you complete the project on time.

How to Create a Project Map?

Enter your project data in the project model. Next, you modify the project landscape view to address your concerns and issues. Next, you enter the rules for the indicators on the progress and status layer (making items green, orange, or red).

The Dragon1 software will generate the Project Landscape Map for you. Next, you publish the Project Landscape Map to your stakeholders, either publicly or privately. Ultimately, stakeholders will utilize the Project Map to inform their decisions.

Also Read

1. Solutions > Strategic Planning
2. Software > Dragon1 BPM Tool
3. Solutions > Project Management
4. Services > Landscaping